The day I pushed the elevator ’emergency help’ button

OK, so it’s always been an idle fascination for me to see the elevator ‘help’ button and wonder what would happen if I pushed it.

But I never thought the day would come when I actually pushed it!

Well, it came … and I have my baby daughter to thank for it.

We were coming back from a visit to the pediatrician, and she was in her little carseat/carrier thingy. I had my right hand on the handle, and my left hand mid-air to press the elevator button once the doors shut. (I was the only person using the elevator, at this point.)

The button was a little hard to reach with my left hand, so I had the (not so) bright idea to raise the carseat with my right knee, swap my right hand with my left hand to reach up for the elevator button, and push the desired floor level.

As I pushed the floor button, I felt the carseat press against another button … the elevator ‘HELP’ button!

As the doors closed, the button lit up with an ominous red glow, then a siren buzzer sounded directly against my eardrums. The baby, who had been sleeping peacefully, gave a little startle jerk. I pushed frantically at the button again, trying to see if it had an “undo” feature, but alas, it did not!

A voice crackled to life over the loudspeaker. “Help situation in elevator 2… help needed…” More static and calls. I felt ridiculously stupid.

Then a female voice came over the intercom. “Is everything all right in elevator 2?”

“Yes, I’m fine!” I said, speaking to the air. “I’m carrying a baby, and the carseat pressed the Help button.” (Never take the blame directly, hehe … blame inanimate objects if possible!)

“All right,” the voice replied. “Thank you.”

Sigh …