Overlook And Overstep

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains content of a medical nature. It is not intended as medical advice.

(My friend and I are 16 and taking her younger sister, who’s 12, to the shop with us. On the way there, I spot a guy collapse half on the street and half on the road. I run over.)

Me: “Sir, can you hear me? Are you okay?” *to my friend* “Call an ambulance!”

(She does and I put the guy in the recovery position. He starts to come round.)

Stranger: “I’m sorry, girls. I have epilepsy. I’m so sorry.”

Me: “Don’t worry about it. Here, I have some water if you want it.”

(He collapses again and starts having a major seizure. All I can think to do is protect his head from hitting the ground so I shove my jacket under him and try to keep his head safe. One of his arms catches me in the face hard but I hang on. Then, a grown man and woman step over him to pass us. As they walk away, the woman turns around.)

Woman: “Are you girls okay?”

(The man is still seizing and I’m in tears from where he hit me. I’ve told my friend to take her sister a little way away as it’s upsetting her.)

Me: “Not really. This guy is having a seizure and we’ve called an ambulance but I don’t know what I’m doing.”

(The guy rolls his eyes and looks like he wants to walk away but the woman nudges him.)

Man: “He’s wet himself. He’s probably an alcoholic.”

Me: “What does that matter? He’s having a seizure!”

(The ambulance finally arrives and the man goes to greet them. He gives a wrong account of what’s happened and I keep interrupting to correct him. Finally, he gets angry.)

Man: “Listen, I’m a police officer and I’m dealing with the paramedics, so shut up.”

Me: *in disbelief* “You’re a police officer? You stepped over us without helping at all! You’ve been useless!”

(The paramedics raised their eyebrows at this and the man went a little red. The guy was taken away in the ambulance. I never did find out what happened to him but I’ll never forget how willing a policeman was to overlook a man in need.)

This story is part of our Epilepsy roundup.

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