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Okay, this is probably one for someone who works in a hospital or experienced this kind of thing.
In my novel a support character is involved in a major car crash [this happens off camera, as it where] What I need to know is: how would the next of kin been told she is in hospital [and dying]? Would it be a phone call from the police or the hospital?
I know a 'death message' is when the police arrive on your doorstep to inform you about the death; but I'm not sure about this one.
Thanks.
Comments
Thanks.
I do know someone whose son died (he had a number of illnesses) at his flat but because he was blind he had no adresses written down (it was all in braille) and it took a week for them to be able to contact his parents. They weren't able to contact anyone. his parents were naturally devasted.
Years ago I was involved in an accident - bicycle v tipper truck. I (the cyclist) came off worse with serious head injuries (I was unconscious at the side of the road and a passing motorist had stopped and was slapping my face to try and bring me round but this copper said she was wasting her time cos I was gone) It'll take more than a steel tailboard to shut me up though, and I did wake up although I was very dazed.
I was rushed to the local hospital and given emergency treatment and lots of X-Rays. Eventually, and I was by this time just about fully conscious, I was wheeled into a room where these two very serious looking men in suits told me that I had fractured my skull and that this fracture was in the shape of a V. Their concern was that the point of this V had punctured the membrane between my skull and my brain,and so I was to be transferred to a neurology ward some 20 miles away.
Soon after this I was approached with a view to informing my next of kin of my plight (my mother at that time). I may have still been a bit dazed, but I really didn't want my mother to get a call at work saying her son had been in a serious accident,so I came up with a plan.
At this time I shared a flat with 2 mates and, as luck would have it, the mother of one of these mates was in the same hospital for an operation on her bunions. I knew that my mate would be visiting her that evening and so I instructed the nurse to tell his mother to tell him to tell my mother what had happened - my mother only lived up the street from our flat.
As you can imagine, this relay turned into a very unpleasant game of Chinese whispers for my mother, who spent a frantic night not knowing exactly what had happened.
Next time I'll leave it to the professionals.