CALL 911? Really?

A friend of mine had a disturbing experience a couple of days ago, which is an understatement.

He'd been out in his garage getting his four-wheeler ready for the summer season, jump started it with his pickup and took it out for a test run. 

When he started vomiting and feeling intense pain, he stopped and curled into a fetal position. 

A couple of guys in a pickup stopped to see if he was okay, which he was not; they gave him a ride back to his home in their little town. His family was off doing school and church things.

He called 911, in pain, confused, and knowing he needed medical help. The person on the other end of the line for some reason asked him if he had any guns. He said of course; he's a hunter. The guns are not loaded and they're put away. The person kept asking him questions until he was finally told to go to the front door because 'I have someone there now.'

When he opened the door it was not a team of EMTs he saw. 

It was several men in body armor with AK 47 rifles pointing at him.

They shouted for him to come out of the house, which of course he did. 

When they hollered at him about weapons he showed them his phone. 'It's only a phone!' They grabbed it from him and threw it off to a side.

Then they cuffed him so tight that the marks on his wrists were still there many hours later. They proceeded to search him thoroughly while he assured them he was being cooperative but was cold and would like a coat on.

Instead of giving him a coat or blanket, they kept him standing out there in the cold, unable to even wipe his nose because of the cuffs.

In the meantime, the ambulance crew wasn't allowed to render the aid he needed. They were there, mind you, but couldn't get out of the ambulance.

To back up just a little, the men with the rifles had been hanging around this little town for hours before the 911 call came in, several cars with their lights flashing the whole time. They'd been searching an out of state vehicle at one point.

Said cars with lights flashing surrounded this guy's house, soon joined by the ambulance and a vehicle from a County Sheriff's Department, from the next county over from the one this little town is in.

And there he stood, shivering in the cold, confused and wondering if they were going to shoot him, not knowing what in the world was even going on, for a good half hour.

Then the Sheriff from his own county showed up, un-cuffed him, and the men with the rifles went back to where they had been for hours before all this happened.

A friend showed up and wrapped him in a blanket. Another couple of friends came and stood close by, not able to do anything to help him. The neighbors were watching all of this from their windows, some of them coming outside.

Finally the ambulance crew got to do their job. They figured it had been the exhaust from the vehicles, even though the garage door was open, that had brought on his symptoms.

The symptoms of whatever had caused the pain and vomiting that had made him call 911 passed a lot quicker than the trauma of the results of that call will.

He never did find out, so far, who those men with the rifles were or what they were doing in that little town, let alone why they were at a medical emergency scene as the result of a 911 call. No badges were shown, no identification except for one man who called himself 'Derek', no explanation as to what the cuffs were all about ... nothing.

My friend will tell his own story in due course . 

I just wanted this in here because it's  important to me. It's only the bare bones right now. We'll no doubt have commentary on it when there's time.

For the moment I have a shift to fill at the job I share with this guy who is not only a co-worker but he and his family are friends of mine.


Signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may include:

Dull headache
Weakness
Dizziness
Nausea or vomiting
Shortness of breath
Confusion
Blurred vision
Loss of consciousness