unresponsive

walking by the bar
early closing for the high bucks place
i don't know why they shut it down early sundays
but they do
the normal throngs
spilling into the streets
as i take the dog on a walk
down the safest street
just a block

the crowd is loud and there's a fight
nothing new
girls yelling a guy yelling back
another guy yelling
a girl in someone's arms

on i go
and then i come back

and the girl in someone's arms
is clearly unresponsive
the someone, a young friend
cradling her
another young someone is crying

and there are three guys standing there
after i come back with my phone to make certain
that she's getting the help that she needs

blue shirts, a teal color, almost

i couldn't really make out the insignias
but when i asked who had medical training
they asked  me to stand back
rather than answering
or attending to this girl
whose head was twisted into the neck of the young friend

and i ask again, who is trained as a medic
they again tell me to back up
i stand
the man tells me he's been to iraq

i ask him if she's breathing and if someone has made a call to get her medical aid
finally one of them makes a call
and the dispatcher

thank goodness for dispatchers


tells the men to get the girl onto her back
which is what i'm astonished hasn't happened already
but we're getting her there
and i can't tell if she's breathing or not
mostly because my ears are ringing
and there's so much noise

so i ask for a check on the breaths
and get a thumb's up

cradling her head now gently nudging
and then a sternum rub

nothing

and then, viola
about a ten second delay on the second sternum rub

she's opening her eyes
and looking into mine

quickly settling in
trying to get up
but staring into my eyes
she smiles

and when i ask her the questions
she fails
what day is it?
what year is it?
who is the president?
what did you take?

she's smiling and telling me she loves me.  seems more like ecstasy, but she's looking at me and breathing and smiling and i'm relieved that she's got a clear airway.

then the city paramedics are there and i move away and pull crying someone who is her friend back along with other someone..

her friend is crying about the GHB and the man that had been attempting to carry her friend away
i realize that was the fight i'd seen on the first trip out, the first pass by

this girl had come fairly close to going with someone when she was unable to answer a question

young someone says the police need to be called, that they have a picture of the man that seemed like he was going to take unresponsive girl away

then the unresponsive girl became a bit combative, obviously confused and scared

nothing i could do
the uniforms were doing their thing

transporting the young lady and getting her whatever help she needed...

i'm holding young someone back, telling her to go take care of herself

i leave, troubled that the young, muscled men in the teal shirts attempted to stop me from rendering aid
wanted the people to just move along and leave
delayed in calling for aid themselves

they said they were there before me, not realizing i'd already passed by twice and come back with my phone to assist...

all the while insisting that they were qualified

qualified to do what??

liability control

i forgot to tell young someone to call the mother of unresponsive/now combative girl
that thought will spin until i step on the brakes