[Leica] Matt Kollasch got more than he bargained for! ;-)

[Ted Grant <tedgrant@shaw.ca>]

Matt got more than he bargained for, plus some! ;-)

LUG member Matt Kollasch came to Victoria the other day to visit with Sandy,
Irene and I to pick-up some tips in the darkroom, shooting, plus whatever
along the lines of using Leica's M & R.

However! ... "damn that word can have scary meaning at times!"

Back the clock up 24 hours to yesterday lunchtime. The four of us had gone
for lunch, Japanese of course, when I felt an odd kind of pain in my chest
and suddenly didn't feel like eating, which led to a quick move to the
men's.

As I couldn't see what I looked like I suppose I gave others a start with
the quick change of colour and quick departure leaving my M6 on the seat for
good wife to care for.

My good fortune was I had the solid character of Matt's stature to chase
after me and within a minutes I was lying on the floor with such severe
chest pains I thought I was about to meet my Maker. Most certainly not my
idea of how I was going to leave planet Earth writhing on the floor of a
men's room.

Next came Irene and Sandy who immediately called 911, without question this
was major heart attack situation. Well it sure looked like that with me
clawing at chest and in such pain there wasn't any question the heart was
about to do me in.

Para-medics and two ambulances to the scene along with all the life saving
bits and pieces, man what a hell of a commotion it must have been with all
these medics, family and friends with moi crying out in pain and figuring
this was it... the big departure! :-(

Off to the hospital, good wife Irene riding shot gun up front with the
driver and me beginning to feel relief and almost "why the hell am I lying
here in an ambulance when I'd rather be out shooting with Matt & Sandy?"

Get to hospital into ER bigtime with nurses and doctor doing there thing and
within 3 hours, several tests and x-rays I'm cool, everything is A-OK and I
walk out. So here I am relating one of the most scaring episodes of my life
and trust me I have been in situations where I was so scared I wet my pants
there wasn't any question I was going die right where I was. That was then,
this is now. This was really big time scary!

It had nothing to do with the heart at all! :-) :-) Man I can smile and make
light of it today! Yesterday? Whew, not a hope! :-(  Like hell I hadn't made
out my "Leica will" yet and whom I'm leaving my gear to. ;-) OK folks I'll
correct it, as I figure some of you are waiting. :-)

The agony and pain was created by an Esophagus contraction, this occurs when
food becomes stuck in the esophagus, then it begins to contract to try and
move it, when the food doesn't go anywhere, the esophagus just contracts
harder and harder creating sever pain in the centre of the chest in my case
and without question ... to me... was a heart attack of magnitude 12!

So later after I'm released........ "Matt did you take any pictures of what
was going on?"  He," No I was just worrying and paying the bill!" :-) "Your
a hell of a photojournalist, here we arrange a real life near death moment
and you don't take a picture. :-) I of course was kidding, because without
this fine human being there at the initial stages, God knows what would have
happened.

Which once again proves how we build strong friend and brotherhood bonds on
the LUG and all because we play with one little Leica camera.

Matt didn't take any pictures. But! I'm in ER and the next thing I know
there's Sandy with a camera shooting me! Oh well one for the record. ;-)

Funny moment during it all, it's easy to think of these today. :-)

Sandy was on the phone with 911 and says, "he's not breathing!"  They, "give
him mouth to mouth, pinch nose and breath into his mouth.

I'm lying there and of course still breathing and the next thing I know
someone is kneeling beside me, has pinched my nose, and for a moment I
thought I was getting the kiss of death! :-) However, it was good Sandy
giving me mouth to mouth! Today I can laugh about that one, but because
Sandy had seen someone die a few years ago because no one would give mouth
to mouth and she didn't know how to do it. She learned how and vowed she'd
never hesitate in the future if that was necessary.

My most good fortune she kept her vow! And my good fortune it wasn't
necessary.  However. ;-)

So guys and gals you didn't lose the old guy after all and hopefully you're
as glad as I that this isn't being typed by someone else because I didn't.
:-)

Just thought you'd like to know one of the scary moments in the life of an
age old leica shooter. ;-)
ted

Ted Grant Photography Limited
www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant


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