The college classroom is typically a place of great safety and over which the professor exerts considerable control. Violent events at colleges (Virginia Tech or Huntsville or UGA) are especially terrible because they destroy the general sense of calm and well-being we associate with campuses. Incidents in college classrooms are very rare — which makes the following story all the more unusual.
Dr. M has long experienced an unpredictable medical condition: his shoulder pops out of place. It would happen when he’d play pickup basketball. He even had to give up golfing because during big tee-offs, his shoulder would disconnect from its socket. His friends said it looked like he had been shot as he would swing and then crumple to the ground. There was only slight discomfort (aside from the embarrassment) and Dr. M could put the joint back into place. The ease with which it came out meant it could be returned without much exertion.Given that in the past, a dramatic physical movement caused the shoulder to dislocate, it was quite unexpected when Dr. M felt his shoulder pop out while gesturing during a class. He assured his class that the shoulder would pop back into place in just a moment There was no need for alarm. But then he fainted and came to while on the floor. He tried to explain that the chair he was in had wheels and that was why he fell. As he got up to move to another chair that was more stable, he reiterated that his shoulder would pop back momentarily. And he passed out a second time.
As he awoke, Dr. M realized his shoulder had returned to its rightful place. But he was also struck by the smell and taste of wild berries. No, it wasn’t that he had struck his head and was having a neurological response. Because when he opened his eyes, he discovered he was face-to-face with one of his female students. She looked very upset although relieved her professor was alive. Apparently, when his eyes rolled back and he collapsed, this young lady perceived that he was having a heart attack and initiated CPR. The berries happened to be the flavor of lip gloss she was wearing, some of which was transferred while she performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Whether Dr. M actually had stopped breathing or not was somewhat immaterial because he was down before the lip-lock and he came to immediately after.
The class insisted that Dr. M remain on the floor despite his attempts to reassure them. The voice on the cell phone of the student who had called 911 reinforced the recommendation that he rest until the paramedics arrived. He checked out fine and acknowledged to the ambulance driver that he would indeed consult with an orthopedist about the shoulder. Presumably the interruption had broken the flow of discussion. Dr. M let his students leave fifteen minutes early. The balance of the semester proceeded without incident and Dr. M has resumed the weight-lifting routine that had been previously prescribed to strengthen muscles to avoid shoulder dislocations.
