Doctors and Nurses Know!

My wife and I were visiting a friend in hospital, and as we walked along the corridor to his room we found ourselves looking in the direction of every door that was open, as you do. You wonder at every drama that is being played out in those rooms where family or friends are visiting the person who is the patient. What are they suffering from and what might be their prognosis?

It is one thing to have been brought into hospital because of some ailment that has developed such as the flu but it is quite something else to be there because one minute you were perfectly fine and the next you were involved in a road crash because of someone’s carelessness, or worse your own.

We read the statistics that note a certain number of people were killed on the roads last year and that x-number were injured requiring hospital care. What does that mean?

In my country the head of emergency hospital care in the only hospital is also the chairman of the Road Safety Council so there’s no fooling him. He knows how many people were injured from road accidents, the extent of their injuries and the degree to which they recovered; and he even knows the cause, including alcohol and recreational drugs. He is constantly urging motorists, especially motorcycle riders to slow down and to stop drinking and riding less they do both permanently.

He has heard grown men cry like babies calling out Mama! He has seen them faint at the mere sight of a needle. He has had to remove limbs when that might well have been avoided had common sense prevailed.

Doctors and nurses are special people who have to deal with humanity when we are at our lowest and most feeble point. It is a career choice that is entirely emotional yet they must control their feelings and be able to leave their work at the office. When they have to work with people who are in tremendous pain that could have so easily been avoided it must be difficult for everyone involved.

Each and every one of us can do our part by conducting ourselves so that we don’t become an unnecessary patient. Making our way back to good health will be bad enough but having to lie there and undergo awful pain while realising we did it deliberately would be just too much.

Copyright © 2018

Eugene Carmichael

Accidents?

Did you ever wonder about  so-called accidents happen?

In perfectly good driving conditions during daylight hours two vehicles will collide. Before that happened in that exact same spot vehicles moving in opposite directions will have passed each other in the millions over the years, but along come these two, and Bam! Why did they do that and what did they do or fail to do?

It’s clear that after the passage of so many other vehicles they did something different that led to them crashing into one another, otherwise they would have glided on past each other as everyone else has done since time began. The realisation of that is quite something.

We are now considering the anatomy of an accident and the foregone conclusion is that it was not an accident at all. There are very few true accidents to happen on the roads. If I have a cold it’s very likely that I will sneeze while driving. When I sneeze I try not to close my eyes but inevitably I close my eyes. So, if I insist on driving with a cold and I sneeze and run into oncoming traffic that will not be an accident. It would be an unintended consequence of driving with a cold. It would be a crash and the law will hold me liable. However the world cannot stop because of a cold. Right?

If an animal that is a wild thing should suddenly dart into the road startling me and causing me to swerve around it because I would rather not run over it, and in the process of doing so I turn my car upside down without injuring or causing damage to property other than my car, technically this is a genuine accident that has occurred and I should logically not be charged with an offence.

I most likely will be charged with even something like a failure to drive with due care and attention. Well hey, the police have to make a living too and I will have caused a bit of bother to someone.

The worst case of something happening that would have been avoided if it were my choice is the consequences of falling asleep at the wheel. This is a tricky one and the cause of so many deaths on the road.

We are advised to stop regularly to rest on long journeys, at least every two hours. Perhaps we did  that in the first two hours, and now we need to stop sooner because as the day wears on we get more tired and we don’t recuperate sufficiently. The problem now is that we can’t find a proper rest area and we keep going until we find a place, but before we get there our eyes close just for a split second and that’s all it took. We never get to open them again.

Don’t sweat the police, your punishment this time will be stronger than anything the law has in mind.

That’s life!

Copyright © 2018

Eugene Carmichael

The Survivors

The way the New Year should start is on a positive note. The Costa Levante News has done just that in their report on deaths on Valencia’s network of roadways between 8pm New Year’s Eve and 8am New Year’s Day. This is perhaps the period of highest risk when the roads are potentially full with drivers who have been celebrating in the traditional manner with cava and heavy meals in welcoming in the New Year.

Town Councils and governments are doing their part to try and keep us safe from ourselves. Common sense seems to go out the window when everybody is in such high spirits. The free and extended public transport provided helps to cut the risk down tremendously, if only members of the public take advantage. The other thing we can do is to appoint a responsible member of the family as the designated driver who has the responsibility to avoid alcohol or drugs so that we have a good chance of surviving the night.

It was reported that only three people failed to live out the first day of 2018. That is so sad but, as a trend the number of people who fall into this category is growing less by the year. That is super positive.

From the time I began to notice the statistics regarding deaths on Spain’s roads the number of people killed while simply trying to get from A to B was horribly unacceptable. Much had to do with driving while under the influence as many people were virtually drunk all the time. They just could not get the message that if you continue to do this you will die. Then came in the points system and somehow that message struck home. If you were caught driving while drunk you would lose all your points and effectively you would never drive again.

Since then the carnage has lessened every year although apparently this year overall there appears to have been a 4% rise. However, the news from Valencia is that for the first time less than 100 people have lost their lives during the entire year. Well, the number is 99 but I will take it, especially when at one time it was 300.

We can all take pride and pleasure in these positive figures because it means we are all driving with safety in mind which means that the life I save maybe yours. We should congratulate ourselves with a pat on our own backs, and it would be a good thing to keep up the good work.

Here’s looking ahead to 2019 at this time and a much improved report. Happy Driving everyone!

Copyright © 2018

Eugene Carmichael

A Christmas Career

CHRISTMAS 2017 has been and gone, as has Twelfth Night, also known in Spain as Dia de Los Reyes Magos. In many countries around the world December 25^th is celebrated as the day of the birthday of Jesus. As such it is a Holy Day that is marked by the giving of gifts between those who follow the Christian faith.

The problem with that is the true meaning of Christmas is often forgotten in the commercialising of the season.  However, for children it can be a magical time, especially for the very young who are encouraged to believe in Santa Claus who, as the story goes will reward the child if they have been “good.”

There are many people who fill the role of Santa in making appearances leading up to the Big Day. These roles involve giving of yourself to the children, but as anyone who has dressed up in the costume will tell you what you receive from the children is far more rewarding. In fact it is priceless!

This year I was invited to take the role of Santa, or as he is known here in Spain,” Papa Noel.” In doing so I made history by being the first black man in Spain to play the part. I thought the children would complain that I wasn’t the “true” Santa because I wasn’t the exact image, but no, not even one person objected. There was only one very confused child who asked me if I was one of the Three Kings known as Balthazar. I didn’t know whether she was asking me because she remembered me from having played the role of Balthazar the previous January, or just because I was a black man.

In the event it went extremely well and all the organisers were relieved that the experiment was successful. The Santa concept is not an established Spanish costume, but it is becoming an integral part of the Christmas season. The children have figured out that they stand to receive presents on Christmas Day as well as La Dia de los Reyes Magos.

I had hardly settled down from that good feeling when the invitation came through to reprise my role as Balthazar. I was delighted! Little did I know how long a day it would turn out to be. The routine involves riding in the float and waving to all and sundry. Once we reach our destination we alight and take up a position on the stage where we receive the children to whom we give gifts.

All throughout the night the adults are referring to you as “Su Majestad”, your majesty, and everyone pays respectful deference to you. That I could easily get used to! You appear in a trillion snapshots. The town in which I appeared was Rocafort with approximately 7,000 residents. It seemed to me that 6,000 were children.

This year the process of the gift giving was much better organised and the time passed quickly. I thought that was it, but no, that was just the beginning because they added an element. Certain families had asked that the Three Kings come and visit their houses as a surprise to their children. For the next two hours we were in and out of about a dozen houses leaving in our trail a string of stunned and very happy children who will never forget.

So, it seems that I have a new career based around the happiest time of year. I cannot describe my feelings throughout both the Santa Claus and the Balthazar experiences because the human vocabulary has yet to invent those words. Suffice it to say that during the events I was alert and truly happy and privileged to grow weary, but when they were over I slept better than at any other time.

So, Happy New Year to you all! May you experience good health, prosperity and happiness!

Copyright © 2018

Eugene Carmichael