As I was going into Sears at a nearby mall this afternoon, this older woman (say - mid to late 70s) approached me and asked me if this was the exit to York Road. I responded that no, York Road isn't anywhere near the mall. She said someone had told her she could catch a bus at this exit (which was the exit to the parking garage). I got oriented, and showed her through a window where the bus stop was. It was clear that she couldn't easily find her way down to the ground level and the right exit, so I took her down to the exit and walked her to where she could see the bus shelter. As we went down the escalator I asked her if she had come to the mall herself and she said no, she had come with someone else, but that person had left. She freely said she didn't drive because it wasn't safe for her to drive, and she had no sense of direction. She seemed oriented (other than having no sense of direction) - by that, I mean I wasn't thinking Alzheimers or anything like that.

Afterwards, I felt like I should have done something more, like maybe offer to drive her home or at least to a bus stop on York Road. And I really do wonder how she got to the mall.

I just feel like there was something else I could have done. And I am a bit worried about her and whether she got home OK.

By Kate on Sunday, July 9, 2006 - 08:55 pm:

I can see why you're still rethinking this, but if you showed her where to go and she could visibly see it, I would assume she made it safely. Also, she was obviously able to ask for help, so if she was still confused as to how to get there, she could have still asked others after you helped her. She wasn't afraid to do that, which is good. But I think you might still be thinking about it because you felt sorry for her being lost and for being 'abandoned' by whomever brought her. I would, too. You were very kind to go out of your way to show her the bus stop.

By Hol on Monday, July 10, 2006 - 11:52 pm:

I TOTALLY understand where you are coming from, Ginny. I would feel the same way. But for the grace of God, that could be us. However, you did what you could. You brought her to the bus stop. As Kate said, she was able to communicate and advocate for herself, so she was capable of getting more help if she needed it.
I am just wondering if the person who brought her there (IF there WAS a person), wasn't looking for her; that she ASSUMED that they had left her.
I once had an elderly man ring my doorbell at 2:00AM. I am a night owl, so I was up. I live in the woods. He said that his friends had brought him hunting, and that they had left him and gone back home; in the northern part of the state, about 60 miles away. He asked to use my phone to call his wife. DH was deployed and my DK's were asleep, so I was leary about letting a stranger in my home. I offered to call his wife for him. When I got her, she spoke only broken English. She didn't even seem familiar with where he was ("WHERE do you live?). THEN she says, "Well, I don't drive. I don't know how I'M supposed to get him". Then she said that she would TRY to call her brother-in-law to "see" if he would come get him.
When I got off the phone, I told him what she said. He told me he was going to walk back to the logging road he had come out of and "wait" to see if his friends came back. He INSISTED on going back. I called the police, told them the situation, which direction he was heading, and left it at that. I saw the police go up the road about five minutes later. I never knew what happened to him. Could I have done more? I don't know.
I also don't know how you can abandon someone who came with you.
Ginny, maybe they were both the "angels unawares" that the Bible talks about, sent to US to test what we would do. I think we both passed the test.

By Crystal915 on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 01:28 pm:

That is so sad. I don't know what I would have done, in the same situation. I think you did the right thing, Ginny.