It happened to me in my youth. I was about 27 years old and I was studying at the University. It was a supposedly normal afternoon, like so many others. I finished my classes and was leaving my classroom. I was walking down a street with little traffic at 4 pm. I was on my way to the residence I had at that time.
At one point I heard some kind of a sound that went through the air. What I didn't know was that the object causing the buzzing sound penetrated my calf. I felt a strong blow on my leg. I stopped as soon as I felt the thud on my leg. I checked my pants and could see a hole where I located the place that hurt a little. I touched it and saw blood. Not many reasonable thoughts were going through my mind. I got scared.
I looked to the other sidewalk. There was a boy walking, a student too. He too heard the buzzing and pointed up to me. It was a hotel, I guess some unscrupulous tourist decided to take aim at me.
I thought I shouldn't stay here- I moved to the other sidewalk, it was the only thing I could think of. It could be that the one who shot once did it again, what if the one who did it once does it again? And I'm in the middle of a street, unprotected! I looked several places, up, to the sides, and I couldn't think straight.
Then I decided to go and get my wound treated. I took public transportation, right there. On my way to the hospital to have the wound checked.
I arrived at the emergency room and went directly to the doctor on duty and notified him of my situation. He checked my leg, I had to tear my pants up to the knee. He asked me to have an x-ray. I went with the order to the Rx unit. They took the x-ray and I could see that there was an object about 1 cm, lodged in my leg. I went downstairs with my x-ray, handed it to the doctor and that was as far as his assessment went. He told me to go home and wash the wound and that was it, nothing was wrong.
My astonishment did not stop that afternoon. Before I left, I still had another unpleasantness to deal with. The policeman who is in the emergency room taking patient data arrived. He arrived upset and asked me why I had not stopped by his guard post earlier so that I could notify him of my leg situation.
I couldn't believe my astonishment. I just said to myself, “It can't be, whispering” I immediately answered him. Mr. Officer, excuse me, this is the first time I have been near this hospital and in a situation like this. I didn't know that I should go to you first and then go to the doctor. There is no medical visit like this in the hospital where I work, in my city. There, patients go to the emergency room, and the policeman goes to the patient and asks him about his situation. Annoyed, I apologized for my ignorance of the procedure in that hospital.
Then the agent continues to ask... What happened to me and how? I told him everything as it happened. It only occurred to him to ask me if there were riots on the avenue. Students against policemen.
My God, don't you have a radio? That's where you always communicate when there are problems with the students and the police. How can you ask me if there are disturbances if we are in a city where everything is known very quickly? There are 8 avenues, about 50 streets, and 3 viaducts.
-It can't be that they ask me this," I said as I shook my head from side to side.
My leg hurt. I was in a hospital where they didn't even clean my wound. To top it off, I have to have a hard time with two agents asking me if I am a delinquent, from a student riot, or something like that. I wrote my testimony in their emergency book. Then I retired to my residence.
I stopped by the pharmacy. I bought gauze, the solution to wash my wound, and put on a bandage. I bought an ampoule of tetanus toxoid and administered it intramuscularly. The next day I told my college friends what had happened.
While I was sitting with two classmates in the cafeteria, my frightened brother arrived. Sister, what happened to you?
What brother? What happened to me? I asked.
My younger brother also studied in this city. He went to the engineering school next to the medical school.
He answered me... Look in the newspaper, today it said you were shot in the leg. It's your full name, I don't think anyone else has that name.
I said to him... - My God, those cops had nothing else to report yesterday but my case.-
Relax brother, it was just a plastic bullet shot. My leg hurts, but next week I will have it checked at the hospital where I work.
