Conflict Research Paper
Conflict Paper
Life teaches many things. As we get older, we realize there are constants in life that cannot be avoided. For example, we will most likely never be able to avoid stress, just as life cannot be lived without an encounter with conflict. Conflict seems to be a topic that is not discussed these days. In fact, we spend most of our time trying to avoid conflict. Given that we all have different sets of values, morals, and belief systems, it is inevitable that there will be conflict with some individuals at some point in our lives. I particularly faced a very hard battle along with conflict being involved in a severe motorcycle accident. This was definitely a life changing experience for someone like me who always has given …show more content…
everybody the benefit of doubt. My perception about almost every aspect of life changed as I laid there helplessly.
It was a cool September evening as my friend and I were enjoying a nice ride home on our motorcycles from Estes Park. Things went downhill very quickly as we approached the Yale exit going southbound on Interstate 25. We both were going the speed limit in the right most lane when someone from the outer most left lane came all the way across 3 lanes to catch the exit. This person in their car not paying attention to any other vehicles clearly did not see me as they made their illegal maneuver to not miss an exit and clipped the front tire of my bike. This is all what I was told after I gained consciousness almost 10 minutes later when I was awoken from what seemed like a dream. The absurd part about this whole situation is the audacity the individual who was driving the vehicle had to not stop after they knew they had hit a biker. Witnesses of the accident all focused on making sure I was ok which I highly appreciate but not one of them were able to recall a license plate number but rather could only describe the make and model of the vehicle.
I laid on the road in the middle of a very busy interstate not realizing completely what had happened when things progressively got worse as authorities arrived.
I was approached by several officers commanding me not to take my helmet off in case I had any neck injuries but I was having a really hard time breathing so I decided to do so anyway. I was immediately treated with tremendous amounts of disrespect from authorities just because of the stereotype of people who ride sport bikes. The officers assumed that this was an accident due to my own fault and didn’t bother hearing me out at all. I was hauled away in an ambulance to the nearest emergency facility. From the minute I regained consciousness after the accident the only thing I wanted was a glass of water because I was feeling really light headed and nauseous. I was denied water by all the authorities and repeatedly told it was against standard precautionary rules. A witness on the side of the road heard me and offered to get me water from a nearby convenient store but was abruptly removed from the scene by officers. I was in and out of consciousness most of the ride to the hospital but every time I was coherent I repeatedly begged for water but didn’t even receive a response from the care team at times let alone a sip of water. Not too much later we arrived at the Aurora Medical canter and I was wheeled in on the stretcher to an emergency room around the corner as you enter. The paramedics from the ambulance did not offer any pain control medications to me either and referred my incident to the nurse as a reckless driving motorcycle accident. Even at this point I cared about nothing but a glass of water. The pain of my shattered wrist, fractured hip and all my skin missing from the right side of my body was nothing compared to the urge and thirst I had for water to make me feel better. My mouth was very dry and filled with dirt and debris from the tumbling on the concrete road. I continued to ask the
nurses and their assistants for water but I was denied each time. I was very helpless and could not move much throughout the X-rays and evaluations and was grasping for water as one would for a breath of air. Several hours later when my discharge papers were signed by the doctors and my family wasn’t authorized to give me water, I was told by CNA “ Stop asking for water and I’ll get you some”. Exactly six hours since the accident I finally was rudely handed a small glass of water.
This was a huge life changing experience for me and really made me re-evaluate how I perceive other human beings. I was really disappointed with the level of care I received when I didn’t have much control any of the situation and the stereotypes that caused it all. Conflict management is a skill that must be learned, much like any skill in life. Through a personal inventory of reactions and behaviors from a personal conflict, I have become more aware of my own conflict management style. I have also been made aware the improvements I as well as others need to make in order to become an effective part of society.
Life teaches many things. As we get older, we realize there are constants in life that cannot be avoided. For example, we will most likely never be able to avoid stress, just as life cannot be lived without an encounter with conflict. Conflict seems to be a topic that is not discussed these days. In fact, we spend most of our time trying to avoid conflict. Given that we all have different sets of values, morals, and belief systems, it is inevitable that there will be conflict with some individuals at some point in our lives. I particularly faced a very hard battle along with conflict being involved in a severe motorcycle accident. This was definitely a life changing experience for someone like me who always has given …show more content…
everybody the benefit of doubt. My perception about almost every aspect of life changed as I laid there helplessly.
It was a cool September evening as my friend and I were enjoying a nice ride home on our motorcycles from Estes Park. Things went downhill very quickly as we approached the Yale exit going southbound on Interstate 25. We both were going the speed limit in the right most lane when someone from the outer most left lane came all the way across 3 lanes to catch the exit. This person in their car not paying attention to any other vehicles clearly did not see me as they made their illegal maneuver to not miss an exit and clipped the front tire of my bike. This is all what I was told after I gained consciousness almost 10 minutes later when I was awoken from what seemed like a dream. The absurd part about this whole situation is the audacity the individual who was driving the vehicle had to not stop after they knew they had hit a biker. Witnesses of the accident all focused on making sure I was ok which I highly appreciate but not one of them were able to recall a license plate number but rather could only describe the make and model of the vehicle.
I laid on the road in the middle of a very busy interstate not realizing completely what had happened when things progressively got worse as authorities arrived.
I was approached by several officers commanding me not to take my helmet off in case I had any neck injuries but I was having a really hard time breathing so I decided to do so anyway. I was immediately treated with tremendous amounts of disrespect from authorities just because of the stereotype of people who ride sport bikes. The officers assumed that this was an accident due to my own fault and didn’t bother hearing me out at all. I was hauled away in an ambulance to the nearest emergency facility. From the minute I regained consciousness after the accident the only thing I wanted was a glass of water because I was feeling really light headed and nauseous. I was denied water by all the authorities and repeatedly told it was against standard precautionary rules. A witness on the side of the road heard me and offered to get me water from a nearby convenient store but was abruptly removed from the scene by officers. I was in and out of consciousness most of the ride to the hospital but every time I was coherent I repeatedly begged for water but didn’t even receive a response from the care team at times let alone a sip of water. Not too much later we arrived at the Aurora Medical canter and I was wheeled in on the stretcher to an emergency room around the corner as you enter. The paramedics from the ambulance did not offer any pain control medications to me either and referred my incident to the nurse as a reckless driving motorcycle accident. Even at this point I cared about nothing but a glass of water. The pain of my shattered wrist, fractured hip and all my skin missing from the right side of my body was nothing compared to the urge and thirst I had for water to make me feel better. My mouth was very dry and filled with dirt and debris from the tumbling on the concrete road. I continued to ask the
nurses and their assistants for water but I was denied each time. I was very helpless and could not move much throughout the X-rays and evaluations and was grasping for water as one would for a breath of air. Several hours later when my discharge papers were signed by the doctors and my family wasn’t authorized to give me water, I was told by CNA “ Stop asking for water and I’ll get you some”. Exactly six hours since the accident I finally was rudely handed a small glass of water.
This was a huge life changing experience for me and really made me re-evaluate how I perceive other human beings. I was really disappointed with the level of care I received when I didn’t have much control any of the situation and the stereotypes that caused it all. Conflict management is a skill that must be learned, much like any skill in life. Through a personal inventory of reactions and behaviors from a personal conflict, I have become more aware of my own conflict management style. I have also been made aware the improvements I as well as others need to make in order to become an effective part of society.