My eyes were blinking into focus. I heard yelling and rushed voices around me. I blinked and tried to register my surroundings. I was lying down, and seemed to have many people around me. Many were wearing white lab coats.
That’s when I realized where I was. In a hospital, but why? What brought me here?
My mom and I had been arguing about my report card. I failed French for a second term. I got her distracted, I was the cause of her losing control, it’s my fault. Why didn’t I study? Why was I so stupid?
I tried to ask one of the many doctors were my mother was, but realized I couldn’t talk. I had a mask over my mouth. While I noticed that I realized that I was strapped down, all I was able to see was directly up. And all that was there were doctors looking over at me, nervous looks on their faces.
“Hang another bag of O neg,” barked a doctor with a confident sounding voice. “BP’s dropping.”
Through the confidence I heard fear. That’s when I began thinking. My blood type is O negative, was I dying?
“Get me an OR stat.”
This was said by a female, though I’m not sure who. If I needed a surgery the accident must have been bad. Where was my mother? If she was the driver wasn’t she more likely to be more injured?

Above,
I raced along trying to keep up. As a volunteer at NYU emergency center I wanted to know what was going on. I wanted to be a part of it.
As the paramedics wheeled in the gurney they yelled the incomings statistics.
“One-six female, BP 60/100, MVA, passenger seat.” This was all yelled in a voice that sounded more like a bark.
This girl looked in terrible shape. She was wearing an oxygen mask and was already hooked onto I.V.s. I was not sure what one-six meant at the time, but now I do. That girl, she was sixteen.
More needles, more orders shouted from attending physicians, nurses running from table to supply cabinet. The orders came fast and furiously.
“Hang another bag of O neg,” barked a doctor with a confident sounding voice. “BP’s dropping.”
Her blood pressure going down meant she probably had internal bleeding, now what? The only thing for that-
“Get me an OR stat”
Stat. Faster than immediately. I nodded. Of course. With internal bleeding she needed surgery, now. The other option is death and in this ER it’s not even a choice.

And Bystander
A girl was brought in after a terrible car accident. The accident was caused by her argument with her mother. Her mother got distracted and drove off the rode. She lost her life against the steering wheel.
A passing car saw the accident, called 911, and drove off.
An ambulance arrived and took the only survivor, a sixteen year old girl, into the hospital. They came in and handed her over to doctors of great expertise.
She was on oxygen because that accident damaged her lungs. Her blood pressure was steadily dropping as doctors called for blood.
She had internal bleeding and needed surgery. The surgery lasted six hours, typical after a car accident.