Doncaster Royal Infirmary A&E. 3am.
The ambulance brought in a family member who was in a bad way and I'd come with him for support. Of course, they checked the patient in and I was just left sitting in A&E and watching all of human life go by as I waited for some news.
We'd arrived at about 10pm, so by 3am I'd seen it all; a well-dressed (for Doncaster) couple wandering round taking photos for a while until they got bored and walked out saying "Well, this is a bit depressing, isn't it?". An immensely fat girl offering to shag people in the toilets. An entire family in their nightwear, none of them wearing shoes.

At about 3am a man was brought in and sat behind me on one of the benches by a couple of policemen. You know how they say policemen are getting younger? it was a couple of *those* policemen. Early twenties, young enough to make me feel old and slightly contemptuous. How could they keep the peace? I thought to myself. Kids.

The man they'd brought in was very drunk and covered in blood, much of it his own. Moreover, he had a collossal dent in his skull - an old injury, he was plainly missing a large piece of bone from his head and there's no way he hadn't suffered some form of brain injury when he got it. They sat him down and there followed one of the most remarkable conversations I think I've ever heard. As the drunk, bleeding, probably brain-damaged man ranted and raved and swore, the two young coppers calmed him down and reassured him they'd take his statement and they'd get whoever had attacked him. It took them a long time; they couldn't take a statement right there because he was drunk, but they'd take his statement in the morning. Over the course of maybe half an hour they mollified him, reassured him, and despite his being bitterly rude to them, never once did either of them lose their patience or even raise their voice to him.

I know for a fact I couldn't do that. There's no way I've got the tolerance.

I keep a notebook in which I write down ideas and observations and thoughts, and one entry for the night I brought a family member to hospital simply reads "I fucking love the police". Not something I ever thought I'd write but at 3am in the A&E Department of the DRI, I thought they were awesome.
(davywavy, Fri 6 May 2011, 13:54, 1 reply)

33 years and seven days ago
the young emvee was born into the world there

probably not in the A&E department, but still
( emvee cruor deo cruoris, Fri 6 May 2011, 14:36, closed)