This story is mainly about civil courage as it is written in a book.
Just a little while ago I read in the news again, that filming accidents instead of helping is increasingly a problem. A few days later I experienced although, that it can also be completely different.
We were three friends, on a cycling trip for a few days. On the second morning it was raining cats and dogs, but a bit after nine o’clock the rain became less. After it had stopped, we made ourselves immediately on the way. But thanks to a conjunction of unfortunate circumstances we did not even make it out of the village. The street that was still wet from the rain, the steep descent, the sharp corner, the one-sided loaded bike with out mountain bike wheels- it looked like in a movie, when you see in slow motion how the wheels slide away and my friend landed on the street. And if out of three people two are wearing a helmet, then it will certainly strike the one without. Incapable of compensating the energy of the momentum, she hit with the back of her head short but heavy on the ground.
That is the first moment, where you still hope that it was not that bad- until you can see the blood and know that you now have to help quickly. We were immediately next to her side- one called the ambulance, the other one helped our friend. Supporting her and with red hands, I tried to stop the bleeding, but after that I also did not know for a few seconds how to continue. In the first few moments you react automatically, until you know the situation is not life threatening and help will come. We just had to wait for the ambulance to come, but for a moment I did not know what best to do until that.
In this situation came the village community and bypassing people to our help. A woman who was driving by in a car stopped and asked if we needed her first aid kit from the car. A marvellous idea! Together with another woman, that came, she helped me to bandage the laceration. Other people offered water or tissues. Several asked if we needed more help, but also left us in peace when we explained that now everything was under control. No one was just standing around and watching, but they were also not too many and stayed calm. Someone from the village brought the bike, that we could not transport ourselves, later to the next town to the hospital.
We were not a second without support. And that fills me with gratitude and I was very happy to observe that: how without a second of doubting strangers came to our help. Self-evident we could think, but according to the news that is not always the case. But we experienced such a positive example in a moment of bad luck.