Necromancer
Pokémon Master
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2009
- Messages
- 4,144
- Reaction score
- 533
- Points
- 295
- Age
- 31
And finally, it happens to someone close to me
Whether it's a drunk driving accident or alcohol poisoning, whether the people involved live or die, we all hear about tragic stories involving alcohol and we think, "Oh, that'll never happen to me or the people around me." On Monday night, it finally did.
It started when I came back inside from mowing my front lawn at about 8:00. I had a missed call from my friend Michael. I called him back and he told me to grab the keys to my mom's car and come outside. I did so, and he said that these three guys we know, Jake, Nate, and Parker, were out drinking. Jake is one of my best friends. Nate and Parker, not so much. Michael said that Jake had been getting extremely smashed and that they saw some family nearby who knew they were drinking, and were on the phone calling the police.
I raced over to them to pick them up (Michael stayed behind with his bike), and when I got there, a couple was literally holding the highly intoxicated Jake down on a bench while Nate and Parker were trying to get him up and get him out of there before the cops showed up. I intervened and was able to get Jake up. With Nate's help, we brought him out to the parking lot where my car was. During our walk out, Jake could barely walk, he began to cry for no reason at all, and the couple was following us. I had no idea where I was going to take him either. I would have taken him home eventually, but I didn't get the chance to. The cops pulled into the parking lot as we arrived there.
We had to let Jake down on the ground where he finally passed out moments later. One cop called an ambulance for him while the other took down all of our information (name, birthday, phone number, address, etc.) Afterward, one of the cops rolled Jake over on his side so he wouldn't choke on his own vomit if he puked again, and then he had to continually make sure he was still breathing throughout the rest of the ordeal. Nate and Parker had to take breathalyzer tests, and obviously, they didn't do well. I didn't have to take one though. I suppose after seeing many drunk teenagers, they can tell when someone's actually sober. However, I was tasked with calling Jake's parents while Nate and Parker had to call their own parents to come pick them up. It was very strange and awkward. All I said was, "John? This is Matt. A police officer would like to talk to you." Then I gave the phone to one of the officers and told him it was Jake's dad. I had to sit there through almost everything else. I watched as Parker and Nate's parents came to get them, and I was there when Jake's parents showed up to find him passed out on the pavement. His mom just wanted to make sure he was alright. His dad, on the other hand, looked extremely angry at first. He seemed to calm down after a little while though, and thanked me for calling. Finally, I was told I could leave. I drove away as the ambulance arrived and the stretcher was pulled out.
Next, I didn't know what the hell to do. I just went back to meet Michael to tell him everything that had happened. After we had been talking for a little while, Brian (FableFreak) showed up (He had called me earlier and asked if we could hang out). We told him everything that had happened as well. We hung out, talked some more, and eventually, Michael had to leave. Once he got home, and he was without any friends to talk to, the panic set in. Jake is his absolute best friend. The two of them are as close and Brian and I. And to make matters worse, Michael has fairly severe OCD. This caused him uncontrollable panic, anxiety, and irrationality. He called me several times saying that he thought Jake would die, and he was obviously on the verge of tears if he wasn't crying already. As it got worse, the irrationality set in. He began saying things like, "Let's go get Jake!" even though he knew that Jake was in the hospital. It was like talking to a drunk person without the slurred speech. I was legitimately more worried for him than for Jake at this point. He's completely unpredictable when he gets like this. I didn't want him to do anything irrational and extreme like hurt himself. He's been close to doing it before. Over the phone, I eventually got him to lay down and try to sleep. He stayed awake for at least another hour having uncontrollable thoughts about all kinds of different things that could have been happening to Jake, but he eventually dozed off.
The next morning, I got a call from Jake. He was home, but as you can probably guess, he felt like sh*t. He asked me what had happened the night before, and I told him that I would come by later with Michael and we would explain everything to him. I met Michael at his house later, and we walked over to Jake's. Jake walked outside when we got there and said with a smile on his face, "Crazy night, dude. I can't even remember it at all." I told him he wouldn't be smiling if he knew what happened. We went inside and told him everything. He was overcome with guilt for everything he caused. We talked a little bit more, but then Michael and I left to let Jake get some rest. At least we knew he was alright.
Whether it's a drunk driving accident or alcohol poisoning, whether the people involved live or die, we all hear about tragic stories involving alcohol and we think, "Oh, that'll never happen to me or the people around me." On Monday night, it finally did.
It started when I came back inside from mowing my front lawn at about 8:00. I had a missed call from my friend Michael. I called him back and he told me to grab the keys to my mom's car and come outside. I did so, and he said that these three guys we know, Jake, Nate, and Parker, were out drinking. Jake is one of my best friends. Nate and Parker, not so much. Michael said that Jake had been getting extremely smashed and that they saw some family nearby who knew they were drinking, and were on the phone calling the police.
I raced over to them to pick them up (Michael stayed behind with his bike), and when I got there, a couple was literally holding the highly intoxicated Jake down on a bench while Nate and Parker were trying to get him up and get him out of there before the cops showed up. I intervened and was able to get Jake up. With Nate's help, we brought him out to the parking lot where my car was. During our walk out, Jake could barely walk, he began to cry for no reason at all, and the couple was following us. I had no idea where I was going to take him either. I would have taken him home eventually, but I didn't get the chance to. The cops pulled into the parking lot as we arrived there.
We had to let Jake down on the ground where he finally passed out moments later. One cop called an ambulance for him while the other took down all of our information (name, birthday, phone number, address, etc.) Afterward, one of the cops rolled Jake over on his side so he wouldn't choke on his own vomit if he puked again, and then he had to continually make sure he was still breathing throughout the rest of the ordeal. Nate and Parker had to take breathalyzer tests, and obviously, they didn't do well. I didn't have to take one though. I suppose after seeing many drunk teenagers, they can tell when someone's actually sober. However, I was tasked with calling Jake's parents while Nate and Parker had to call their own parents to come pick them up. It was very strange and awkward. All I said was, "John? This is Matt. A police officer would like to talk to you." Then I gave the phone to one of the officers and told him it was Jake's dad. I had to sit there through almost everything else. I watched as Parker and Nate's parents came to get them, and I was there when Jake's parents showed up to find him passed out on the pavement. His mom just wanted to make sure he was alright. His dad, on the other hand, looked extremely angry at first. He seemed to calm down after a little while though, and thanked me for calling. Finally, I was told I could leave. I drove away as the ambulance arrived and the stretcher was pulled out.
Next, I didn't know what the hell to do. I just went back to meet Michael to tell him everything that had happened. After we had been talking for a little while, Brian (FableFreak) showed up (He had called me earlier and asked if we could hang out). We told him everything that had happened as well. We hung out, talked some more, and eventually, Michael had to leave. Once he got home, and he was without any friends to talk to, the panic set in. Jake is his absolute best friend. The two of them are as close and Brian and I. And to make matters worse, Michael has fairly severe OCD. This caused him uncontrollable panic, anxiety, and irrationality. He called me several times saying that he thought Jake would die, and he was obviously on the verge of tears if he wasn't crying already. As it got worse, the irrationality set in. He began saying things like, "Let's go get Jake!" even though he knew that Jake was in the hospital. It was like talking to a drunk person without the slurred speech. I was legitimately more worried for him than for Jake at this point. He's completely unpredictable when he gets like this. I didn't want him to do anything irrational and extreme like hurt himself. He's been close to doing it before. Over the phone, I eventually got him to lay down and try to sleep. He stayed awake for at least another hour having uncontrollable thoughts about all kinds of different things that could have been happening to Jake, but he eventually dozed off.
The next morning, I got a call from Jake. He was home, but as you can probably guess, he felt like sh*t. He asked me what had happened the night before, and I told him that I would come by later with Michael and we would explain everything to him. I met Michael at his house later, and we walked over to Jake's. Jake walked outside when we got there and said with a smile on his face, "Crazy night, dude. I can't even remember it at all." I told him he wouldn't be smiling if he knew what happened. We went inside and told him everything. He was overcome with guilt for everything he caused. We talked a little bit more, but then Michael and I left to let Jake get some rest. At least we knew he was alright.
