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psycada · 03-23-2007, 10:56 AM

I provide Help Desk support for some 500 people. Although it is not the best IT job, it is a start and provides me with some experience when I move to the next job. As anyone who has done Helpdesk before knows, there is always something interesting stories that come with it. Well, today was just new to me. I got to witness someone almost die while I was training her.

She just got authorized for a new device, and I was tasked to train her. Now, had I gotten to her yesterday when our original appointment was, I would have completely avoided this situation and would not have been there to help her, nor would anyone else. She is in an office by herself, and rarely has other people in there.

Well, what happened was, right after installing the device software on her pc, I grabbed tutorial docs and was about to train her on the device. At that point she said to me that she needed to sit down (now seeing the ergonomic supports in her chair, I imagined she was in pain and needed to get off of her feet.) As she started to say she needed to sit, I started to move over for her so she could, but as she said the word "down" in the sentence, she went down herself. And this was not a soft landing, on the way down she smashed her face on the corner of her desk. This was not a soft hit, the thud of her face hitting the desk was loud enough to be heard by other offices nearby, and the thud of her hitting the floor was even louder. At that point I yelled for help. (this is the part that shows I work with Civil Service Employees.) The first time I called for help, no one moved, I yelled a second time, still nothing. It wasn't until I found every ounce of vocal power I had and yelled a third time that the ENTIRE floor came into this tiny office.
By the time I got help, the lady was coming to, so another lady and I helped her to her feet and sat her back in her chair. At that time I saw that the right side of her face was completely blackened. Very disturbing to see.
Fortunately, it turned out that the lady took pain meds that morn and wasn't used to them. From what I heard, she was able to stay alert and was brought home shortly later. Thankfully.
That was my freaky start to my Friday.

Ah yes, the moral of the story: Never ask a state employee for help. You may be dead by the time they get off their asses to do anything for anyone.

Good thing I was there.

PS, I don't work for the state, just hired by them.

03-23-2007, 10:56 AM	#4 (permalink)
psycada Upright	I provide Help Desk support for some 500 people. Although it is not the best IT job, it is a start and provides me with some experience when I move to the next job. As anyone who has done Helpdesk before knows, there is always something interesting stories that come with it. Well, today was just new to me. I got to witness someone almost die while I was training her. She just got authorized for a new device, and I was tasked to train her. Now, had I gotten to her yesterday when our original appointment was, I would have completely avoided this situation and would not have been there to help her, nor would anyone else. She is in an office by herself, and rarely has other people in there. Well, what happened was, right after installing the device software on her pc, I grabbed tutorial docs and was about to train her on the device. At that point she said to me that she needed to sit down (now seeing the ergonomic supports in her chair, I imagined she was in pain and needed to get off of her feet.) As she started to say she needed to sit, I started to move over for her so she could, but as she said the word "down" in the sentence, she went down herself. And this was not a soft landing, on the way down she smashed her face on the corner of her desk. This was not a soft hit, the thud of her face hitting the desk was loud enough to be heard by other offices nearby, and the thud of her hitting the floor was even louder. At that point I yelled for help. (this is the part that shows I work with Civil Service Employees.) The first time I called for help, no one moved, I yelled a second time, still nothing. It wasn't until I found every ounce of vocal power I had and yelled a third time that the ENTIRE floor came into this tiny office. By the time I got help, the lady was coming to, so another lady and I helped her to her feet and sat her back in her chair. At that time I saw that the right side of her face was completely blackened. Very disturbing to see. Fortunately, it turned out that the lady took pain meds that morn and wasn't used to them. From what I heard, she was able to stay alert and was brought home shortly later. Thankfully. That was my freaky start to my Friday. Ah yes, the moral of the story: Never ask a state employee for help. You may be dead by the time they get off their asses to do anything for anyone. Good thing I was there. PS, I don't work for the state, just hired by them.