The cardiologists' office is right off the building's lobby, and because of COVID, they don't close the door to their offices. Which means it gets loud as people come and go from the building.
And then there was the loudness in the waiting room itself. It made it hard to listen to the show on the television and I was sitting at the very front of the waiting room, pretty much as close to the TV as I could get.
Then there was a noise I hadn't really heard before in the time I'd been sitting there. Then a voice, which sounded elderly and feeble.
There were two ladies checking people in at the desk. "Do you need help?" one of them called. The answer was yes.
What happened next was incredibly impressive.
The two women flew out from behind the desk and rushed out of the office. Nurses and doctors from the cardiologists' office raced out from the back, where they see patients. Another nurse got on the phone and called 9-1-1. Everyone moved with purpose and I guessed that they probably trained for emergencies like this since it is the office for heart doctors.
My dad told me later that his doctor apologized for leaving him waiting, but he'd been one of the staff helping the person in the lobby. He told my dad that the person would be okay. (Just in case you were worrying.)
The ladies returned back to their check-in desk, some of the medical staff returned to the back of the offices, but other medical personnel stayed with whoever was in the lobby.
I couldn't see anything that was going on, not without getting up and walking over to the doorway, and not only would gawking be rude, but there was also the chance I could have gotten in the way of someone returning to the person's side. I'm assuming it was an elderly man and that his wife had been the one who'd called for help, but this is only a guess on my part. Another guess on my part was that he fell. I don't think it was a heart attack from what I saw and heard.
The paramedics and fire truck arrived. I saw them turn in, lights on, but no siren. I heard their radios as they took care of the person. And only after they left with the patient did the rest of the nurses return to their normal jobs. One came back with a pillow. I hadn't seen her go out with it, but someone had thought to bring a pillow for the man.
Meanwhile, I'm sitting in the waiting room, tearing up because it was so easy to imagine that it could have been someone I care about. It also made me grateful that there are men and women who not only knew what to do, but who raced to help. In a world where too many people only care about themselves, it was incredible to see.
