I was at home reading when I heard a loud cry of alarm, not far from my house. It happened about 3 houses away from where I lived. When I went out to see what had happened young man of about 24 was lying by the side the road wearing a push-bike helmet. He was conscious but in the early stages of shock. Nobody had stopped to offer any assistance. I asked him which part of his body hurt the most. He did not answer.
'Can you understand me?' I asked.
He nodded, yes.
'Can you wriggle your fingers and toes?'
'Where's my bike?' he asked me.
I stood up and looked around.
'I can't see one at the moment. Are you cold?'
'No!'
'What happened?'
'I was riding along that way when I was hit from behind. The sun was in my face so I guess the driver following me couldn't see me very clearly if at all. I think it was a large SUV but it had disappeared when I came to a stop.'
'Can you feel all your fingers and toes? Can you move them?'
He watched his hands and slowly answered, 'Yes. I can. But I can't move my leg very well.'
'I'll call an ambulance and you can get all the tests done in a hospital. There's one about 3 miles away.'
I dialed an emergency number on my cell phone and was told there would be help in about 25 minutes.
'I'll look around for your bike, mate. What color am I looking for?'
'It's yellow and blue'.
I found it and carried it back to show him while he waited for the ambulance to arrive. He had begun shivering
'It's a bit messed up. I'll keep it at my place if you like and you can get it when you're ready. Wait here and I'll get a blanket to keep you warm while you wait.'
He nodded as I raced away carrying his push bike and returned with a blanket, and covered him with it. It seemed to calm him a little.
I received a call on my cell phone from the emergency service asking for the exact location of the patient and what I thought his injuries were.
'I think it's a broken leg. He can move his fingers and toes and doesn't seem to have head trauma, but tests will have to confirm that,' I said. 'He is conscious and quite coherent. He was knocked off his push bike by a car I believe.'
They told me if he was in shock or getting agitated, to keep him warm and comfortable and asked me to stay with him if possible.
I told them I could wait and they said about 30 minutes as they had another patient to take to hospital before they could come for him.
I introduced myself to the victim and he told me his name was Oscar and he needed to make some calls to cancel some appointments he had the nest day. I passed him my phone and told him he could make all the calls he wanted.
He dialled a number and before he spoke, I interrupted him and suggested he call them in the morning.
I said, 'Wait until you know what's wrong in case they get unnecessarily concerned. Once you know more, it will be easier for them to accept you not keeping your appointments. At present you don't really know what your injuries are.'
'I think you're right. Good idea, Mark.'
He returned the 'phone to me. I noticed he had placed his hand at the top of his legs and was slowly moving his fingers. I had read about people in trauma alleviating their stress by fondling their genitals. I was unsure what to do. I thought I should stay with him, but would he want me there while he was having a private moment?
I placed my hand on his and said, 'Oscar, would you like me take care of that for you?'
He closed his eyes and moved his hand away. I could not tell if he was self-conscious at being caught, or whether he would want me to touch him. I didn't know what to do. Would he object and snap at me to stop, or would he want me to continue?