Happy F$cking New Year
Several years ago, I was on duty New Year's Day. Shortly after dark, we received a call just a few blocks away from the station We made the short response over, and walked up to the front door. We were greeted by a 71y.o. lady dressed in a shirt and nothing else, with some newspapers wrapped around her below the waist. She stated that she'd been raped. Initially, she was so darn calm, I thought maybe she was a kook. But, we soon realized that this was a real-life nightmare.
An 18y.o. M from the neighborhood (that she knew) had waited until after dusk and walked to her place. He unscrewed her porch light so she couldn't see who was at the door before he knocked. When she opened the door, he forced his way in and raped her on the floor of the hallway just off her living room.
We later discovered that PD had apprehended the suspect just a few blocks away, even before we had arrived on scene. I did my assessment while the rest of my crew remained @ the door so as not to disturb the crime scene. The patient was perfectly stable medically so I didn't need their assistance.
While speaking with her, she became more and more upset. I think the reason she'd been so calm initially was because of shock. By the time PD arrived @ the house we were ready to transport. Before we took her to the ER for her rape exam, they wanted her to identify the suspect. This is when she became very fearful and began to cry. They assured her that he wouldn't be able to see her through the window as they would be shining a light directly on him. I assured her as best I could and helped them convince her it would be OK. They drove her a few blocks to where the kid was in the car and she ID'ed him. Then it was time to go to the ER.
Enroute, we talked a lot and I held her hand. Thankfully he hadn't hit her or anything, so I was able to concentrate almost entirely on psychological support as best I could. I had no illusion that I could make things better, I just wanted to comfort her. At the ER, one of my colleagues was the S.A.N.E. on duty, and I left the patient in her good hands.
The kid confessed and got a really long sentence (I can't remember exactly).
Less than two years later, I was in the ER doing my clinical rotations as part of my Medic training. Lo and behold, I saw the old woman again. I cannot begin to describe how much of a shell of her former self she had become since the rape. She had greatly decompensated both psychologically and physically. She was in the ER that day because of suicidal ideations. It just broke my heart even further than the call did initially. I still feel an almost physical pain when I think about her, what she endured, and the effect it had on her.
An 18y.o. M from the neighborhood (that she knew) had waited until after dusk and walked to her place. He unscrewed her porch light so she couldn't see who was at the door before he knocked. When she opened the door, he forced his way in and raped her on the floor of the hallway just off her living room.
We later discovered that PD had apprehended the suspect just a few blocks away, even before we had arrived on scene. I did my assessment while the rest of my crew remained @ the door so as not to disturb the crime scene. The patient was perfectly stable medically so I didn't need their assistance.
While speaking with her, she became more and more upset. I think the reason she'd been so calm initially was because of shock. By the time PD arrived @ the house we were ready to transport. Before we took her to the ER for her rape exam, they wanted her to identify the suspect. This is when she became very fearful and began to cry. They assured her that he wouldn't be able to see her through the window as they would be shining a light directly on him. I assured her as best I could and helped them convince her it would be OK. They drove her a few blocks to where the kid was in the car and she ID'ed him. Then it was time to go to the ER.
Enroute, we talked a lot and I held her hand. Thankfully he hadn't hit her or anything, so I was able to concentrate almost entirely on psychological support as best I could. I had no illusion that I could make things better, I just wanted to comfort her. At the ER, one of my colleagues was the S.A.N.E. on duty, and I left the patient in her good hands.
The kid confessed and got a really long sentence (I can't remember exactly).
Less than two years later, I was in the ER doing my clinical rotations as part of my Medic training. Lo and behold, I saw the old woman again. I cannot begin to describe how much of a shell of her former self she had become since the rape. She had greatly decompensated both psychologically and physically. She was in the ER that day because of suicidal ideations. It just broke my heart even further than the call did initially. I still feel an almost physical pain when I think about her, what she endured, and the effect it had on her.
posted by S. @ 1:13 PM
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