05.14.2016 10:08 PM

Proud punk Dad at Anti-Flag

So. 

Text Daughter this morn about Anti-Flag tonight. She texts back, says she was out to 5:30. At the hospital.   

Wait. What?

She and Hannah, she said. A girl at Sneak’s had had a reaction to her heart medication, and they had to rush her to the E.R. 

Which friend? Who?

Long story, apparently. She said she’d tell us later. 

So – she and her pals had been at her usual punk rock hangout on a Friday night, Sneaky Dee’s (where SFH made its debut a decade ago, by the by). They look across the room, which was crowded as always, and there is a girl passed out. No one is helping her. No one. 

She and Hannah go to help her. They try and talk to her, no response. They hold her head up and hold her hand. Nothing. 

She needs a doctor. 

With the bouncers’ help, they get her outside. The ambulance is taking too long, so they wave down a cab. The driver speeds towards Sunnybrook. 

The E.R. is packed. The girl is still out cold, totally unresponsive. They finally get her to a bed, and they stay with her, talking to her, holding her hand. 

It’s maybe 3 a.m. The nurse is crabby. She barks at them. What’s your friend’s name? What did she take?

Anyway. They stay with her until the doctor sees her. She’s starting to wake up. She’s on a new heart medication, turns out. She had a bad reaction to it, the doctor says. A couple beers hadn’t helped, either. 

Using the girl’s now-unlocked phone, Daughter and Hannah finally find a friend of the girl – who is from Cobourg – in Toronto. The friend has been frantically looking for her all night. 

She’s discharged. Daughter and Hannah stay with her. They take her in another cab, all the way across town. Sun’s coming up. They release the girl into the care of the grateful friend. 

It’s dawn. Hannah goes home. Daughter, meanwhile, gets on the streetcar – way, way out in the West end – with her last few bucks. She and Hannah had used up all their money to help the girl. 

The driver looks at her. You okay?

Yes. Daughter says, and then she heads home to go to sleep. 

Proud Dad part: they didn’t know this girl, at all. 

Daughter and Hannah had never seen her before last night. She’s not their friend. But they knew she needed help, so they gave it. 

Proud Dad waiting for her at Anti-Flag, here. 

11 Comments

  1. Kevin says:

    Teach your children well (h/t tp Graham Nash). Be proud of papa too.

  2. Ridiculosity says:

    As a parent, that’s when you know that – despite the odd bone head move – you’ve done and said something right, along the way. Empathy, for those you may not even know. Isn’t that the very definition of being human?

  3. Dallyn Linde says:

    great work … but i’m a bit curious … why Sunnybrook ?? why didnt they just take her to Toronto Western Hospital on Bathurst and Dundas ? (about 3-4 minutes from Sneaky Dees)

  4. Jean A Paterson says:

    Your daughter is a wonderful person already, despite her youth. She has the right stuff. You deserve to be proud!

  5. Art says:

    Heartwarming story on a Sunday morning. Hope for the future with kids like that. You should be proud of her and your daughter should be damn proud of herself also.

  6. Timothy O'Malley says:

    Ouf. This gave me the chills…but they were replaced quickly by feelings of gratitude (for your daughter, and Hannah) and hope. Hope for us all. Thanks for sharing, Warren.

  7. cs says:

    what wonderful people, congrats on raising such a wonderful caring person.

  8. davie says:

    Good job by your kid!
    Small point – I have had it happen when I took teenagers in to ER that the medical people have been forthright in demanding what the person has taken. It can seem harsh, but I put it to their having to know quickly what they are dealing with to help that kid.

  9. MonteCristo says:

    A Bravo Zulu goes out to Emma !

    The Great Big Sea song says it so well:

    Good People

    The world today can be a scary place;
    Hard to keep your faith in the human race.
    We’re runnin’ outta trees,
    And we’re runnin’ outta space,
    But we’ll never run out of good people.

    Ask ’em for a shovel,
    And they’ll dig you a hole.
    Put the coffee on,
    And drag you in from the cold.
    If you get lost,
    They’ll show you where to go,
    Even give you a ride, good people.

    Good people aren’t hard to find:
    They’re right around the corner,
    At the end of the line, it’s true!
    Good people got peace of mind,
    And I’d like to spend some time with you!
    Ooh ooh ooh.

    A man ain’t nothing if he ain’t got a friend,
    Down and out without a penny to spend.
    The bells above will ring in the end,
    For good people.

    Good people aren’t hard to find:
    They’re right around the corner,
    At the end of the line, it’s true!
    Good people got peace of mind,
    And I’d like to spend some time with you!
    Ooh ooh ooh.

    [Accordion Solo]

    Rich and poor are born to be free,
    Fly around the world or sail the seven seas.
    There ain’t no place that I’d rather be,
    Then here right now, with good people.

    Good people aren’t hard to find:
    They’re right around the corner,
    At the end of the line, it’s true!
    Good people got peace of mind,
    And I’d like to spend my time with you!

    Good people aren’t hard to find:
    They’re right around the corner,
    At the end of the line, it’s true!
    Ooh ooh ooh.

    The world today can be a scary place;
    Hard to keep your faith in the human race.
    We’re runnin’ outta trees,
    And we’re runnin’ outta space,
    But we’ll never run out of good people.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZS3_MLkQlQ

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