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Encyclopedia WinterCampica - Suggest Change
Current Entry: Ailments
Winter Camp's medical history includes a few bizarre and/or memorable illnesses. Possibly the most famous befell Mike Osvath, who drank heartily of Beef Fizz at Winter Camp VII and experienced severe gastric distress as a result. Stomach maladies have been a recurring Winter Camp vexation: Paul Duran was stricken with intense diarrhea one year which left him carrying a roll of toilet paper around in order to be prepared for a new intestinal onslaught. Steve Donohue was stricken with a combination of vomiting and diarrhea at Winter Camp XVII. His symptoms became legendary over the course of the weekette, and while no cause was ever conclusively identified, "unsanitary turkey carving practices" during the Turkey Roost Dinner have been cited as one possible explanation. (Photographic evidence shows Jeff Rand appearing to carve a bird while shirtless, which provides some justification for this claim. Some claim that this was posed, however.) Medical samples were preserved in the time capsule, but researchers at Winter Camp XVIII made no further progress in the hunt for a cause. At Winter Camp XX, Steve Harig was similarly beset with an intestinal virus of some sort. His illness is remembered in an incident where he fell asleep on the toilet. Moving away from matters digestive, Dan Bollman came down with a case of laryngitis at camp one year, which was treated by taping his mouth shut. Crude but effective, his voice was saved by this technique. (SD)
And then there was Winter Camp XXVI. Before camp even began, Tom Ray removed himself from the roster. His twin sons had recently contracted chicken pox, and he and others thought he might have a subclinical case which could infect others at camp. As it turned out, an outbreak might have been preferable to the wave of illness that did spread over camp. Seven Arrowmen fell seriously ill during camp, each taken down by some sort of stomach malady. The exact cause was never ascertained, nor was it ever clear whether the cases were significantly connected.
Winter Camp XXXIII was a rough year for campers' feet. Dennis Root was treated in camp for frostbitten toes, while Gordon Draper retreated to Metamora to get medical assistance for an ingrown toenail. At Winter Camp XXXV, Mike Williams was forced home with a cold, though he did leave copies of his short story "Electric Crime" for perusal at the Hobby Demo after his departure.
In 2017, Winter Campers were shocked to learn that Jeff Rand had been hospitalized with a serious ailment (the exact nature of which remains in dispute). He arrived at Winter Camp XLI still in recovery. Even more shocking was Jeff recusing himself from Winter Camp on the first day. He returned on the final evening of camp and was able to attend the evening's activities including the time capsule ceremony (see Polaris Access Road) but left without spending a night at camp.
In 2020, Steve Donohue had a stress test in December and the results were scary even for a guy who already had nine stents. On December 23, doctors advised him that he should not do anything strenuous or stressful until after he had a cardiac catheterization (basically, they wanted to clean out the plumbing in his heart). This meant he was not be able to attend any part of Winter Camp XLIV at camp. In typical Steve fashion, he has vowed not to have a stress test after October in the future.