Extracted from the New Paper:
"THE stage was set and the lights were bright - maybe a little too
bright for actor and singer George Lam, 55.
Halfway into the performance of his first song as guest star on
Lisa Wang Ming-chuen's concert, George shocked the 10,000-strong
audience by appearing to walk directly into a big hole in the
stage, reported Hong Kong newspapers.
The 2m-deep hole was part of the stage design that incorporated a
platform that acted as an elevator to raise and lower performers on
the stage.
Lisa had earlier descended through the hole for a costume change.
The platform was supposed to have come back up, but did not.
To the horror of his fans, George - known affectionately as Ah-Lam
to his Hong Kong fans - fell right in.
In that dramatic moment, the audience jumped to their feet
roaring.
The music stopped.
George, who is well-known to the English-speaking audience for his
Guinness stout ads, did not re-appear.
Lisa, who came on stage just moments later to join him in a duet,
had no idea that he had fallen and was about to start singing when
she was stopped by Alan Tam Wing-lun, another guest star.
So shocked was Lisa that, for a moment, she lost her cool,
unflappable diva posture and exclaimed: 'Did he fall in head
first?'
Alan told the audience that George was all right, but an ambulance
arrived some time later at 9.35pm and took the semi-conscious
singer to Kowloon's St Teresa's Hospital.
George's wife, singer Sally Yeh, rushed to the scene.
Said Alan, who saw George immediately after the fall: 'He looked
like he was hurt. He was very shaken, but he kept saying he was
only a little dizzy and was all right.'
BECAME UNCONSCIOUS
Apple Daily reported that George became unconscious after the fall,
but it is not clear exactly when and for how long. He was reported
to have come around backstage and was seen throwing up.
The paper also said that a head scan was performed immediately upon
George's admission to St Teresa's.
It said hospital sources revealed that two 'darker regions' had
shown up in both the left and right sides of the singer's brain,
and that doctors suspected they were blood clots.
George was apparently sent into intensive care and specialists
called in. However, his management has denied the report and said
he was only under observation.
Newspapers reported that Sally was visibly distressed and ran
alongside George's bed as nurses wheeled him to his room.
Lisa and many of the other guest stars at the concert also rushed
to the hospital after the concert to see George.
They told reporters that George appeared well and was able to chat
with them.
Lisa, who was at the hospital for an hour, said he appeared to be
fine. She had bravely continued with the concert despite not
knowing if George was all right.
At the end of the night, however, she broke down in tears from the
stress.
Guest singer Andy Lau assured the audience halfway through the
concert that George was all right.
However, neurologist Wang Cheng-sia said this was no indication
that it was an all-clear.
He said the presence of shadows in the X-ray indicated that the
injury was serious and there might be swelling in the brain.
Seen so soon after the fall, such signs show that the the injury
could be substantial, he said.
Neurology expert Wang Ka-shing from the Chinese University of Hong
Kong said that blood clots appearing in both the left and right
sides of the brain could mean that a blood vessel had burst.
This was not a good sign, he said, adding that, in a fall, clots
usually appear in only one side of the brain.
He also said the patient could be conscious and appear lucid
shortly after the incident, but that the condition could
worsen.
George and Sally were in Singapore just a week ago as part of their
world tour. They performed to a 9,000-strong audience at the Suntec
City Convention Centre last Saturday."
