I would like to thank the people who helped me and my wife when I had a serious fall recently, while visiting from Sydney.
Just before noon on Sept 7, we were approaching the junction of North Bridge Road and Middle Road, rushing to catch the green light. When I turned around to speak to my wife, I slipped and fell on the pavement, which was still damp from the rain.
I landed on my left hip and head. I was unconscious, with a severe gash to my head, and bleeding profusely, exacerbated by my taking of blood thinners.
My wife told me passers-by came to help quickly.
One young man immediately took off his T-shirt and used it to stem the bleeding. A few held their umbrellas to shelter me from the rain. Another called an ambulance, and a woman offered to accompany us to the hospital.
When I regained some consciousness, I was already being loaded onto the ambulance, which took me to Singapore General Hospital. The care I received there _ including from a neurologist who had studied at a Sydney university _ was also wonderful.
I was discharged the following Tuesday, with forehead stitches and bad bruising. We returned to Sydney a few days later, earlier than initially planned.
To these kind people who helped me, thank you so much. I’m sure the young man who used his shirt to stem the bleeding may well have prevented a worse outcome. We wish we could at least say thank you and buy him another shirt!
Thank you, Singapore. We are grateful for the help received, and will be back again, walking more cautiously this time.
Peter G. Hocking
