Goodnight, Elsie

by Tony Apperley

  It was lucky for Elsie that the car was a small, modern, city car which was low and had synthetic bumpers, and it had slowed right down to almost a stop after braking hard; it also had an attentive driver at the wheel. A larger, older vehicle with chromed, solid steel bumpers would have caused much more damage to her, and if the driver was in a hurry or wasn’t watching intently, it could have been a much more severe or even fatal blow. But as the edge of the cars front bumper had only slightly come into contact with her, she was lucky to have just been tapped by the car. The tap however was big for Elsie; any sudden strike on a bone wasn’t good for her.

  Several people heard the squealing tires and one woman actually saw what had happened and instantly called 911. When asked what had happened, she said a woman had walked onto the road in front of a car so had been hit and knocked to the ground. They said to her they would send out some paramedics and also contact the police and asked her to remain at the scene. She would indeed remain at the scene as that was where she lived; she lived directly across the road from the scene. The witness who called the emergency services felt sad for the elderly woman lying on the road, she wasn’t aware whether she was alive or dead at that point. Her husband went over to see if he could help at all, but seeing Elsie lying there he thought it would be best to leave her as she was. If there was a spinal break, or other injury, he couldn’t visually detect, then he shouldn’t move her. So he would wait until the ambulance arrived and assist them if they required help, although he was sure they would be capable of dealing with the situation without his assistance. He stood in the middle of the road to wave and slow down any traffic so as to avoid another accident, in view of the fact that the driver’s car was now stationary but still in the traffic lane. It could have been moved but the driver wanted to leave it where it was so as to prevent any further injuries to Elsie from oncoming vehicles. Also leaving it there would help the authorities see what had really happened.

  It didn’t take too long for the emergency services to arrive at the scene. The paramedics were the first to arrive and were quickly and efficiently assessing Elsie’s situation as a police car also arrived on the scene, quickly backed up by another but approaching from the other direction. They thanked the witness for his assistance and said his help was no longer required; they would take care of it now. The police quickly set up safety cones around the scene in order to allow the paramedics to work unhindered. And with their patrol cars at each end of the incident, everything was now under control. So the normally peaceful suburban street now had flashing lights blocking the road, allowing only one vehicle at a time to slowly and cautiously pass by the scene. The controlled road block would prevent any further mishaps and allow the ambulance to depart unhindered. The driver’s car was still in an angular position on the roadway; it would remain where it was while the police checked out what had actually happened. The position of it would indicate where the driver had actually swerved from, whether it was in the center of her lane, or encroaching on the pavement. And by looking for tire marks on the road, they could perhaps determine the speed it was doing at the time, and the angle of them would also indicate where she had swerved from.

  The driver of the car was very upset by what had happened. She declared strongly that she did not intentionally hit Elsie; she had braked and swerved, trying hard to avoid hitting her. The witness across the road agreed with that as she saw the whole event from start to finish. The driver was sober, the car was legal, she was licensed, and the witness who saw the accident confirmed she was neither speeding nor driving erratically. The witness stated how Elsie had spent more time looking at the cars that had passed her than the ones approaching her. She had watched her standing there. She had been spotted as one who seemed a little distant which is what caught the attention of the woman living directly opposite the scene of the accident. She had first noticed her because of what she was wearing, a thick winter jacket on a warm day, with summertime beach sandals. She explained to them that Elsie had stood at the edge of the pavement for a long time looking the opposite way of the traffic flow, and then abruptly stepped out into the path of the oncoming traffic. She also said she felt the driver did well not to cause a more serious injury. She stated how Elsie appeared to be disoriented and confused about where she was or where she was going as she had stood at the same spot for a long time before stepping out.

  Meanwhile, as Frank was briskly walking toward the end of the very long street he lived in, he saw the flashing lights of an ambulance attending an accident down a side street. His instincts told him to go and have a look in case it was his wife. He walked very quickly to the scene. As he approached the scene, he noticed his wife lying on the roadway, being attended to by the paramedics. It appeared as if she had been hit by a car as there was a slightly damaged car parked at an odd angle nearby, the young female driver and sole occupant of the car was obviously upset by what had happened. He did notice the very minor damage, a slight crack in the bumper, nothing broken though, so that was a good sign. He arrived just in time to talk with the paramedics before they loaded her into the ambulance and departed. They assured him Elsie was not fatally wounded. It appeared as if she had a broken leg and perhaps concussion, but they could not give a full account of her condition at this stage. They suspected there may be a head injury but that would be looked at later. A full diagnosis would be carried out upon arrival at the hospital so he would need to be in touch with them to know the full extent of her injuries. They needed to know her name, age, and address also as she didn’t have any ID on her. They would need to give the details to the hospital staff so they could check her medical records. As they were leaving, a police officer approached Frank in order to get some facts about who she was and why she had stepped out into the path of an oncoming vehicle.

  “You seem to know the victim, sir, could you tell me her name, and address please?” Frank gave him her details.

  He then asked, “Is there a reason you know of why she stepped out onto the roadway while looking in the opposite direction” Frank explained about her illness. The officer then said, “Well then, why is it that she was walking the streets alone, should she not have had someone with her?”

  Frank said to him, “she may be sick in the head, but she’s free to do as likes. She likes walking and looking at gardens. I’ve offered to walk with her but she prefers to walk by herself, it’s her hobby to go wandering.”

  The officer said, “I suggest to you that she has a companion on any future walks, as you can see by what’s happened here it’s not safe for someone with dementia to be out alone aimlessly wandering, this could have been far worse than it is. Keep a closer eye on her from now on; you should ask for professional guidance about what you should be doing to ensure her safety.” He then returned to his duties.

  After that, Frank knew he needed to go to the hospital, so he quickly walked back home to get his car. He felt like this was the end of one stage and the beginning of another stage of Elsie’s illness. He was not feeling good about this at all; he knew things would change for them now. He wondered if she could ever be left on her own unattended anymore, or if it was just an accident caused by a reckless driver. He was also feeling like perhaps he really should have started locking the door, but that didn’t sit too well with him, she wasn’t a prisoner on home detention. He felt a little guilt about what had happened; perhaps he should have been stricter on her. But after this, that really would be required now. He was not in a good state when he got home and got into his car to go to the hospital. He was hoping she would be all right, but he had heard of people dying in ambulances, and also of arriving at hospital and doctors finding fatal injuries. He recalled some of the TV shows he had watched where things went from bad to worse for some patients; he hoped they were just fictional TV shows. At the time, he didn’t think much about them, they were just entertainment, but now that his wife was a victim of a road accident, he was recalling all the shows where people had died.

  It wa
s a long drive to get from where they lived to the hospital; it involved going into the city then out the other side to the outer suburbs, a place he wasn’t very familiar with. He wouldn’t get there as quickly as the ambulance did as he had no flashing lights on his roof. But nonetheless he would drive safely and in doing so, would get there intact in order to find out what was happening to her. Due to what had happened, he was attentively looking out for anyone wanting to cross, he wasn’t going to repeat the scene he had just left.

  With the victim now gone, and Frank gone also, and the roadway open again with the driver’s car parked correctly to allow traffic to pass by unhindered, the police had a few more questions to ask the driver. The initial sobriety tests were done and the car had been checked etc. so that part was out of the way now, she was not fleeing from or wanted by the law or had anything illegal in the car. So they were now certain, with what the witness also said, that it really was just an accident. Had she been drunk or speeding or if the car was stolen, it would of course had a much more serious outcome. Another officer asked her to explain again where she had been, where she was going, and what had happened. That would check her story.

  The driver, still upset said, “I was going from one job to another, I do home help, so often drive from job to job. I spend mornings in some homes and afternoons in other homes. So, I was heading to my next job, which I’m now late for. As I was coming along the road, I saw her off in the distance, standing looking down the street, but looking the other way. I thought she looked like someone either wanting to cross the road or looking for someone, but as she didn’t look in my direction, I thought no more of it. Then she just walked out in front of me, still looking the other way. There’s no way it was my fault, I did nothing wrong. I was just driving normally, not speeding or anything, honestly, she just walked out in front of my car.”

  The officers thought that really was the case, the witness confirmed that, and there was nothing to indicate any erratic driving, so as they had her details and the car was still safe to drive, they allowed her to leave the scene. They would contact her again if they needed to. She felt a little shaky getting back into her car, but was relieved it was over now.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  While on the way to the hospital, Elsie regained consciousness, but only mildly. She lay there wondering what was happening as she didn’t remember being hit by a car; it was almost as if she was in a dream. When they arrived at the hospital and she was removed from the ambulance and taken to the A&E ward, she started sporadically screaming. She was only partially-conscious, like being almost asleep but not quite, and was surrounded by strangers in a well-lit area being moved along without being aware of where she was or why she was there. The screams weren’t very loud; she didn’t have a lot of energy to vocally release her tension. The staff knew what was happening and acted accordingly, just doing what needed to be done. She fully woke up as they were moving her and placing her on a bed. She would undergo medical procedures to fix her leg, but that would wait until after her primary medical condition was established. For now, there were more important things to look at. When they had checked her out and found she was medically stable, and she was now awake, they organized to have her leg repaired. As she was somewhat puzzled about where she was and why, that indicated to them that perhaps there was something else involved in this. When asked what day it was, she didn’t know, she couldn’t remember her street address or where she had been when she got hit by the car. She lay there confused but not afraid anymore, the fear had passed, as she didn’t have any feelings at all now. She was switched off internally so just accepted what was happening without comment. Now that the pain relief was active in her system, she was calm, very calm, as if she had surrendered.

  Having examined her skull, the head blow didn’t appear to be too serious, but nonetheless she wasn’t quite up to par. She was taken through the various processes so they could see where the break actually was and if there were other issue’s involved. They wanted to fix that quickly, which they would do. They had her medical history now so knew what was happening with her. She didn’t have to wait too long to get her leg fixed; she was lucky it wasn’t a busy day for the various departments that were involved. At some stage, they would do an MRI scan to determine what was really going on with her. Because she had never arrived at the clinic for testing, they would do all that here. They would scan her brain to see what was happening inside her head; they suspected Alzheimer’s disease but wouldn’t know for sure until a series of tests had been done. There was more to this than just a broken leg. She would remain in the hospital until everything got sorted out; she wasn’t going to be given an early discharge.

  It had taken Frank thirty-five minutes to get to the hospital, then another fifteen minutes to find a park and actually get inside the building. When he asked to see her, he was told she was not currently in a ward; she was going through the process of getting assessed and repaired in other parts of the hospital. Once her leg was repaired, she would be sent to a ward where he could then sit with her, but for now he would just have to wait. He thought about waiting at the café but decided to head home again and return later when she had been sorted out. He knew there were stages where he could have been with her but other stages where he couldn’t have been at her side. He was very glad he hadn’t permanently parked up or sold his car. He would need it now, as at some point soon she would be discharged with her leg in plaster, not good for getting on or off buses. He wondered how long they would keep her there; he didn’t think it would be long if it was just her leg that needed to be sorted out.

  As he was leaving the hospital, he decided not to go straight home; he would call around to see if Paul was at home, an old friend and work associate. He had spent many years working with Paul and they got along well. They would occasionally take their wives out to dinner together and had the same interests in life such as home handy man repairs and servicing their own cars. He hadn’t seen Paul for several years as their lives seemed to drift apart after they were both retired. Paul lived not too far from the hospital, so it would suit Frank to spend some time there before going back to visit Elsie. As Frank drove up to Paul’s house, he could tell he was still there. Paul lived in a large home with a traditional white picket fence, well-kept as if it had just been constructed. He also noticed his pride and joy sitting on the front lawn, a 1967 Chevrolet Impala. Paul called it a muscle car; it was in immaculate condition, as good as a show room model. Paul had kept it that way since he bought it in 1980, after improving its appearance. It wasn’t their primary vehicle, just Paul’s toy.

  Frank parked outside the house and was walking toward the Chevy to have a look at it when Paul called to him in good-humored tone, “hey there Frank, good to see you’re still alive, how have you been?”

  Frank approached and they shook hands, “I’m okay, how about you?

  “I’m fine, haven’t seen you in a long time, come in.”

  Frank asked, “Why is the Chevy out front?”

  Paul said, “I’ve sold it, I’m waiting for the new owner to come and pick it up. I put it there so I could have more room in the garage. We’re packing up and moving, so the garage is getting full of boxes. We don’t need this house now. It’s too big for just the two us, so we’re moving to a smaller one. And really, I can’t be bothered with maintaining houses and cars now, so I’m getting rid of what I don’t need.” Frank thought of all his tools. As they went inside, Paul asked, “so, how come you’re here, is it just a visit or is something happening?”

  “Elsie’s in hospital, she got taken there earlier and they’re doing what they do for her. She’s got a broken leg because she got hit by a car. She’s lucky it wasn’t the Chevy that hit her, that could’ve been fatal. She’s getting it fixed now, so I’m filling in time until she’s gone through the process. I thought about heading home then wondered how you’ve been.”

  Paul’s wife, Brenda, had been out the back of the house then came inside, she
was pleased to see Frank, “hi Frank, good to see you, is Elsie here?”

  “No, El’s not here, she’s in hospital, she got hit by a car. She’ll be all right though; it wasn’t too bad a hit.”

  “Oh no, what happened?”

  Frank explained what happened to her, and also about how she had been over the last couple of years. They both seemed a bit sad by what they heard.

  Paul said, “So where does that leave you then? You better get in a care-giver. It must be putting a lot of stress on you. If she has dementia that could be bad, it may be Alzheimer’s, if it is, you may need some help soon. Or she may end up in a rest home.”

  Frank replied, “I can look after her, and she won’t go to a rest home. She wouldn’t want that and I wouldn’t want it, either. Maybe in a few years we could look at it but not just yet. Anyway, why are you two moving, is it really too big?”

  Paul explained, “this house was good when our children were here, then, when they grew up and moved away, they would at times come and stay with us. But we don’t really see them very much now. They don’t even live within a six-hour drive of here. So we have a big house that we don’t need now. Also, I’m getting sick of the traffic, and I have the shakes at times so I’d rather be within walking distance of the shops instead of having to drive to them.” They were in the outer reaches of the suburb, without any shops close by. The road they lived on was a thoroughfare connecting the adjacent suburbs so it was often busy and noisy as it was a main route for delivery vehicles.

  The discussion then turned to the ageing process, and the state of their health. Frank thought this would be a great opportunity to get another opinion on euthanasia. Frank said “We’re all getting on in years now. What do think of euthanasia? If you were past it, would you want to be permanently put to sleep or just hang on as long as you could?”