![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevin_standleeThere wasn't a lot of programming that interested me today on the first day of SMOFCon, so I concentrated on having breakfast and dinner with friends (and their friends) and spending much of my time in the con suite talking with people, i.e. smoffing. I did end up spending a bit of time in my hotel room working on some things like the agenda for the WSFS Mark Protection Committee meeting for Sunday morning, and I nearly fell asleep in the room; possibly I would have been better off had I taken a nap.
After dinner, I looked in on the room where they were playing the 4th Edition of If I Ran the Zoo... Con the conrunning game. I was drafted in as the Independent Accountant (Scorekeeper), which I'd never done and turned out to be a lot of fun.
The elevator from the lower level was being slow, so after the game, I started up the stairs that connect LL to the Lobby, where I intended to walk across the hotel to the other bank of elevators that was more responsive. Erwin "Filthy Pierre" Strauss was making his way slowly down the same stair that I was climbing up. As I neared the top of the stairs, I heard a bump, turned around, and saw Strauss hit the landing at the bottom of the flight stairs and fold up in a heap. Filthy Pierre had fallen down the last three or four steps!
I rushed down the stairs calling out "Are you okay?" He never lost consciousness that I observed. He said to give him some time and he slowly worked himself around to the point where he was about to try and lever himself back up. He said nothing felt broken. But after a bit he asked if we'd all an ambulance, because his neck hurt something awful. I got people from the hotel, and they called 911 for the paramedics. Other than the brief run to the front desk, I didn't leave Filthy alone, and I never did touch him.
We got him stretched out on his back and he was able to get himself in a less-uncomfortable situation. Other people from the convention showed up, and one of them went and got chair Lisa Hertel. After a short time, the paramedics arrived and started tending to Filthy. They asked me a few questions and I explained what I saw, and inasmuch as the professionals were there and they didn't seem to need me any more, and the chair of the con was present, I left, as there seemed nothing more I could do.
I understand that they braced his neck and took him to a local hospital, but I know nothing more. Again, I stress that Strauss never lost consciousness; however, given the symptoms he reported, I agree that taking him to be checked out was a good precaution. I remember enough of my first aid training to think of all of the things that might have gone wrong. I hope that tomorrow we'll hear that all is well.
Heading up to the night con suite (there's a day suite on the ground floor and a pair of night suites upstairs), I told people who were around what happened, stressing that it was a scary situation but it initially looks like it shouldn't be too serious, other than the usual problems of someone his age taking a fall like that.
I hung around in the con suite for a while drinking a lot of the fine selection of flavored seltzer waters they had (no sugar, no caffeine) before deciding to call it a night. Because I want to be at the 9 AM panel on the Chengdu debrief, I plan to be at breakfast around 7:30 and that means being up at about 6:30 AM. I'm still happy to be here, and I'm having a good time.
After dinner, I looked in on the room where they were playing the 4th Edition of If I Ran the Zoo... Con the conrunning game. I was drafted in as the Independent Accountant (Scorekeeper), which I'd never done and turned out to be a lot of fun.
The elevator from the lower level was being slow, so after the game, I started up the stairs that connect LL to the Lobby, where I intended to walk across the hotel to the other bank of elevators that was more responsive. Erwin "Filthy Pierre" Strauss was making his way slowly down the same stair that I was climbing up. As I neared the top of the stairs, I heard a bump, turned around, and saw Strauss hit the landing at the bottom of the flight stairs and fold up in a heap. Filthy Pierre had fallen down the last three or four steps!
I rushed down the stairs calling out "Are you okay?" He never lost consciousness that I observed. He said to give him some time and he slowly worked himself around to the point where he was about to try and lever himself back up. He said nothing felt broken. But after a bit he asked if we'd all an ambulance, because his neck hurt something awful. I got people from the hotel, and they called 911 for the paramedics. Other than the brief run to the front desk, I didn't leave Filthy alone, and I never did touch him.
We got him stretched out on his back and he was able to get himself in a less-uncomfortable situation. Other people from the convention showed up, and one of them went and got chair Lisa Hertel. After a short time, the paramedics arrived and started tending to Filthy. They asked me a few questions and I explained what I saw, and inasmuch as the professionals were there and they didn't seem to need me any more, and the chair of the con was present, I left, as there seemed nothing more I could do.
I understand that they braced his neck and took him to a local hospital, but I know nothing more. Again, I stress that Strauss never lost consciousness; however, given the symptoms he reported, I agree that taking him to be checked out was a good precaution. I remember enough of my first aid training to think of all of the things that might have gone wrong. I hope that tomorrow we'll hear that all is well.
Heading up to the night con suite (there's a day suite on the ground floor and a pair of night suites upstairs), I told people who were around what happened, stressing that it was a scary situation but it initially looks like it shouldn't be too serious, other than the usual problems of someone his age taking a fall like that.
I hung around in the con suite for a while drinking a lot of the fine selection of flavored seltzer waters they had (no sugar, no caffeine) before deciding to call it a night. Because I want to be at the 9 AM panel on the Chengdu debrief, I plan to be at breakfast around 7:30 and that means being up at about 6:30 AM. I'm still happy to be here, and I'm having a good time.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-02 05:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-12-05 12:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-12-05 01:09 am (UTC)Prognosis for a full recovery, but retiring
Date: 2024-01-14 11:03 pm (UTC)It’s certainly not a premature decision, given how long he has been supporting and enlivening conventions (I think I first met him at Boskone in the 1970’s), but his contributions will be missed.
Re: Prognosis for a full recovery, but retiring
Date: 2024-01-15 01:06 am (UTC)