NEWS FEED

A word to the wise, in two acts

Written by Shelby Campbell, Editor-in-Chief

Alright, so I work as a lifeguard for Citiparks. I was originally placed at Westwood pool, but for the remainder of the summer I was placed atMoorepool. Now, part of a lifeguard’s duty includes cleaning (the bathrooms, the pool, vomit, etc.). Well, the director of the aquatics division had stopped by for her daily visit and the Head guard decided that the bathrooms needed to be cleaned again (even though we cleaned them the day before). So I get the help of some of the other guards and started to get the bucket ready with cleaner packets and water. I open one packet; put it in the bucket, I open the second packet and it ends my left eye. Awesome, right? WRONG!

  We flush out my eye with the hose and some saline drops from the first aid kit, it stops burning for the rest of the day. Well, eight rolls around and my vision starts to go blurry. Mother takes me to the ER. We get there around 9:30. So, the doctor puts some Ph paper on my eye and says that it’s a 9..when it’s supposed to be between a 7.34 and an 8. Fantastic. So, the way to get it back down is to flush it out or irrigate it with some saline solution.  It takes 6 bags to get it back down. Super fun! We get home about 2:30 a.m.

  The lesson here is; take a lot more caution when you’re cleaning with industrial strength cleaners.

Another word…..

                On Labor Day the pool was closed due to the weather and cold temperatures, so we order pizza, eat it, and then decide to go play ‘No Ground,’ which is a game of it-tag but you can’t touch the ground or you’re it. We play that for a while. No injuries yet.

Well, now here’s the good part. We decide to go back down to the pool. My head guard was sitting on an orange tunnel thingy and I was crawling underneath it. Right before I go to say “Tim, DON’T MOVE!” he hops down..right onto my shoulders. Alright, so this guy is like 220, easy. I get forced to the ground by his weight and end up with my head between my knees in a sitting position. I go to stand up and can’t walk on my left leg.

                On my way to the ER, I start to go into shock and convulse uncontrollably. The nurses get me on a gurney. Apparently the muscle in the lower left of my back was pulled so badly that I can hardly move without any pain. Awesome. They give me some pain meds and send me on my merry way.

                The moral of the story: Speak before you act in cases where injury is most likely going to occur if you keep silent.