Day 9: The Fallen

Today we got a call from the wife of a man who had fallen off the wall and broken both of his legs. 

He got in last night and has been staying in a private room separate from the dormitory because he is relatively incapacitated and uses a wheelchair to get around. A volunteer from our group was assigned to check in on him periodically and bring him his meals. 

We were struggling all day to get him his medication, so I assumed the call was medical-related. 

Instead, it was just his wife calling to see how he was doing. I could hear her tell him over the phone that she loved him. 

The man was on the bigger side and lay sprawled out on his bed. I tried not to imagine the force of his body falling from 30-40 feet up in the air.

Both of his legs were in casts and a small book lay by his side. He seemed anxious. 

He asked me how much a phone would cost and if I could buy one for him so he could call his wife. I told him that volunteers weren't allowed to buy things like that for guests. 

Later that day, we all received a text announcement that we were about to get a 31-year-old woman from Mexico who also fell off the wall and fractured her leg. She arrived with a walker. 

(The top of Scenic Drive, where it's possible to look out over both Júarez and El Paso.)