I (24F) was at my station just mindlessly spinning around in my swivel chair (you know how we all do it when we’re bored). Except this time, my chair completely slipped out from under me and next thing you know I’m on the floor.
Now, our office is usually dead quiet, so of course the sound of me hitting the ground was loud enough to make the whole department stop what they’re doing and look to where the sound came from.
Instead of standing up, my lizard brain decided that the best way to save face was to play dead. I shut my eyes and went limp like I’d actually fainted.
Bad move. Within seconds, people were crowding around me asking if I was okay. The company nurse and my manager were summoned. I kept the act going for a couple of minutes.
When I “regained consciousness,” I told them I was feeling better and was ready to go back to work. But my manager insisted I go to the ER and wouldn’t let me back to the office unless I had a doctor’s note saying I was fit to go back to work.
So, here I am in the ER, having some labs and tests done because I am too embarrassed to admit I fell from my chair.
TL;DR: I slipped from my chair, pretended to faint to save face, and am now in the emergency room.
EDIT: They didn’t find anything funny except that I apparently have mild anemia.
Comments
Do you have cameras in your office, bet money bossmans back at the office laughing his ass off. Lol
“ER Doctor says I need a window office.”
OP 5 hours later: “So it turns out I have brain cancer and being a silly goose just saved my life”
Why didn’t you just say you went to the hospital and go home?
Well, if you don’t regularly do your labs, probably a good thing tbh. You might end up finding something early or if not, you’re good to go. Enjoy your short break
Yes that was a silly thing to do in my opinion .
One afternoon I leaned forward at my desk to pick up a piece of paper with sensitive info that had fallen on the floor. My office chair rolled backwards and I bonked my forehead on the edge of my desk. The person catty-cornered to me stood up to see if I was okay, because he’d felt it in his desk. I said I was fine, and then a few minutes later, my EMT coworker asked me a question. Apparently when I turned to answer her, my eyes looked funny, and when I spoke, I was slurring. Someone took me to the ER, where I was diagnosed with a concussion. Stupid rolly chair.
If OP is in the US, the real fuck up is going to be when they get the ER bill!
I leaned over in my office chair, to grab my purse out of the bottom drawer of my desk, and just kept going. Hit the ground pretty hard, but my feet were kind of tangled around the chair. Scared the crap out of the person in the next cubicle. First aid attendant checked me out and I was fine.
Probably shouldn’t have played dead for so long. Over a minute is when brain damage starts
If it makes you feel better being young and healthy the ER staff likely assume you are faking anyhow
Minutes would indicate a serious medical condition. You should really just admit what happened to the doctor. People that pass out because of simple lack of oxygen would still come around in just a few seconds.
> to save face was to play dead
This can’t be a real story.
Did they pay for you to go to the ER because that’s like 6 years of paychecks for an aspirin.
Well, now I’m wondering if that guy at my office that fell out of his chair during a phone call with a client actually passed out or was faking.
I worked with a guy who would do that (fall backwards in his chair) periodically to liven things up. I appreciated it but I don’t think anyone else did.
Dang, at least I got the excuse of having low blood pressure/POTS. I even carry meds with me for helping raise it.
Well maybe you can use the anemia or claim you needed a snack. It was totally low blood sugar, yup