Visit to a friend in the hospital

Today, Jess and I drove to the public hospital in David to visit our friend Fred who suffered an attack leaving him with a severe head injury. I received a call from Maru three days ago telling me Fred showed up at her house, dazed and bleeding profusely. She said he was passing out and didn't know what to do. I was house hunting semi-far from town and Jess was with me. We both told Maru to get him to the hospital immediately, and not to let him go to sleep. Maru had called an ambulance and the fire department prior to her call to me, but so far, no ambulance had arrived. She took Fred to the Boquete clinic who didn't seem to understand the severity of his wounds, so Maru took him to the hospital in David. Fred suffered several blows to the head resulting in a cracked skull and open gashes which resulted in air reaching the brain causing an infection. He was also experiencing facial paralysis on one side. Fred went into surgery yesterday where they removed part of his crushed skull and stitched him up. He was pretty doped up in a room with several other patients when I visited today. Luckily, the operation went well, he was regaining movement in his face, and his memory seems to be intact.

According to Fred, he was walking home alone at 3am with a case of beer when he was jumped by four twenty-something-year-old indigenous men who attacked him with rocks, took his beer and phone, and left him for dead. The police found him on the side of the road at about 6am, and they dumped him in front of Maru's house.

I have lived in some rough spots before, and some seemingly crime-free places as well. In the seemingly crime-free spots (Flagstaff, Arizona for example), random attacks happened to people from time to time. The similarities between attacks are nothing new...almost always late at night when the victim was alone (and sometimes intoxicated), standing out as an easy target. For me, being intoxicated in public is a sure way to attract unwanted attention, so I make it a practice not to place myself in that position, or at least be with other people if I have been drinking. I also believe carrying yourself in an assertive manner, making eye-contact with passers by, looking over your shoulder, and constantly considering where someone could be hiding and positioning yourself (as well as having a contingency plan) to be able to react to an attack are essential to avoid an attack in the first place. I am not saying any of this to criticize Fred...even if you do everything right, bad people are everywhere in this world. I just want to remind anyone reading this (and myself) that self-awareness and awareness of one's surroundings are so important.

I am more cognizant than ever, being in a foreign country, to join groups of other foreigners that look out for each other, and who I can call in an emergency. I don't rely on local services entirely to help me (the police, medics, etc.), so I have numbers for other people who can assist should I need it. I also consider how I can make myself less of a target at all times.

Fred, I'm wishing you a fast recovery of body and spirit. You are an inspiration, and a good friend.