The Prof. (Deserves it's own thread)

Very nice guy. He gave me a bandage from one of the chase cars in 1988 at Imola... I got a blister on my heel from wearing the wrong shoes ( trying to look cool!) and was carrying about 70 lbs ofcamera equipment .... so he saw my have my shoes off and i had a sock wrapped around my heel...

" I think you might do better with this chappie"... handed me a large flex dressing. did not realise who it was till much later!

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Nice article, thanks for posting.

 

Thanks for posting. What a man he was.

Very cool story.

 

...and Rubens at Imola 1994 on Friday. RB had partially swallowed his tongue, blocking his airway. Dr. Sid cleared that immediately on scene.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxOk1R2A6RQ[/ame]

They ALL should have been there at his memorial. F1 had Dr. Watkins and MotoGp Dr. Costa. A lot of drivers and riders owe their safety and care and treatment after serious incidents to these Dr.s.

 

Excellent thread. Thanks for sharing. I remember watching and interview with him, and he his eyes was full of tears when he spoke about Senna.

 

I only know what I've seen in movies, but you can tell from the interviews with him how genuine he was and how much he cared for the people he took care of in F1.

I didn't know that about his funeral...that is disappointing for sure.

 

The Doc. had some great stories, i remenber some with Gilles. When they first met, Gilles told him: "i hope i never need you"....Sid remenbered those words when he arrived on the scene of Gilles accident....
One time, Gilles ofered him a lift and the good doctor, unaware of what he was getting into he accepted!!...he entered the car and saw Gilles's wife duck in the back seat..he found that pretty strange and as soon they "took off" he understood why she did it!!!
Gilles of couse drove like a maniac...never stoping, overtaking everyrhing, bumping other cars...the poor doctor got the scare of his life!! Next day Again Gilles offered him a ride.." the car had become a wreck" said Watkins...this time he politly declined!!!
Gilles was one of the drivers he become closer to.

 

Oh, I thought this was about Prost. Oh well.

 

Ian, I'm not nitpicking here, but just trying to give also credit to two other doctors, who deserve it:

September 2010 Issue of "Motorsport Magazine":

Simon Taylor, “Lunch with Mika Häkkinen”

“While the medical car, with Professor Sid Watkins on board, was still speeding towards the scene, the two doctors at that corner got to the wrecked McLaren within seconds. Jerome Cockings, an intensive care specialist, and Stephen Lewis, a neurosurgeon, found Mika unconscious in the cockpit, losing a lot of blood from his mouth. With the marshals carefully supporting his head and neck they got him out of the car and laid him on the ground. Due to the trauma his mouth was locked shut, and they could not get oxygen into him to ventilate his lungs. Without oxygen, brain damage occurs within a couple of minutes, followed by death, and Mika was starting to turn blue. Taking a surgical knife from his kit, Cockings quickly performed a tracheotomy, inserting a tube into Mika’s throat to deliver oxygen. Immediately his colour improved and his condition stabilised. Then they were able to get a drip into him, and drugs to relax the muscle spasm and get a tube into his mouth. Prof Watkins was there by now, watching but not interfering, realising that the right things were being done.”

Rgds