THE MYSTERY OF THE OLD TREE
Heroes on Heroes Day

“A lecture ride in angkot, on the way I saw a grandmother lying unconscious in the middle of the road with blood flowing from her head, when no one dared to help. What am I gonna do? Will anyone help my grandmother?Can the grandmother be saved?”

This story is a short story one real life story that I experienced myself.

I am Sultan Hendrik is a student at one of the universities in Medan City who also works as a social volunteer and Buddhist activist.

On Monday, November 10, 2014, it was hero day. At that time the time had shown at 20:30 pm which showed the class that night was over. That day I learned many things from the lessons that the lecturers had given me.

As usual, I wanted to go home alone. But my limitations that do not have a vehicle decided for me to choose between going home by taking public transportation such as rickshaws, angkot, and so on, or walk – unlike my other friends who have motorcycles and luxury cars. It was late at night, the atmosphere was dark and the location of my campus was rarely passed by public transportation.

Suddenly a woman came calling me, she was a volunteer member of one of the famous Buddhist social foundations. The woman also offered to join him in the car his brother was driving, but because of the location of our house is very far apart and different directions, he said, so he also offered to get to a certain place so that I could more easily get a public vehicle to go home.

At first I was a little disinclined, but then I accepted his good intentions and went with him. During the trip we discussed many things, including telling stories about my life. After arriving at a location that is more likely to get a public vehicle, I also want to go down and thank them both. But the woman reminded me not to walk because it was very night and still very prone to criminal acts because I did not want to be a victim again (before I ever, ever, often a victim of crime).

He also offered to give me a ride every day after coming home from college, I said “Gan En” (thank you with gratitude). The gratitude and happiness that I felt at that time without being able to express. After descending, I also wait for a rickshaw that passes because if it is too late there is usually no more angkot. But it turns out there is still an angkot that passes and I also ride the angkot.

In the middle of the trip, the road that is usually smooth tibatiba has a traffic jam. All the passengers were confused about the cause of the congestion that was happening. I also looked at the windshield and saw many crowds of people in the middle of the road. Angkot also began to walk slowly and passed through the crowd of residents. It turns out that in the middle of the road the body of a thin-bodied grandmother in a state of fainting and the head secretes blood that continues to flow. Next to her body, a man screamed for help. Worse there was not a single citizen who helped the grandmother, they all just surrounded to just look and watch.

Knowing this, I immediately got off the angkot and paid with the money I had provided in my hands, then immediately ran back to the location of the Genesis Case (TKP) earlier. Arriving at the scene I immediately asked what happened, but no one responded and replied. I went straight to the body of the fainted grandmother. When I saw the grandmother I was shocked and felt like I had known the grandmother, it is likely that the grandmother is a homeless person (sorry) who is unable and often wanders on the roadside to find food that I once also provided food assistance.

I was with a man who was next to the grandmother asking the people around to help bring the grandmother to the hospital, but no one was ready. Given the life of the grandmother is very worrying if left for so long and the streets will be increasingly jammed, he said, so I was with a man who immediately lifted the body of the grandmother to the roadside and carried her on a motorcycle owned by the man and quickly took her to the nearest hospital.

Because the grandmother was still unconscious and her whole body was limp, and was also worried that her brain and nerves would be disturbed because her head was shaken and fell, I used my arms to support her limp head. Blood constantly flowed out of my grandmother's left ear and soaked my clothes and hands. During the trip I also did a little quiet therapy (psychological) by trying to talk while stroking the head and body of the grandmother to feel calm and comfortable.

It occurred to me that the grandmother was in a coma or even died soon to see her condition fainted and limp helpless, but I still believe that the grandmother is still alive and can be saved. On the way to find the hospital, I asked the man about the chronology of the incident experienced by the grandmother.

The man also told me, it turns out that the grandmother was hit accidentally by a motorcycle that drove at medium speed when the grandmother crossed the road and fell. But the thing that made me surprised was that the impactor was a man who was carrying a motorcycle and was talking to me. It turned out that the man wanted to take responsibility for what had happened, it amazed me and saluted the courage of the man to take responsibility.

Long story short, we also arrived at a hospital and immediately brought the grandmother to the IGD (Emergency Installation). A female doctor approached us and asked about the chronology of the incident.Honestly, the man recounted the chronology of the incident and admitted his mistake. I immediately asked the patient to be treated and treated first, the patient was treated temporarily by about 3 nurses. 

But then the doctor was surprised to find out that we were not the patient's family and asked us to contact the patient's family to go to the hospital. This made us confused because we did not know or know the grandmother's family. I immediately took out my smartphone and asked (borrowed) the identity card of the perpetrator (man). The perpetrator also took out his SIM card and immediately I photographed the SIM card of the perpetrator using my smartphone as proof and handle. How shocked and panicked I when I saw my smartphone battery was red (lowbat) a sign of battery power will soon run out and has been very slow by issuing a sign of an old hourglass constantly.

I also immediately contacted some people I met on my smartphone contact, but there was not a single contact that could be contacted. I opened one of the chat app features and typed in one of the groups I first met. The group is an event group of activities from one of the social communities

I took out my smartphone charger and asked the nurse for permission to charge the smartphone battery in the hospital, the nurse also allowed it. Before long, the female doctor who had repeatedly asked me not to charge the smartphone in the hospital with the fear of missing, I immediately revoked my charger and apologized.

The female doctor repeatedly urged us to call the patient's family to the hospital as soon as possible, I also asked the man who was with me to lend me his phone so I could seek help by contacting some of my friends, but the man could not lend me his phone, because the man's mobile phone is also lowbat. We also waited while helping the sisters to handle and care for the grandmother. The man approached me many times and said that he wanted to be responsible but did not bring much money for the grandmother's medical expenses at the hospital and was worried that the grandmother was getting longer in the hospital, the cost of treatment will increase. In addition, he also asked for my help to help him talk to the family of the victim when he had met his family so that he was not too pressed and cornered by the family of the grandmother if it happened because he had already I want to take responsibility, and then I calm him down. Shortly after the siuman grandmother, I immediately greeted the grandmother to calm her down, but the grandmother seemed to forget a temporary memory and always asked what happened to her and claimed not to know or remember anything.

I asked about the name, address, and identity of the grandmother, but the grandmother did not respond to my words but said something else that did not seem to connect with my words. Many times I tried to ask the identity of the grandmother until the grandmother only managed to answer the name and address of the grandmother even though it was not clear and complete. The grandmother repeatedly wanted to get out of bed and wanted to go home because she did not like the hospital and the doctors and nurses who were handling it, but we continued to persuade the grandmother not to get out of bed first, and would bring her back home when she was done. Because grandma continues as if rebelling want to go home, then the blood continues to come out of the ears of grandmother and grandmother experience dizziness.I persuaded grandmother to sleep first and grandmother obeyed my words and then fell asleep.

Seeing the grandmother's head tilted and causing blood to flow out, the man immediately took off his jacket and gave it to me and asked me to support the grandmother's head with his jacket. The doctor approached us and said that the grandmother could not stay in the hospital's IGD bed for long. I asked for more time, though, but the hospital immediately pulled and pushed the grandmother's bed out of the IGD and placed it next to the hospital's IGD exit and entry but with the bed and infusion hose still attached. The purpose of the grandmother bed is issued so that the IGD space is wider and can be used by other patients.

We waited long enough, the man was increasingly worried that hospital costs would be higher and asked to immediately think of a solution. After about two hours, the man's family arrived at the hospital on a motorcycle. They were also confused, unable to do anything. The man approached me and advised me not to take too long, spending too much time and expense in the hospital. The man will pay the hospital administration fee first and we will together bring the grandmother back home using a motorcycle while looking for the grandmother's house around the TKP location. The most worrying is what if the address of the grandmother's house did not meet or the grandmother did not have a place to live.

After thinking, I decided if it happened, then the grandmother will temporarily allow me to stay in my house until healed while looking for a place worthy of her. We also saw the doctor and talked about it, but the doctor did not allow on the grounds that there must be a grandmother's family who came first. And if allowed to be taken home, then it is a violation because of the enormous risk that can occur and suggest that a brain scan first.

In consideration of this, we decided to cancel our intention to take Grandma out of the hospital. The man said that when to do the scanning he could not afford to pay the cost. We decided to wait and hope for my friends to come, because I still believe that the group can I trust because the group I have considered like my own family. Because of waiting too long, we agreed that the family of the man was to immediately find the family of the grandmother.

When we stepped out of the hospital, we were shocked. Right in front of us, next to my grandmother's bed next to the door, stood a mother who was talking to her. It turned out that the mother was the sister of the grandmother and several families of the grandmother also came. They know this because the grandmother did not go home, then they got a report from the surrounding residents on the incident.They have searched around 6 hospitals and clinics. This hospital is the last hospital to be sought. At first they were not aware of the hospital, but when looking they saw a signpost to this hospital, where the hospital was already in the rural outskirts.

At first they were not sure Grandma was taken to the hospital, but they finally decided to keep looking to this hospital in hopes of finding the grandmother. When he arrived at the hospital, a family peeked and immediately saw the grandmother lying at the hospital's IGD exit and entrance. The victim's family asked us about the chronology of the incident, and we told him about it. Not finished we told him, one of his family who had just come to hear and had been provoked emotions immediately accused and thought I was the perpetrator who hit the grandmother. After being explained, the family also understood and repeatedly thanked me.

I said that the family should thank the perpetrator who had dared to take responsibility for saving the life of the grandmother he had hit himself. The family also thanked the man. Soon a father who was also a member of my group came. He is also a well-known volunteer social activist of Buddhist foundations. The father is also experienced in handling various cases like this in the foundation. After seeing and knowing the condition of the patient (grandmother) also due to the cost at the hospital that is too expensive and lack of hospital facilities, it was decided that the grandmother was moved to another hospital.

The grandmother's family agreed to have the grandmother transferred to a private hospital that was cheaper and had more adequate facilities and services. After the man paid all the administrative costs in the hospital as a form of responsibility, we moved the grandmother into an ambulance and together headed to a new hospital. Arriving at the new private hospital, the man was confused because the hospital inside this vast complex was a very large and luxurious hospital. It turned out that the hospital had established cooperative relationships with several social organizations including our Buddhist social foundation. Grandma was treated by some very good doctors and sisters and was very friendly, also very caring to the patients.

The condition of the grandmother at that time requires scanning (rontgen) and intensive hospitalization so that it requires a lot of costs, where the man is not able to finance it. He looked very stressed, sitting in front of the hospital. My father and I tried to calm the man down because for special expenses in this new hospital we will be assisted by our Buddhist foundation which is engaged in social work to deal with this case. The man looks a little relieved but his mind still feels not calm because it is still in shock and feels guilty. The grandmother's family who had forgiven the man also tried to calm the man's mind.

We told her about our Buddhist social foundation, which the grandmother's family had known. While in the hospital, me and several other members of the grandmother's family accompanied Grandma to undergo various treatments and examinations. After undergoing several examination procedures, I also talked with the family of the man who is the older brother of the man. The older brother said that some time ago, it turns out that the man also had an accident because he was hit by another vehicle that caused him to fall and get injured. But instead of apologizing and taking responsibility, the perpetrator who hit the man even scolded the man and asked for some money as a form of compensation with various threats.

As a result of the incident, the man also realized that the perpetrator should not behave like that because it should understand and understand the position of the victim. That's why he learned from that experience. Because it was midnight and we had not eaten yet, the grandmother's family bought us food. But the man who even though he has not eaten, does not taste to eat because his mind is still turbulent and not yet calm. The man then forced himself to keep eating because he had to think about his own health.

I approached the man and tried to calm the man's mind while praising him who had dared to take responsibility. The man said that he did this (responsible) thing to learn to understand if what if he was in the victim position and felt it. He did not want the same thing to happen to him later because he believed in the law of karma, even though he was not a Buddhist. The man's family said they planned to create a form of warm-heartedness (gratitude). At dawn, my father and I (volunteers) decided to go home because in the morning I had to work and the father had to leave to run errands out of town early in the morning. He offered to take me home in his vehicle.

I repeatedly thanked him and apologized for bothering him a lot. We say goodbye to the family of the grandmother, the man and the family of the man by giving respect to each other by bowing our heads and thanking each other many times. On the way home, he asked me how I felt that day? And what lessons/wisdom do I get? Please readers think for themselves what my answer is and what if the reader is in a position like me? What if the reader is in another position? Who deserves to be called as “Hero”?