"I've fallen and I can't get up"

[Dizzy Dame]

It seems mean-spiritedness is going around...

Earlier today I went with my grandfather to pick up my mom at the airport in Atlanta. On the way back we decided to stop at a restaraunt called "The Varsity". I went inside to eat with them, but suddenly began to feel very dizzy. I told my mom I felt sick and left to go lay down in the car. When I got out to the parking lot, I found the car was locked but at this point my heart was racing and I was starting to see grey. That's when I fell.

I lay on the asphalt for a minute or two, then managed to prop myself up on the side of the car, with my legs splayed out in front of me. Everytime I tried to stand, I greyed out again and collapesed.

I sat in this position for nearly a half hour, people kept walking by me but no one offered to help. How is that? If I saw someone laying up against a car (which was parked in a handicapped spot by the way) who had a CANE, I'd at least ask if they needed anything.

Finally my family came out and saw me up against the car, they helped me in and we went home.

Has anyone ever had an experience like this? After reading Persephone's post today I'm beginning to loose faith in humanity.

[Evie]

How horrible for you!

Ive been fairly lucky yet i have had people yell at me when i hit the ground as they assume i am on drugs or something (i want to scream at them but i cant move or speak at the time). Another time i was sitting down in a popular food court in sydney and everything was spinning around me, my boyfriend was on his way to 'save me' from the other end of town (he managed to get there and find me in less than 5 mins .. i was quite proud of him) ... but anyway i was crying and my head kept falling to the table and nobody asked if i was ok for quite some time ... finally a lady asked if i needed ambluance .. she was lovely. But the amusing thing is that she looked like a bikie ... she had a shaved head and a leather jacket, all the 'nice conservative' looking families around me just ignored me.

People can **** sometimes ... yet other times they are wonderful ... *sigh*

[Aprilmarie52]

That is atlanta for you. People in the city are not friendly.

[MomtoGiuliana]

So sorry about your disheartening experience. I am surprised that no one would at least attempt to call for emergency help, even if they felt uncomfortable approaching you. I think people do tend to be more concerned and friendly in small communities than in large cities. If something like that happened in my small town, I am sure there would be much help and concern offered!

Hope you are on more even keel today. Right after a meal can be the worst time for me with POTS symptoms.

Katherine

[Ernie]

Hi,

I am sorry you had such an inhuman experience. Where is the world going!

So far I have always had luck with people carrying me up from the street and calling the ambulance. I avoid going out alone but sometimes I takes chances.

I hope you never have to go through that again.

[persephone]

You know some people do **** like that....people assume I'm drunk because of the way that I walk- they look and judge. Ironically, I can't really drink much anymore! One of my first and worst ever pots attacks was when I was only 14. It was early in the morning, I was on my way to school and was in my school uniform andI had to sit in the middle of the pavement with a face so grey it looked like it was made of ice. People on their way to work to stepped over me, climbed over me/walked round me. In the end I had to CRAWL to a phonebox and somehow manage to call my mother. She had to drive the 6 miles to come and get me to drive me round the corner to school! (ironic--i went to school pretty far away from where I live).

BUT on the whole, people CAN be quite kind. Im going to talk about some positive stuff now to prove we can keep our faith in humanity! In St Andrews people were usually lovely and here in Oxford, well, my flatmates are AWESOME- they think nothing of cooking my tea for me, or of helping me through to bed, nothing of hugging me when I break down and sob (which has happened a great deal over the last few weeks)

One of my St Andrews tutors used to help me get to hospital appointments 30 miles awy by driving me there, and even came over to visit when it was the mbusiest point of her term-just to give me a hug and make sure I wasn't too isolated. I'd been confined to bed but she managed to get her hands on a wheelchiar and wheeled me to the hospital cafe away from the heart monitors (that took some persuading, the cardiologist was NOT keen in case something dodgy happened while I was up there).

And my tutor here- the lady who has been AWESOME about evrything...well, she has completely restored my faith too after other people in this university have totally SUCKED and got it all badly wrong.

THree times now in the past week she has seen me have a really bad POTS attack (although one of them was probably a vasovagal one, yesterday). She is so intuitive and seems to know exactly what to watch out for already- and she stays perfectly calm. THere's no panic. She respects my wish to avoid ambulances- which many people wouldn't! AND you know what makes me admire her even more? She never even knew I had POTS until SUNDAY when I emailed her an assessment I'd had done. It turns out the Disability Office here had told her NOTHING about any of it- so that first time I wobbled in her tutorial--she didn't know what on earth was happening! It must have been a real shock- I know what other people get like..yet she remained completely calm and in control of the situation. And she always says "Take your time, there's no rush. It's all right."

So take heart- yes, there are some EVIL people out there (like those people on the forum I told you about yesterday) BUT goodness me, they make the ones who ARE worth anything, truly shine!

Keep smiling, and know that if any of us here saw you sitting like an elf (that's how I see myself when I have to sit down!) then WE would come over, pick you up, dust you down, and give you a big hearty hug!

[Evie]

Wow the disability unit didnt inform your lecturers/tutors? did they say that they would?

You have had a really rough deal It is nice to hear that you are getting such strong support from some people though.