Now, now, now, before you start thinking that the
POTUS wrote this, let me remind you to Keep Calm and read on. The author(bar_rack) *lol, notice how he plays around with his name? You, Judge Judy,
gerrrarahia*, is one interesting being.
Imagine that you are walking in town one Saturday afternoon. Either alone or with a friend in tow. Let’s assume the second option – you are strolling in town with a friend, W. You talk about the weather and how it’s been behaving. How the week was at work and at home. You talk about everything that you can possibly talk with your friend. Then, suddenly, in the middle of that you start feeling ill. At that moment you realize that there is something terribly wrong with your body and you cannot really figure it out. You assume and keep on talking. Suddenly your friend realizes there’s something terribly wrong, but they too are clueless. Things happen so fast that you start losing your sensory abilities – you cannot feel the spoon that’s in your hand and you fail to coordinate the digits on your hand but nothing. Before you know it, a sharp migraine fills your entire head causing you to slump on the table, weak and helpless.
Across the table your friend looks at you,
helpless. Prodding with questions.
“How are you feeling?” W asks.
“Pins and needles,” you respond. Google that if
you don’t know.
“You were just okay,” W says, confused. “What is
up? Do you
have anyone I can call?”
“I have to think,” you respond, gasping under the
intense pain clouding your head.
Then you realize that you almost have nobody in
your “In case of Emergency (ICE)” list. Then the wildest thoughts start
swarming your head.
“What if I was alone and I collapsed in town?” A
thought crosses your head.
The
People in Our Lives
That’s what happened to me a few months ago. A
small incident that shook me a lot. It made me think about the people I could
reach out in case something goes awry and I needed someone to be there for me
when I couldn’t help myself.
I was shaken because things went from good to bad
then ugly in a matter of minutes and lasted about four hours. I was hanging in
there – in a body that was caving in to what felt like nervous failure and a
headache from hell. Yeah, that’s what happens when you overwork yourself for
almost three straight weeks.
I was also shaken because, had I been alone in
town, the experience would have been unimaginable, or so I thought. I would be
alone in this city where expression of concern is considered rare.
Before I go on, I happen to be on W’s ICE
and that is why we were in town in the first place. W had landed herself in a
technical mess the previous evening and I knew the right person who could fix
her problem. People who watch movies on their laptops while tucked in bed need
prayers.
Back to this moment when my nervous system has
decided that I will feel nothing and do nothing.
“Here’s my phone,” I groaned. “Unlock it and call
E”
E was not in Nairobi. He called his brother who
was closer. As close as Rongai! How close! I was in CBD. How helpful!
“Who else can I call?” W, who is also my partner
in crime asked.
“Try my cousin, C,” I said. “He works around here
and he can be of help.”
“He says he’s away upcountry,” W said.
“Okay,” I muttered. Trying to think and getting
the sharp headache, needles and stings under control.
“Call J, he’ll call a
doctor for me.”
This is the part where everybody you need is away
and you are almost alone.
In hindsight, I have learnt the importance of
having people who know what to do when they get that call telling them that you
are not okay. It is very possible to have over 2000 friends and
acquaintances on Facebook, 2000 followers on Twitter but zero people on your In
Case of Emergency (ICE) list. It is a frightening thought to say the least. And
by that, I exclude parents. No parent who is miles away wants to be told that
their child collapsed in town while taking a walk. I am talking about friends
who will immediately pause their lives and rush to where you are and see what
they can do.
Interestingly, like on this particular day,
ambulances also proved quite hard to come by. Dialled 1199. They took their
sweet time. Called St Johns Ambulance. Nada. But that’s when that cab guy you
befriended a while back shows up immediately and joins you, helping W to handle
the emergency situation that I had become. All he asks is for you to tell him
what hospital he can take you and not to worry about the cab fare. He
coordinated with W in communicating with a doctor friend and eventually we
settled on a hospital.
“W, you have to go home,” I said. “I am in good
hands now”
“Weeee!,” W retorted. “Then what happens?”
“I can take it from here,” I responded, like when
the CIA and FBI folks in movies tell the local cops.
“Cow!” I was told. I laughed quietly to myself.
All this time popping in and out of hospital reception. A head scan here.
Medication there. A doctor asking what’s stressing me up.
“I said a prayer for you in that waiting room,” W
mentioned much later.
Buses,
Lifts and Fires
Many weeks later, I have learnt the need to
constantly evaluate the accessible people around me. Who knows where I live?
Who needs to know where I am traveling to? Who needs to know where I am late at
night especially when stranded? Not everyone. But people who I think matter and
who will, in turn, make a difference should anything happen. Or just for the
sake of knowing.
But then, I ask myself: Am I in anyone’s ICE
list? Will I be able to stop my life to attend to a friend’s need till late in
the night? It takes a handful of people to make a difference when all fails.
Buses have huge writings at the back glass window (is it a window really?): Emergency Door: In Case of Emergency Break Glass.
Lifts have stickers plastered: In Case of
Emergency Call These Numbers 07XXX. Just in case you get stuck in a lift
and you need the world to know where you are.
Some buildings have a fire alarm installation
with a key: In Case of Fire Break Glass for Key. The key will always
give you access to an emergency fire exit and you’ll be safe from the fire.
It is also a requirement in some of our
workplaces for us to provide the details for next of kin. Same applies for life
insurances and investment chamas and the likes. Just in case something happens
to you at work and they need to know who your family is.
In case of emergency, I hope the 5 people in my
ICE list will be the reason I will be in the ICE list of 5 other people.
This post was
originally posted here
