Toronto firefighter who disappeared on New York ski trip recounts baffling journey
Aug 24 2018
"Danny Filippidis says he just wanted to capture a few memories.
His annual ski trip to Lake Placid, N.Y., with colleagues from Toronto Fire Services was drawing to a close when he realized he’d forgotten to bring a camera to the lodge where he was unwinding with friends about half-way up Whiteface Mountain.
He told friends he’d ski down to a car to retrieve his cellphone and return to document the end of their sojourn on the slopes. That quest led to a baffling journey the 50-year-old fire captain will likely never be able to fully remember."
"Filippidis says he believes his misadventure began when he took a wrong turn on the way back to the car. He has no recollection of a fall that knocked him out and likely caused a concussion, but recalls coming to at “dusk” feeling sore and disoriented.
He made his way to what he mistakenly believed to be the main ski lodge, only to find it closed and deserted. Investigators later determined that Filippidis likely fell near a children’s ski slope and worked his way to the hub of kids programming, an area that’s sparsely populated and would have been closed at the time."
"The theory rings true for Dr. Charles Tator, director of the Canadian Concussion Centre at the Toronto Western Hospital.
Amnesia can take place in about a quarter of concussion cases, he says, adding headaches, fatigue, nausea and “islands of memory” are all classic symptoms.
“Most people make a complete recovery, although the amnesia will likely last forever,” Tator says. “He will probably forever have those blanks.”
