On Saturday evening, April 1, around 6 p.m., I was walking/jogging with a friend on the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk, and due to exhaustion from an earlier workout plus the two miles we almost completed, I fell head over heels onto my face. My 72-year-old body was hurting and I was lying in a pool of blood mostly from my nose, and temporarily unable to move. Since I was in no condition at the time to take names, I want to publicly acknowledge and thank the many people who helped me that evening, as well as several others who offered their assistance.
Thanks to my good friend, Mike Vitiello, who orchestrated the entire "operation" and made sure that anyone who touched me was qualified, I at least know something about the Good Samaritans who stopped to help.
They were as follows:
An out-of-towner African-American man who called 911 and remained on the phone until the EMTs arrived
A lifeguard who brought ice and, as my friend put it, provided verbal support
A young lady who was thought to come from a nearby store brought a roll of paper towels and asked if there was anything else I needed
A passerby by who said he was a nurse knelt beside me, showed me how to apply pressure on the bridge of my nose to stop the bleeding, passed me paper towels and tissues, and tended to me until the EMTs arrived
Two EMTs from Rehoboth Beach, a young man and a young woman who, after checking for broken bones and other possible complications, got me sitting then standing up and helped me to a nearby restroom to clean up (they said an ambulance was on the way but I declined since I felt better when the bleeding stopped and I was standing up)
A local police officer who investigated the accident, asked my friend if I had been drinking, or if I tripped on a board (no to both), controlled the crowd, and took my information (including my photograph, which I hope never surfaces on Facebook, although "Face broke" would be appropriate!)
Several other passersby who said they were nurses and offered to help.
I'm almost back to normal, and can now reflect on the kindness afforded me by many strangers in addition to the competent and caring Rehoboth Beach professionals. I'm inspired by the graciousness of these individuals and I hope to pass it on to others in need in the future.
Ron Paxton
Lewes
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