I Am Lucky to Have a Great Boss ! (Laser Tag Incident)

The Lazer Xtreme ATC Arena

Lazer Xtreme, The Leader in Laser Tag Entertainment in The Philippines

Yesterday, we took our guests from SunPower U.S. comprising of top executives out for a fun team activity at the Lazer Xtreme, Alabang Town Center for laser tag games.  There were four teams :

Blue Team ~ Team Superman 
Lead by my boss, Gregory Reichow -Vice President for SPML Operations
1.  Gregory Reichow
2.  Diana Ma
3.  Raphael Gernez
4.  Vidul Prakash
5.  Tom Atchison
6.  Andrew Turner
7.  Harjinder Bajwa
8.  Rob Morris
9.  Elvie Mesiona

Green Team ~ Team Captain America
Lead by Marty Neese, our COO from SunPower U.S.A.
1.  Marty Neese
2.  Paul Charrette
3.  Gerald Collins
4.  Marifel Magsino
5.  Jong Jimenez
6.  Ashok Tiwari
7.  Aloy Yamzon
8.  Fe Imperial

Yellow Team ~ Team Pacman
Lead by Sir Boy Alfelor, SPML (SunPower Phils) Cell Fab 2 Site Director
1.  Boy Alfelor
2.  Yoram Zemel
3.  Joe Mcgrath
4.  Ashish Goyal
5.  Nicholas Hyner
6.  Henry Castaneda
7.  Surinder Bedi

Red Team ~ Team Azkal
Lead by Sir Rey Mella, SPML (SunPower Phils) Cell Fab 1 Site Director
1.  Rey Mella
2.  Neil Bergstrom
3.  Ralph Robinett
4.  Robert Vinje
5.  Chris White
6.  Winston Guinto
7.  Andrzej Teplicki

Most of the participants were foreigners and it was their first time to play this game and everyone was so excited about this activity. My boss, Greg asked me to arrange for two (2) games.

My code name appearing on my laser gun screen  was "Falcon".  We enjoyed the first game and the leading team was the BLUE TEAM, Greg's team.  I also belong to my boss' team. We got around 59,000+ points. 

The second game was an unforgettable experience for me as I had an accident and injured myself playing the game.  There were ramps (inclined portions) inside the dark arena.  While trying to hide from my opponents,  I lost my balance and fell down with my head hitting the floor. It was a painful fall but I just stood up and I did not mind it at all until I placed my hand on the left side of my forehead and noticed lots of blood coming out.  The first thing that came across my mind was to look for the Lazer Xtreme staff who were also inside the arena checking on the players to ask for help.  I did not find one at that time and the first one I saw was Robert Vinje, our Expansion Director from the Red Team "Team Azkal".  I approached him and told him I hit my head and I was hurt. 

Rob took me out of the arena to check on me and he found out that I have a deep wound on the left side of my head above my eyebrows and I may have to go into surgery. I also have bruises on my face as if somebody hit me on my face. The blood did not stop from coming out  and I used my hankerchief to cover it.  Rob had to press it hard so the blood will stop. The staff of Lazer Xtreme gave us some first aid medicines but Rob said it will not do any good as it will not stop the bleeding.  He asked the staff to page my boss, Greg Reichow inside the arena.  After awhile, Greg came out and was worried about my condition and that I need to be taken to Asian Hospital.  He went back to the arena to page Sir Henry Castaneda, our Security Director to call a driver and send me to the hospital soonest. 

The Asian Hospital and Medical Center

I went out of the Lazer Xtreme, ATC accompanied by Sir Henry and my boss, Greg Reichow.  We could not find the driver yet that Sir Henry called but saw the driver of Vidul Prakash.  My boss decided to use Vidul's car instead of waiting for the other driver to arrive and he called Vidul to inform him.  I was not expecting that my boss is going with us to Asian Hospital.  I thought Sir Henry was the only one coming but he rode the car with us. We went to the EMERGENCY section of the hospital.  My boss accomplished the forms for me as if he was my assistant and let me signed the form.  I was taken to the Emergency Room and my boss and Sir Henry stayed with me.  The doctor on duty asked me what happened and I told him about the incident.  The doctor checked on me and said that I need a surgery to close the deep wound and he asked my boss, if a regular surgeon will do or he prefers a Cosmetic Surgeon.  My boss requested for a cosmetic surgeon so that it will not leave a scar on my face later on.  It was so nice of him to request for a cosmetic surgeon and to think about what is best for me.  We had to wait for an hour though  for the cosmetic surgeon  to arrive. The nurse gave me an anti-tetanus vaccinations.  I had two vaccinations one on the right arm and the other one on the left. Afterwards, I underwent a skull X-Ray and I was taken back to the Emergency Room to wait for the surgeon to arrive.  The pain on my head is getting worst and I told my boss, if I can have a pain reliever.  The nurse gave me something that melts underneath my tongue.  After a few minutes,  I felt so sleepy and weak maybe because of the effect of the medicine he gave me.

An hour later the Cosmetic Surgeon arrived.  His name was Dr. Jaime Anthony Arzadon, M.D., a Board Certified Cosmetic Surgeon and Board Certified ENT - Head & Neck Surgeon. He seem to know my boss since he has a land in Pila, Laguna that I think my boss and our JV, First Holding checked before as possible location for our Joint Venture.  I was transferred to the operating table and the Surgeon asked me what is my boss' position at SunPower. I told him he is the Vice President for Operations, the big boss at SunPower Phils. Mfg. Ltd.   Dr. Arzadon started to clean my wound and it was painful and later on he started to inject the anesthesia and pressed my wound and again felt so much pain.  He injected several times as I can still feel the pain.  While working on me, the surgeon said in Tagalog : Elvie,  ang suwerte mo mahal na mahal ka talaga ng boss mo at inaalagaan ka.  Ipinatawag pa ko para gawin ang surgery mo para maganda ang kalabasan.  Hindi lahat ng boss ganyan" (Translation : "Elvie, you are lucky to have a good boss who loves you and takes care of you.  He even requested to call for me to do your surgery so the result will be good. Not all bosses are like that"). After my surgery, the surgeon called my boss to look at me and asked him if  he was happy with his work and my boss was happy about it.   I was really touched by my boss' concern over me.  He did not even attend the dinner with our guests at Manong's Bar and Grill after the laser tag game but stayed in the hospital with our Security Director, Sir Henry until my surgery was done.  He also paid for my hospital bills and bought my medicines.  My colleague, Fe Imperial came to the hospital after the dinner at Manong's and she showed Greg a video shot of the happenings at Manong's taken from her cellphone.  Greg was happy to see the guests enjoying themselves...singing and dancing.  There was a videoke set-up at Manong's for our guests. My boss missed this because of the incident.

I am at home now and recovering from my injury.  My face is still swollen due to my wound and I have some bruises on my face and  other parts of my body.  Thanks to Rob, Sir Henry and most especially to my boss who attended to me in the hospital and all the guests who wished for my early recovery.

Yes, I definitely agree with what the Cosmetic Surgeon told me,  it is very rare to find a good boss who has a great heart, one who not only think about himself but also think of other people around him.  I am very fortunate to have found a GREAT BOSS with a BEAUTIFUL HEART !!!

My boss, Gregory Reichow ~ Vice President for SPML Operations

To my dear boss, my heartfelt gratitude for taking care of me in the hospital. I am really lucky to have a GREAT BOSS like you !!!