Regrets

This afternoon, as I was walking down the hall to my condo, one of my neighbors was walking behind me, and she just didn't seem right. She's probably in her late 70's or early 80's, maybe a little older. She was kind of in a hurry but didn't have particularly good balance and wasn't getting anywhere fast, and was out of breath. She's always a little confused but not this stressed. I smiled at her and said "hi" and she said "hi" back, but looked kind of frantic. I watched her go around the corner and try to get her key into the lock - she kept muttering "Heidi" to herself. She was having a really hard time getting the key in the lock. Then there was a thud, and I was worried she'd fallen, so I walked - then ran - down the hall, but just as I got to the corner I heard her key turn in the lock and when I turned the corner she'd gone inside and shut the door. So I figured she was okay or was going to be.

Sometimes I can be really dense. About 30 minutes later, while I was watching a basketball game, there was a loud bang - twice - down the hall. And a woman's voice. I wondered what it was but figured someone was moving in or out. I had sort of forgotten about my neighbor during the game so it didn't click that the earlier interaction and this noise might be related.

After the game I started thinking about my neighbor again, so I went down to her unit to see if she was okay. The door was literally broken. Cracks run up and down this really heavy, metal and wood door. I knocked but no one answered. It struck me that she wasn't strong enough to do that to her door. But I still didn't link things together in my brain. I went out for some dinner and two of my other neighbors - probably in their early 70's - were hanging out in their usual spots by the side entry door - where they watch the folks coming in and out of the drug store and talk about things like politics and the weather and usually ask me generic questions and wish me a good evening. I mentioned to them that I was worried about our neighbor, described her behavior and then her door, and they said that there had been a medic car out front just about an hour before. At the time I head those loud sounds. They pieced it together - the medics must have broken in her door. The sound I heard was the door breaking in, the woman was probably one of the medics yelling at her through the door. I looked up the police calls online and there were 2 to the condo about 15 minutes apart for a "medical emergency alert." I'm assuming she was wearing an emergency alert thing? Maybe like in those I've fallen and I can't get up commercials. I hope she was.

I just feel awful that I didn't piece things together sooner. I should've followed my initial hunch and talked to her when I first felt some concern. Should've knocked on her door even though she'd gone inside. Granted it sounds like she got medical care within an hour of that hallway passing, but what if she hadn't been wearing a medical alert thing? What if when she was calling out for Heidi she was thinking of her daughter and rushing to try and contact her and that's why she was so frantic? I feel bad that she was that scared and that she ended up alone in that fear.

I feel bad that I didn't piece it together while it was happening, and thus didn't do anything.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.