Snowboarding Weekend II
Previously:
I decided to snowboard since most of the guys were still in the learning stage and it would be no fun to go on the black slopes myself. For those who are unfamiliar with how ski trails are categorised: green indicates easy trails, blue for intermediate and difficult trails are labelled black; then of course there are the double-black slopes for those fanatical skiers. I’m a shutterbug who snaps lots of shots whenever I travel, but bringing my camera for snowboarding was out of the question since I was not very proficient yet, which explains the lack of photos taken during this trip.
Snowboarding is a dangerous sport, and we had our first casualty of the day not long after we started: Stephen suffered short-term amnesia after he fell on his head and couldn’t remember recent events. None of us saw the accident happened; by the time I knew about it, he was already walking down the slope with Joseph.
I didn’t understand what Jay was so obsessed with trying to help Stephen recall his memory halfway on the slope; that certainly wasn’t going to happen anytime soon as he was still in shock, and the most important task on hand was to get him to a doctor as soon as possible to make sure his brain didn’t suffer any serious injury.
Jay and I drove Stephen down to the nearest hospital in Collingwood after making an accident report with the ski patrol, and I was really surprised how about quiet its A&E department was. Initially I thought the reason was because Collingwood is a small town, which might explain the department’s lack of activity. But later I found out from Jay that this was the case for all A&E departments. He recalled from his volunteering experience at hospitals in downtown Toronto that the students were always clamouring for a volunteer position in A&E departments since it look so cool and happening on ER; but nothing couldn’t be further than the truth.
Jay spent most of his time chatting with patients while volunteering; and it’s not the usual hectic and fast-paced scene as shown on television when paramedics sent an injured person in, but rather the paramedic take their time to brief the nurses and doctors about the patient and everything happens in slow-motion much like in outpatient departments.
We decided to head back to our suite for lunch with the rest of the guys since Stephen had to be kept under observation for another couple of hours, and thankfully the doctors declared him to be in good shape and we were able to fetch him back from the hospital.