Source: Reddit
I’m a paramedic. In 2013 I got dispatched to the local high school for a nose bleed. Turns out this 15 year old kid was bleeding because he got kicked in the face while he was sitting with his back against the wall, playing a game on his Gameboy. His nose was obviously broken and the kid has dried blood all down the front of his shirt.
We got him in the back of my ambulance, cleaned him up and called his mom. She said that the school had already called her, she worked 20 minutes away and said she was coming to get him herself, and she would take him to the ER.
While we waited he explained to me all about his game. It was called Luigis Mansion. He told me he wanted to design water slides and video games when he grew up. He told me about history of our town I had never heard of.
He was very clearly intelligent, well spoken. He just didn’t fit in. I enjoyed talking to him. When his mom got there I gave him a fist bump, told him that I didn’t fit in either when I was younger but I worked hard and now I have a job and life I love. I told him everything gets better when you get out of high school.
The next shift (6 days later) I got dispatched to his house. His mom found him hanging in his closet. I have no doubt he would be a super rich and successful software developer right now if it wasn’t for the relentless bullying he suffered.
This was the only time I’ve ever frozen on a call. He had obviously signs of death, and he was beyond saving. My partner tried to console his mother in the front room and I just stood there, staring at him. After 8-10 minutes the police arrived and took over the scene.
At this point in my career I’ve seen hundreds of dead bodies. I’ve been on much more traumatic and messy calls. I’ve learned to forget them and move on. Except for this kid, I think about him every day.
