Gunshot Wounds and a Breathing Tube
Man With Breathing Tube in His Throat
I met this man early in the morning in the streets of Cebu City. He was breathing through a plastic tube inserted in his throat. The only way he could speak to me was by putting his finger over the opening. When he removed his finger, his mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. In halting sentences, he explained that he had been shot multiple times in the throat just two or three weeks ago. He had to undergo surgery to save his life and he now has to breathe through this tube. It wasn’t clear why he had been shot. He only explained that it was through no fault of his own. He said he had nothing to do with the person who shot him. He was certainly in a bad way. The surgery didn’t look very professional to my untrained eye. At first, I thought the long slash in his throat was from a knife wound, but he said that was a result of the surgery. After speaking a few sentences, he would have to “cough” with his lungs and clear the tube of liquid that collected around it and in it.
Man With Breathing Tube in His Throat
To add to his difficulties, he said that his wife was currently at the hospital. His child was very ill, and they had gone to the hospital. He told me all of this clearly with the intention of asking me for money, and as he spoke, I began to wonder how I would deal with the eventual request. It’s one thing to give a few pesos to a person in need. But a few pesos would seem rather inadequate in the face of what this man had gone through. At the same time, I had just met him, and I wasn’t about to step in and offer real financial assistance. In the end, I gave him 100 pesos, saying that at least he could get something to eat today. It felt rather a paltry sum, but he was very happy to get it and thanked me profusely.