It looks a bit like a miserly slice of cheesecake suspended in mid-air a few feet in front of you. That opening line sounds like one of the late, great Douglas Adams’ creations… Only not as good… However, it really does look like that to me. A thin sliver of that faultless confectionary wonder hanging motionless, pointing downward, what seems like a very short distance away from my face. I’m sure everyone who plays darts, sees the 20 differently… But I see cheesecake…
Distance is relative to what is happening in that distance. The distance between you and the dartboard is no different. If the dartboard happened to be a ferocious Pit-bull chained to an adequately sturdy tree… Then it would be a good distance… If conversely, the dartboard happened to be a Mack-truck, carrying twenty yards of wet quarry dust, traveling directly towards you at fifty miles per hour, with low brake-fluid, and a driver who hadn’t slept in two days… Then it would be a really bad distance…
It just so happens that, it’s just a harmless dartboard, and it doesn’t move much.
I was minding my own business, just playing with myself… Practicing my darts that is… When I noticed a group of five or six patrons loitering around, and staring at the ground. I couldn’t see what they were looking at because there was a counter between us. So curiosity got the better of my inner cat, and I walked around the small counter to see what was so interesting.
There on the floor, was a well-dressed man. My first thought was that he had one to many and decided to take a nap on the concrete… But it was only 6pm and the Corner Pocket had only been open two hours, so he was either a really fast drinker, or something else more sinister was happening. Another guy leaned over and asked the man on the floor if he was okay. I quickly realized that no one in the room was prepared to deal with anything more complicated than the next round of eight ball. So, I put my darts on the counter, and hastened over to offer what assistance I could.
I quickly assessed the man’s condition. He was lying on his back, and breathing unlabored through his nose. His lower body was relaxed, but his upper body was rigid, he was clutching a 13-ball in his right hand, and was twitching slightly. His eyes were rolling around, and he was gnashing his teeth uncontrollably.
As part of my job training, I had done extended courses in First-aid and CPR, but they were more focused on Electric shock, falls, fire and injury. That was also many years ago, and I struggled to understand what was happening, even though it was clear to me that I was somehow the best-qualified person there to take over.
By the time another guy [I’ll call him ‘Yellow-shirt’] came over from the far corner of the bar to help, I had figured the man was not having a heart attack, and hadn’t sustained any visible injuries, he was most likely having some type of seizure. Back when I was training they were referred to as ‘petit mal’ or ‘grand mal’ seizures depending on the severity of symptoms. I asked the onlookers if anyone had seen what happened, and the guy who was playing pool with him said he wasn’t sure, they were playing and the man just fell straight backwards. I told Yellow-shirt my seizure theory and he concurred. Now, I’d never actually seen anyone having a seizure in real life, and Yellow shirt hadn’t either, but he had First-aid training also. We decided to pool our common sense. He removed the ball from the man’s hand in case the convulsions worsened, and we instructed the bartender to call 911, as we knew nothing of the man except that he had most likely struck the concrete floor hard with his head. Yellow-shirt got a towel from behind the bar, and checked for blood. There was none, so he used it as a makeshift pillow. We decided not to move him until the EMT’s arrived, but I tilted his head to the side in case he vomited. A little blood drained out of his mouth. He wasn’t shaking much, but his teeth were chomping violently, and it seemed he had bitten his tongue. Contrary to all the old movies, it is not advised to place anything in the mouth of someone having convulsions; it could do more harm than good. An object placed in the person’s mouth could restrict airflow, or fall in and choke them. However, first aid also requires constant re-assessment of the situation, and his chomping was quite exaggerated, we were worried that he would do further damage to his tongue, or possibly break any dental work he might have and possibly choke on it. After quick discussion of the pro’s and con’s, we decided that the lesser of two evils would be to wad some dry napkins and place them between his teeth as a cushion. He was breathing well through his nose, and if that changed, we would reassess.
It seemed like a very long time, but I’m sure it was only minutes, and he began to come around. We told the man he had fallen, hit his head and had a seizure, that he was okay and should relax and stay still until the EMT’s arrived to check him out. We asked him if he had seizures before, or was on any medication. He said “no.”
The Paramedics arrived shortly after, they asked us the requisite questions about what happened, gave the man oxygen and checked his blood sugar.
They decided to take him with them, and wheeled him out in a little chair… I guess to check out his head.
He had given us his girlfriend’s name and said to call her, so one of the girls who worked behind the bar found her telephone number in his cell-phone and called to notify her that they were taking him to the hospital, and she was very angry that we had called 911. She said it happens to him often and that there is no cause for concern.
I took the phone and mentioned that he had fallen backwards on a concrete floor and that was enough cause for concern. The cost of a trip to the EM and an x-ray is considerably less than that of a funeral… She didn’t seem to agree… Until I told her one of my friend’s younger brother had been occupying a grave for several years now, after slipping by a pool, and because of a fall of just about the same distance…
link #1link #2link #3The above links have some interesting reading on Epileptic and Non-epileptic seizures that everyone should know. I hope the guy will be okay…
kimberley,
Trouble,
