Friday turned into quite the adventure for the Holmes family. I was at a farewell lunch for a departing co-worker when I got several calls in quick succession. The first from Mike, who I figured was just calling on his way to the golf tournament to check in. The second two from a number I didn’t recognize. Thankfully, the second caller followed-up with a text message – it was Mike’s boss. I called him back immediately, and the call included mentions of “fainting,” “lacerations,” and “paramedics.”
I quickly deduced that Mike’s well-documented medical phobia had somehow gotten the best of him, so I was concerned but not panicked. Thankfully, the restaurant was next to our office, so I quickly excused myself, ran back to get my computer and was on my way.
Mike was clear across town and he was a sight to behold when I got there. He looked like he had gotten into a bar fight and lost…badly. There’s a picture at the end of this post.
Here’s what happened, pieced together from witnesses because Mike doesn’t recall most of it. Mike, his boss and two others were meeting up at a Walgreens to carpool to a golf tournament. Mike and his boss were the first there, and were sitting in the car chatting. His boss was sharing a story about an old eye injury and surgery. Between that and not having had lunch yet, Mike began to feel lightheaded and so went into Walgreens to get a candy bar.
After paying he fainted inside the Walgreens. Stood right back up and said he was fine. Took a few steps out of the store, and then fainted again – this time face-first on the concrete. He also – everyone’s best guess – whacked the back of his head on a cement pole on the way down.
He was out for about a minute; thankfully the cashier and a customer saw it happen and responded immediately. They got Mike’s boss and called 911. Mike had no clue how badly he was injured and initially said he didn’t need any help. The others looked at him like he was crazy, he said. That’s when he looked down and saw all the blood.
The paramedics checked him out and said he didn’t need to go to the ER, but that he should go to Urgent Care if the bleeding didn’t stop within a few hours.
Fast forward a bit and I picked Mike up, got L.J. and we arrived home. I cleaned him up as best I could, and then he wanted to lay down for a while. He rested while I took a conference call. (L.J. was thankfully content to play on his own for the call, with a little help towards the end from a bag of jelly beans.)
After the call I checked on Mike and consulted with my mom about what to do. The bleeding hadn’t stopped after 4+ hours so we went to Urgent Care. Good call. They did x-rays and determined he had a small fracture in his nose, and also evaluated his head wound and declared him an ideal candidate for six shiny silver staples.
Whew. I am very thankful that Mike was not more seriously injured! It was quite an eventful day and all three of us were fast asleep shortly after 9 p.m. After a weekend recuperating, Mike is doing well. Tired and sore, but his scrapes are starting to heal.
And here’s Mike in all of his post-injury glory:
(I will also be accepting my Martha Stewart award for getting every speck of blood out of his brand-new golf shirt.)
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