911 Response Is Fit for the Third World

As an educator in the California State University system, I’ve been concerned with the effects of the deep economic cuts and have worried about the situation worsening, with precious resources going to the recall election and the war in Iraq. Recently, I was confronted with a terrifying scenario, which made me realize that the budget crisis is having a more extensive impact than I had realized on our already bleak situation.

At dusk I came across a 5-year-old who had been thrown from his bike and had a large gash on his forehead. Someone had stopped, dialed 911 and had already been on hold for so long that much of the blood had dried on the boy’s face. I piled the boy, his brother and his father into my car and drove them to the hospital. Although I wondered if I should have waited for 911 and the ambulance, I figured that the situation is different now that we are becoming a Third World country.

Joyce Kohl

Altadena