Earlier
this month Erskine and I attended a book event in the Franklyn Wilson
Auditorium at the University of The Bahamas. It was really good and afterwards
we stood at the bottom of the carpeted theatre-style seating, with levels sloping
down, to chat with other attendees. Unfortunately, because of how the seating
levels end there with a small but sharp drop down, I tripped backwards and
fell, hitting my head on the tiled part of the floor.
There
was a sound of dismay from the crowd around me when it happened. A group of
students who had been attending came up to me and stood nearby. Someone said
"they want to know if you're okay"! I looked up at them. We had been
chatting to them after the event. They stood there with anxious expressions on
their faces. Such sweet young people! I mumbled (stunned and really not sure
how I was) that I was okay thanks, trying to ignore the large bump forming on
my head.
We
went to the front desk to see if they had any ice there for the swelling. They
didn’t and also didn’t offer me any first aid. We then walked around looked for
the cafeteria, noticing the uneven footpaths, many with cracks in them. The
campus was poorly signposted as well. It must be difficult for disabled
students to make their way around the campus.
The
cafeteria didn’t have any ice either, so Erskine bought a bottle of cold water
for me to hold to my head. We then found our way to the nurse’s station. The
cover for The Ring outside the door was broken off and the nurse appeared to be
out, but she then appeared and opened her office door. She was very nice and
gave me an icepack to put on my head. She also examined my head and hips,
saying she recommended a CT Scan for my head.
I
called our doctor and headed there after a brief stop at home. The doctor
examined me and also agreed that I should have a CT Scan. I decided against it though,
at least for now.
God
must have been looking out for me that day, because so far, I haven’t had any
serious symptoms from the fall, but I have put in a complaint to UB and they
are looking into the incident. With the advent of a new President that I
understand will replace the current Acting President very soon, I do hope that
the University of The Bahamas will quickly improve safety standards throughout
the campus.
