::footprints of ie|en

Hit, Stay and Watch

It was 8pm and I was feeling tired and sleepy. I had just gotten back to the office a few hours ago, after spending most of the day away for a photo shooting session for one of our projects. On one side I yearned to go home and lie down. On the other side, I knew I had to try to finish up as much work as I can before I suddenly go into labour.

A call from dear husband jolted me awake as the conversation went:

Hubby : I just got knocked down by a car … I’m at the hospital now …
Me : What??!! What happened?? (and the line went dead on his side).

I called and called frantically but all I got was his phone’s answering machine. Filled with panic but having to will myself to calm down, I called his friend and colleague (also our neighbour) and asked him to please check on dear hubby. He asked which hospital. Honestly, I didn’t know but I guessed that it was the one in the base. My hubby, he had to be in the base when the incident happened. If he’d wanted to go outside of the base, he would have SMS-ed me to let me know. At that moment, I was very thankful of this routine of ours, where we inform each other of our whereabouts at all times.

I didn’t know what to do while waiting for an answer. I called my brother-in-law to inform him. I didn’t dare tell my parents-in-law. And my bro-in-law told me not to. Then I called my dad. I’d wanted to just leave and drive back to our place. But I know that would have been very irresponsible of me and will put both the baby and myself in danger should I go into labour on the way. Dad told me to wait till he and mom were done with their pasar malam business, after which we will all make the 4-hour drive to our place.

So we (my parents, my youngest brother and I) left KL at midnight. When we got to the hospital it was 4am. I didn’t know if my husband was still in the hospital or at which ward he was warded. I had not been able to talk to him directly, though his colleague who had been holding his phone had assured me that he was fine. The person at the hospital told us that my husband had been discharged a few hours before.

Although his injuries and wounds were basically what were expected of someone who got thrown off his bike, it was still very much a shock, to see him lying there, bloody and in pain. Shock turned to anger when he related how the driver of the car that knocked him had not only failed to stop to turn into a junction (thus hitting my husband) but he’d also failed to provide any help to my unconscious husband. It was those who witnessed the accident that came forward to help my husband. That man, he sat in his car and watched while other people helped my husband. If not for the timely arrival of the police, he would have been beaten senseless. Though not an advocate of violence, I had at that very moment, wished that someone did beat the daylight out of him.

This brought to mind a similar incident that happened to me years ago. I was cycling to a shop at night. A car bumped my back tyre and I was thrown off my bike. I didn’t know what happened to me. The driver, he simply left me lying on the road. A kind-hearted uncle who passed by on his bike honked and honked and urged me to get up. I had to cycle to a nearby Chinese medicine shop to get iodine and bandages for my wounds … and mind you I was bleeding on my knees, elbows and head.

What is it with this world nowadays that when people hit you in an accident, they simply turn a blind eye and move on? Haven’t these people got conscience? It doesn’t matter who was in the wrong. Is stopping to help someone in need such a difficult task to do or is this another one of our Malaysia Boleh spirit?

posted by ie|en @ 4:03 PM