SACRIFICING JUSTICE FOR PEACE - JUST THIS ONCE

 

Anyone who knows me knows that I will fight for justice at all cost. There has been one exception to this in my life. I must admit that this once, I have sacrificed justice for peace.

 

After suffering for years with one cruel landlord after another, I finally found an apartment where I have been able to live in peace for many years.

 

Then, suddenly, at 2:00 PM on November 5, 2009, my peace came to a crashing end. I opened my apartment door to meet a friend who was waiting for me in the lobby and my world turn upside down - literally. I was suddenly flying through the air and landed with a shriek of agony, my leg twisted under me and such blinding pain I could not stop screaming.

 

I knew that the management was having people lay carpet in the building. What I did not know was that the workers had slathered some kind of glue on the floor in front of my door as a base for the new carpet. No one told me. And when I stepped out of my door my foot slipped in the thick wet glue and I went flying.

 

As soon as it happened the men came running. They wanted me to get up and go back into my apartment. They pressed me to go back inside. When the darkness receded enough for me to catch a breath, I dragged myself up on my good leg and locked the door. I told the men that I had a friend waiting for me in the lobby and I asked them to help me to the elevator and call an ambulance.

 

The men insisted I go back into my apartment. But I refused and they helped me to the lobby. I could not stand. I asked for a chair. Once seated, I asked the building manager to call an ambulance. My friend offered to take me to hospital in her car, but I was in too much pain and I was covered in thick wet cement from my running shoes to my neck.

 

Soon the building manager told me that it would take hours for an ambulance to come and she suggested I wait in my apartment or go by taxi. I would not be moved. I sat in front of the elevators in the lobby until the ambulance arrived. It did not take long.

 

Once in hospital emergency, X-Rays were taken and I was relieved to learn my leg was not broken - especially since I have bone cancer. Medical staff and an occupational therapist told me that I had to go to a convalescent hospital for two to three weeks. I refused.

 

They pressed me: "But you can't walk! You can't even stand ! You have to go to a convalescent home," they insisted. Finally I paid $45.00 for a special car with a wheelchair to return me to my apartment where I hobbled on one foot holding on to anything that came to hand for the next few weeks.

 

By November 9, my leg had swollen to about double its normal size and it was purple from the top to my ankle. I returned to the hospital and I was relieved to learn that there was no blood clot. A friend took pictures on November 12 - for the record.

 

What I did not know until a few weeks later was that my pelvis had been broken in the fall. The fracture showed up on an X-Ray ordered by my oncologist. The initial X-Rays taken on November 5 were only of my leg.

 

It took weeks for my leg to heal. I arranged for all my clothes, my trenchcoat, and my purse that were covered in thick carpet cement to be kept in case there should ever be a dispute about what happened to me on November 5, 2009.

 

After what I had been through since April 1, 2009, (see below) I could not bear any more stress. I decided not to take any action against the landlord, unless it became absolutely necessary. No amount of money could undo the damage. And I need a place where I can live without conflict.

 

This was the first time in my life that I ever chose peace over justice. But it is not my way and I do not believe anyone should accept injustice. I just wanted to write this, for the record.

 

CRIMINAL ASSAULT IN A MONTREAL HOSPITAL - 2009
http://phylliscartersjournal.blogspot.com/2010/02/criminal-assault-in-montreal-hospital.html
HOW WE MIGHT DIE IN HOSPITAL - LEGARE LOBBY BLUES
http://phylliscartersjournal.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-we-might-die-in-hospital-legare.html
Cancer Patient Sent Home Without Medication
http://www.themonitor.ca/article-326739-Cancer-patient-sent-home-without-medication.html
THE HEALTH CARE TERROR-GO-ROUND
http://phylliscartersjournal.blogspot.com/2010/01/health-care-terror-go-round_3213.html
SICK IN JULY, YOU MIGHT DIE
http://phylliscartersjournal.blogspot.com/2010/07/sick-in-july-you-might-die_26.html
THE CARTER REPORT ON PATIENTS' PLIGHT http://phylliscartersjournal.blogspot.com/2010/11/carter-report-on-patients-plight.html
ABUSE AT THE JEWISH GENERAL HOSPITAL
http://phylliscartersjournal.blogspot.com/2010/12/abuse-at-jewish-general-hospital_31.html