Thread: The kindness of strangers

Today is 13th July and at 4am this morning I was just going to sleep after the most recent (failed) attempt to break the record for the most users online. Now I had got the date wrong initially and had stayed up til 3am the previous night as well. So when the record attempt came those of you I spoke to will confirm I was shattered. Worst of all I was working this morning. As soon as the draw was made I said my goodnights and went to bed.

At 9.30am, after 5 hours sleep my alarm clock went off and I forced myself out of bed and into some clothes. I grabbed some toast and stumbled down the hill to the bus stop. When I got there at 10am I found I had missed the last bus by 30 minutes and the next one would go in 20 minutes. It was a nice day so I decided to stay and wait. Nobody was about and it was a wonderfully peaceful day.

Now I remember feeling dizzy, and I remember thinking 'Uh-oh... it feels like I might be about to have a seizure.' You see i've had epilepsy all my life and although most fits I have are absence seizures I have had 3 or 4 'grand mal' seizures (the ones where you fall to the floor, shake violently and then become stiff as a board). This felt like it was going to be the latter but I never get enough warning to do anything about it.

T H U M P !

All 6 foot 7 of me went crashing to the ground right there on the pavement.

The next thing I remember is gradually coming too outside and my first thought was 'Why am I lying on a pillow at the bus stop?'. I then began to become aware of the group of people surrounding me. This thought then changed to 'Who carries a pillow around with them on a Sunday morning to a bus stop?'

I began calling for my wife because she has seen my seizures before and knows what to do. I was still completely out of it and was thinking that because I couldnt see her my vision must be impaired. It didnt cross my mind that she was tucked up safely in bed. One of the kind group of people that surrounded me (the MAN I was caling my wifes name) asked me what number he should call. I remember hearing him say 'I dont know what the local code is' so I presume he must have been a tourist. We get alot of them where I stay. Mercifully I was able to tell him my FULL home number and he soon called my wife who hurriedly came down to the bus stop.

Someone must have also phoned an ambulance because it arrived shortly after she did. The first person I remember seeing was my wife (I must have seen the other people but it didnt register) who was re-assuring as ever. She was telling me to relax and lie down but I was becoming aggitated because I was going to miss my bus. I had to go to work after all. The ambulance driver informed me I would NOT be working today.

To cut what is turning into a VERY long story short I was discharged from hospital at 3pm today having slept there for 4 hours or so. I have minor cuts and grazes to the back of my left hand and a HUGE lump on the back of my head my head met the tarmac. Gravity's a smurf.

After being discharged I returned home and slept again until just waking up now. It is 8pm. I can no longer legally drive (even though I dont have a car anyway). On the bright side I will be able to get a 1 year bus pass because of the disqualification on health grounds. That should save a fortune.

I write this LONG schpiel partly to let you guys know what happened to me today but partly to help re-affirm your faith in human nature. In these times where big brother is costantly watching you its good to know that some of the people around you- people you have never met (and people I will never know because I wont be able to recognize them from Adam)- are watching OUT for you. Pray that the next time you pass out on an empty street you are spotted by just such a person and that you too wake up on a pillow.

Thanks for sharing. I'm very happy you were able to wake up on a pillow.

Thank God!! Hope all is well and that you can get back to work soon w/o any health or boss problems. I used to have a friend in school who suffered the same thing, quite a thing to see and have to deal with!

Tim: So am I... so am I....

Nun: I've only seen it happen to somebody else once and its scary as hell to watch.

Has anyone else ever had seizures?

I am glad that you are OK!
I also believe in Human decency! Thanks for telling your tale from that point of view!

I have small ones when I get really bad fevers (100+F), but never anything bad like yours. The worst of mine is that I shake uncontrollably and don't have a clue about where I am or who SWMBO is! You can imagine her surprise the first time it happened Interestingly, I'm usually quite calm and docile

That's great that so many people were helping out. Take care of yourself! It's a sucky way to get a bus discount, but it's still a discount

Originally Posted by Quick Orange

It's a sucky way to get a bus discount, but it's still a discount

Thats the way i'm trying to look at it.

Thankfully people were there and helped out. Generosity and kindness are still out there. I used to have seizures when I was a little, mine were Petite Mal, so nothing like yours. I got a clean bill of health when I was 5 or 6 and haven't had one since. Its good to hear your home and up and around.

Bob

Thanks for sharingj your experience. We are all glad that you are OK.
I too have epilepsy where I suffer grand mal seizures when they occur. Modern medicine has never been able to determine the cause. Fortunately, while I have had the problem for about 30 years, I have not had a problem in the last 10 years due to medication. Just FYI, this affliction is very frightening for both the witnesses to a seizure and the person experiencing the problem. During my last episode, I began having a set of grand mal seizures that they were not able to control for about 5 hours. By the time the hospital had them under control, I had so much medication in me that if took if five days to reduce to a level where I had any concious idea about what was going on around me. My wife told me that I would talk to people and carry on a conversation after the first day, but I have no waking memories of anything that happened during the ensuing 5 days. Missing five days of your life is a very sobering experience on top of the seizure disorder. I relate this not to generate any kind of sympathy; this most recent episode happened over ten years ago. I thought it might be useful for folks that have no connection with epilepsy to have an idea of what can happen and how scrambled the brain can become.

Best of health to you SidneyKidney! Take care of yourself.

Wow, that sucks. Sounds like you were pushing yourself a little too hard. I agree, gravity is a smurf . . . or atleast I think I agree.