A woman who thought she was dying after collapsing onto a Whangamata street is disgusted people just walked on by.
Dana (not her real name), who is often a Good Samaritan to others, has had her faith in human nature badly dented. Last month, she was stricken by severe abdominal pain and called an ambulance.
"I thought I was dying, it was so bad. I didn't realise the ambulance had to come from Waihi as our local one was out on another call," Dana said.
"So when it hadn't arrived after 10 minutes or so, I thought maybe they couldn't find my address as I live upstairs above a shop."
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Dana managed to get downstairs so she could wave down the ambulance. She leaned against her car but when she was hit by a sudden severe pain she collapsed on the edge of the footpath.
"I just couldn't move. It was a cold day but luckily I was wearing my hoodie so I pulled that up over my head to stay warm and just sat there huddled up.
"I could hear people walking past and others making comments. A couple of them made disparaging comments.
"One of them said 'Huh, just look at that, will you'. I was gutted - I felt really terrible and I couldn't move or call out."
Finally, someone did stop and ask if she was all right. The woman stayed with her till the ambulance arrived.
"She was really kind but I could've died in that gutter and no one would have cared," Dana said.
"All I ask is that people, if they see something like that, don't make judgments.
"Don't assume the person is a drunk or homeless person - please check they're okay."
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