Emergency Induced Homesickness

Heart pounding, mind racing, stomach churning. Immediate response: slump down in my chair and lean my head against the wall. I know this feeling all too well; I’m going to pass out.

A student two rows in front of me is having a seizure. He’s carried into the aisle by his friend sitting next to him, whom he had slumped over onto just seconds before. The professor, thankfully a physiotherapist trained to respond to such situations, runs to his side and starts calling out directions:

“You, lay him on the ground!”

“You, run and get the medic!”

“You, call an ambulance!”

“You two, elevate his legs!”

“You, contact administration!”

In my head, I’m calling to mind numerous first-aid courses. I know that someone needs to be monitoring his pulse and that the surrounding area needs to be cleared of all harmful objects. The professor promptly does both, which makes it slightly easier for me to breathe. In 1-2-3 out 1-2-3. The situation is under control.

Then, he starts seizing more violently and crying out, which prompts the professor to instruct us to evacuate the room. About thirty students drop everything and climb over an obstacle course of rows of desks and chairs to get to the exit. 

We all wait nervously in the lobby, seeing students, faculty, security, and medical help sprint past us, all in a whirlwind. I overhear chatter about the seizing student.

“No, he didn’t have a history of seizures.”

“Yes, he’s on medication, but he’s been taking it for ages.”

After about a half hour, my heart rate has slowed and the class assistant comes into the lobby to announce that “he is fine for now”, but lecture is canceled and we can collect our bags as soon as the medics have taken the student out of the room. 

Emergencies have a strange way of inducing homesickness. When I arrived back at my apartment, all I could think about was how I wanted to climb into my own bed, get hugs from my own housemates, and sit in my favorite table at Rendezvous Café with Hannah for that comforting cup of coffee. I want yam fries from Seva, peanut butter chocolate chip muffins from Afternoon Delight, and to watch Tosh.0 and South Park at Sigma Phi. I want to sit with my boys at 522 Linden and talk about our crazy summer stories, and get sushi with Derek.

I miss Ann Arbor.