When I first saw the giant cement 6-foot-deep (correction, im told it was closer to 13 feet) pit at the playground I thought to myself “I can’t believe they have this at a playground! Someone could get really hurt!”…This was followed an hour later by me chanting, “Go Aki! Go Aki! Go Aki!” as I peer pressured a Japanese counselor to run into and out of the pit (something I had done myself several times). She made it halfway before slamming face-first into the concrete wall. Blood was everywhere; Aki was curled into a ball at the bottom of the pit, and panicked shouts of “She’s hurt! She’s hurt!” rang out.
Aside from being worried about Aki being okay, my second thought was “we’ve gotta find a camera and get a picture!”. I slid down into the pit to assist with first aide; the girl who was in charge of medical stuff was obviously freaking out over the blood whilst my rugby-conditioned mind was fine. It turns out Aki wasn’t really all that okay. After spending almost two hours in the pit (Aki was too dizzy and nauseous to move, let alone climb), about 18 firefighters, EMTs, and a docter finally pulled her out and took her to the hospital. Aki was a champ about the whole thing, putting on a smile for the kids even though I could tell she was freaking out. Turns out she survived with a bruised shoulder and hand, busted chin, broken jaw, two broken teeth, and a concussion. But don’t worry, she was back that night (heavily medicated) playing Duck Duck Goose and dancing at the campfire!
First, and hopefully last, medical emergency in the bag! A typhoon is coming tomorrow...should be interesting!
Camp Session 5 here we go!
Fun Fact: While at the hospital Aki had 3 MRI’s, X-rays, a CAT scan, stitches, surgery, and medication – without insurance...it cost her a whopping $210.00!
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