All's fine & dandy until a tent comes crashing down..
So a lot of what I do on set requires quick thinking and initiative. It also requires some lifting and carrying, delegating of tasks, supreme organisational skills, and the ability to be 20 steps ahead of everything else so as not to be suprised.
So one fine day back in September, I saw someone trying to take down a pop-up tent on their own, and went to help them. Unfortunately, just as I went to help with one side, it was released, and the metal support beam came crashing down on my head.
I slid to the ground holding my head, like some bad actress doing "injured" in a theatresports show, and the person was making jokes, until I pulled my hand away from my head and my fingers were covered in blood.
At this point he called for the on-set medic. Whenever you call on the walkie-talkie for the medic on set, you need to specify if it's an emergency or not, so that s/he knows the gravity of the situation. For example "Steve for Bob, set-medic, non-emergency". This is usually something like someone needs headache tablets, a bandaid, some antacids. An emergency situation usually involves lots of yelling and shouting, followed by running to the scene of the problem.
The call for the medic for me went like this:
"Bob, set-medic. We need you over on the street here"
"Is it an emergency?"
"Well, there's blood..."
I was doing ok, until the medic decided to tell me I'd need to go to the hospital, and that I'd need stitches - IN MY HEAD.
I don't really like hospitals, and I especially don't like the idea of getting sick in this country where there is no universal healthcare, and I hear awful stories about the emergency room. So I was nervous about going to the hospital anyway, but the thought of stitches made it worse. To top it all off, they almost sent me to the hospital with a PA who not only was a little manic, but had been trying to holla at me all day - not what I wanted at all.
So I finally made it to the hospital, sans annoying PA, my brother came to meet me, and the wait time wasn't horrific. And then the doctor who saw my told me he wouldn't be giving me stitches, no no no - he'd be using STAPLES instead.
STAPLES!!!!!!! in my HEAD!!!!!!
I was nervous as hell, and the pain of having someone staple-gun your head is not easily described. You can actually feel the metal entering your skull and pulling the wound together. Needless to say it was an experience I wouldn't wish to have again in future. Staple removal a week later is no fun either.
So I am now without staples, but I get the occasional headache more than I used to, and my neck and shoulders hurt more too - have to look into a doctor for that asap.
Now that I have a little more time off I'll definitely be following that up.
Stay tuned for more pleasant updates :^)
