A Day's Work

It's not every day you get to see your boss fall facedown on the floor.

At times, you may even dream of this happening. Let me reassure you, though....it's not all it's cracked up to be.

I was sitting in my office on Monday when my boss came back from lunch. She walked into her office, put her leftovers down, and came back into my office to talk to me. However, on her way into my office, she stumbled and had to grab a nearby cabinet to keep from falling. I asked her if she was alright, and she said she suddenly got dizzy. I asked the routine questions ("did you eat anything at lunch?", "have you taken any medication today?") that led us nowhere. She sat down, talked to me, then slowly made her way back to her office. She came back in again, still not able to keep her balance, to ask me a question. Upon answering, she returned to her office (which is connected to mine, but not visible from where I sit) to search for an email from me. I then hear her say "Amber, I normally don't complain, but I am just feeling awfully dizzy...". Then a second later...

Thud

My first thought was "Surely that wasn't her falling down. It would have made a louder noise than that. That sounded like she dropped a textbook on the ground". So I sat still for a second. When I didn't hear the typing of the keys on her keyboard, I called out her name. No response. Immediately, scenes of CSI and Grey's Anatomy shot through my head...where the camera comes around the corner, and the first thing you see is a head and arms lying lifelessly on the ground. And I contemplated how I would react should I see such a thing. I also realized that if she WAS on the ground, and I continued to sit there....that might be more of an issue. So I get up from my chair and come around the corner to see her facedown on the floor, not moving. Holy Moly. Had it been a day later, I would have thought it was an April Fool's Joke. However, it was the last day of March.

I quickly picked up the phone and called the first number in my head, so I could get someone in there with me. I dialed the Assistant Dean's number and simply said "Can you come down here fast??" and hung up the phone. I then went back into my boss's (we'll call her Joan) office and got down on the floor next to her. Her hair was everywhere (it comes down to her waist), and I couldn't tell where her head was facing. As I'm trying to move her hair out of the way, to see if she's still breathing, the assistant dean comes in. She takes one look, gasps, and I instruct her to call 911.

Then she runs out the door. Huh??? "Get back in here! Call from this phone!"

So she comes back in the room and I hear her dialing. I look down, and Joan's eyes are fluttering, so I know she's breathing. I keep calling her name, in between answering questions to campus security, who need to know where we are. She comes to, while the assistant dean is on the phone, and immediately tries to get up. I keep her on the floor and she begins insisting she is okay, and that she doesn't need anyone to come. I encourage the assistant dean to make sure someone comes to check her out.

20-25 minutes later, an ambulance has been called, and the office is filled with medics. They check several possibilities and ask 10 rounds of questions. They conclude that while the reason she fainted is not an emergency (high blood pressure and a yellowish hue to her skin), they highly advised that she immediately go see a doctor (as she refuses to go with them) to determine exactly what happened. However, she lives 30-35 minutes away from campus, and nobody was going home until they knew that she was not going to be driving for the night. So I canceled my evening plans and assured the medics that I would take care of it. She has no family here in Fayetteville, so there was no one to call to come pick her up. So I drove her home in her car, and had a friend follow me to bring me back to my car.

She called the next morning to let me know that she felt fine again. She has taken two days off of work to rest back up and should be back tomorrow.

An exciting day at work...no?

Born Special

I simply HAVE to share the following email with you.

My freshman roommate, Kara, filled out a survey a couple days ago. In the survey, she answered this question:

"37. Who is your loudest friend? Amber! You should hear her laugh... she was born with over-sized lungs... "

When I saw that, I busted out with laughter, forgetting ALL about my "over-sized lungs". So with that in mind....here are our emails following that survey...

"Haha....Kara....I loved reading this particular survey. 3 things I learned:

1) I didn't know you hated your smile! Crazy cute....you're cute through and through...no "ands" or "buts" about it!

2) I haven't sang "Can He Still Feel the Nails" since OC. I even forgot about the song! Thanks for the refresher...now I gotta see if I can find kids in OC chapel singing it on youtube or something! :)

3). Hahahah....I about died laughing when I read "she has over-sized lungs"!!!! I had TOTALLY forgotten about that. In trying to remember how that came about....all I can remember is that I was apparently trying to explain to something why I laughed so loud, and that explanation just fell out of my mouth. But do you remember who...or when??? Lol...thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Love you lots!

Amber "


"Haha!! I remember you using the oversized lungs a couple different times, but I think the first time (at least that I can remember) was when we were at a movie. It was just you and me and we were sitting there before the movie started, talking, and we busted out laughing really loud. The people in front of us turned around and you go, "I was born with over-sized lungs." HA!!!!! It was sooooooooo funny. I loved it! :o)

I hope that you're doing well. I think about you a lot and all of our good times. I should call you sometime. I want to catch up.

Love ya,
Kara :o)"


I gotta keep that excuse in mind....it was great! And people actually believed it, too! Thanks Kara!