Be careful what you wish for...

[thistlechaser]

I was in the pool after work, exercising. It's really boring, but I was writing a LJ post in my head about how this gym was working out so well, and wondering if it was like relationships -- you have to try a couple before you find one that works for you. I was right next to the deck (inside most lane), lost in my thoughts, when I heard a body fall. The deck is concrete, the sound of a limp body hitting wet concrete makes quite a loud slap.

I stopped and spun around towards it, an old man was face-down on the deck. I was the closest by far, just an arm's reach away, but I was in the water and pulling myself out without using the steps just wasn't going to happen. I started calling for other people to help.

The guy started waking up, but he had no idea what had happened and his face was twitching oddly. Luckily he listened to me when I told him to stay still. I talked to him for a while while others milled around/went to get cell phones/went to fetch staff. Then unfortunately the man sat up. Luckily someone else was close, because he passed out again and would have hit his head on the bench if someone hadn't been close enough to catch him.

Eventually (too long, in my opinion), staff came. They called 911. Felt like a long time, but eventually a whole pack of rescue people came (6 paramedics and 2 cops). Since I had been the closest and seen the most, different ones kept asking me what happened, so I repeated the story each time and answered their questions as needed.

He didn't want to go, but eventually they convinced him to let them take him to the hospital. While in the beginning I was worried he might be having a heart attack or stroke (the latter especially, since one side of his face had been twitching), it turns out he likes to stay in the steam room a lot longer than recommended (recommended time for healthy people is 5 minutes, he was a 70+ year old man with high blood pressure and stayed in for 15).

So now I wish I had stayed bored instead!

And on the gym? It's equal to or better than my previous gym in all ways but one: The showers in the locker rooms. The Y was meticulously clean. The showers in the locker room in the new gym are GROSS. I've only used them twice now, but I never will again. Hair everywhere. I do not know how women aren't walking out bald, there are such big clumps of long black hair. So gross. Luckily the gym is only 10 minutes or so from home, I can wait that long to shower. (Plus the water gets barely warm, and there's the least water pressure of any shower I've ever been in, while the Y showers were the best ever.) Even with the shower issue, this gym is working out great.

Comments

[postingwhore.livejournal.com]

I lose a clump of hair everytime I brush it because of my genetics - if I didn't lose so much hair, I'd have really thick hair! But I'm nowhere near bald ;)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're not! :) Hopefully the people who left theirs in the shower aren't really either.

[hamsterwoman]

Wow, glad the old man was OK, but that's rather scary!

(And EW at other people's hair in the shower. :/)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Same! Thinking back on it now, none of us tried to check if he was breathing or anything else. I'm really glad it ended as well as it did.

[manue7a.livejournal.com]

eek, staying bored is preferable sometimes, true!

but I was writing a LJ post in my head
haha, seems like everybody is doing that. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

There's a curse in some other language (Chinese?) that translates to "May you lead an interesting life". I think that applies here!

And yeah, I write posts in my head on a regular basis, haha.

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

Oh my, that is a bit too exciting! I am glad that he ended up being okay, but how scary!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Agreed to both parts! It was exciting and interesting to see how the medics worked, but I'm sorry that the man had to go through it!

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Oh man - what a scare! I hope he'll be okay.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I hope/suspect he will be. I didn't like how one side of his face was twitching, but I know next to nothing about medical stuff, so maybe that didn't mean anything.

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

I'm not a doctor, but staying in a steam room that long can cause a deficiency in salts and electrolytes, which can cause involuntary muscle spasms.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ahhh that would explain it, yep.

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Could be a stroke too, but I'm sure they checked all the possibilities. I'm glad you were there to call for help.

[spike7451.livejournal.com]

Unnecessary excitement for you I'd say.

Even though it sounds like his own foolishness caused the problem I'm glad it wasn't more serious.

Glad that, apart from the showers, the new gym is working for you.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Hopefully he's learned from the experience and won't be repeating it!

And thanks!

[bouteillebleu.livejournal.com]

Eek, glad he was okay, and good on you for helping him out and making sure he didn't hit his head again.

(Ironically I read this as I was planning to call the NHS blood donation service to check if I could donate again, after I passed out in a hot shower a few days after donating blood back in January. :)