chrisjpainter Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 On Saturday morning, I went fishing. Nice early start, intending to target carp and tench with the centrepin and float fishing. I'd had a good session, carp over 10lb and tench and bream to boot, so a pleasant morning ticked off... Until I had an epileptic seizure and ended up face down in the water. I have no memory of what happened next, but some other anglers pulled me out where, given the state of my back, I must have continued to fit. The air ambulance came, but couldn't get to me - I was fishing at the most inconvenient peg to get to, of course - so in the end it was a normal ambulance and the police apparently trying to break down our door to find my next of kin! I'm now home after some super care at Dorset County Hospital and have a shed load of drugs for the pneumonia I've also picked up. I don't have a history of epilepsy as such, I had one 18 years ago and have had nothing since, so although there were warning signs, I totally put them down to overtiredness as I'd got up at 4am to go fishing. Lots of people saying I shouldn't be going fishing now, but my partner thinks that's daft - and I agree with her. But having rudimentary first aid skills can make the world of difference to one family and if you see an idiot fall in, wait a heartbeat to check he's not having a seizure before laughing! I'm essentially fine, all tests came back normal, so the doc is going with a diagnosis of a first time seizure. Again. Just can't drive for a year now! Rahhhh. Stay safe out there guys, but keep having fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Thankfully you were not alone. Good luck, hope it all settles down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 wow thats a b------ glad your ok, very lucky to have someone on hand to pull you out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby1 Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Sorry to hear that , Hope all is well now and you get everything sorted 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 look on the bright side you survived you know you have a problem you can manage it now better you know you have a problem and manage it rather than not knowing and die alone in a field somewhere look after yourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Very lucky indeed. At least now you know and can plan accordingly. Whilst kayaking down river I once pulled the body of a fisherman out of the river Avon, face down in his waders. No one to rescue him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyn Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 That's bad news. Have you got a FAC or SGC will they be taken away? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Scare'y stuff , could have been so much worse and glad you had some company close at hand , I think the thing that would hurt me the most was not being able to drive for a year although I am a lot older and have the benefit of a bus pass , when I look back I went years and years without a mobile phone and it wasn't till we worked in lonely places that the estate where I worked made it a written rule that we must carry a mobile during the hours we worked , I was well into wildfowling and was often out for most of the night under the moon and on the estuary by myself in a gun punt , not once did it enter my head that if anything happened then who would know where to to find me ? , when I retired my wife bought me a phone and was told to at least carry it in my pocket when mainly shooting by myself , I now carry it at all times and I need to remember that the battery don't last that long and the mobile is not much use if it have got a flat battery , GOOD LUCK and I hope you don't have any lasting effects . MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miserableolgit Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Stroke of luck that there were others there and able to get you out the water and do the necessary. Take it easy, and the meds, and follow doctors orders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKD Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 WOW !!! Glad you're OK after that major scare 😳 Lucky other anglers were close by to carry out the rescue 👍 Keep well and keep smiling 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockybasher Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 So lucky to have assistance to help get you out !! Sorry you wont be able to shoot for a while, bang on with the fishing instead 🙂 Take care !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 As already said it's brilliant that you have walked away from what could have been very bad. My wife suffers but a simple change in her Meds last year has resulted in 2-3 attacks a week down to none over the last year . Not sure what triggers yours and it may be worth thinking about - my Wife's seemed to be stress related and identifying the trigger (if you have one) is a huge benefit. Take care, you might be eligible for a Bus pass btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Very lucky. Shows the benefit of a 2 man rule? Take care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Firstly I'm glad you are still with us and uninjured etc. Secondly, you can get various flotation systems for fishing that are aimed at keeping your head up and protected. Not guaranteed, but can work in many cases. I know two people who were keen fishermen - but were made by their families to wear such systems when wading as they were getting poor on their feet/balance due to age issues. I'm not sure if that would work for you as I assume you were bank fishing? Thirdly, I had a work colleague who discovered he got epilepsy due to working with certain screen displays. I can't remember the exact details now as this was 40 years ago, but I do known that he got things under control and got his driving license back in time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mice! Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Really lucky there that there were other anglers close by, otherwise there's only one outcome. Like others have said I'm often out alone at odd hours in the woods and nobody knows I've gone, there are plenty of Apps available now so that family can see where you are, worth looking into, I find it funny that my daughter and her friends all use one so they know where others are. The not being able to drive would be a real killer, especially when you are used to being able to do as you please. Knowing some basic first aid should be far more common place, I'm sure there will be loads with no idea. Take it easy, hopefully it was an isolated incident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Very scary stuff. Good luck to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aled Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Glad you are OK now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 2 hours ago, marsh man said: Scare'y stuff , could have been so much worse and glad you had some company close at hand , I think the thing that would hurt me the most was not being able to drive for a year although I am a lot older and have the benefit of a bus pass , when I look back I went years and years without a mobile phone and it wasn't till we worked in lonely places that the estate where I worked made it a written rule that we must carry a mobile during the hours we worked , I was well into wildfowling and was often out for most of the night under the moon and on the estuary by myself in a gun punt , not once did it enter my head that if anything happened then who would know where to to find me ? , when I retired my wife bought me a phone and was told to at least carry it in my pocket when mainly shooting by myself , I now carry it at all times and I need to remember that the battery don't last that long and the mobile is not much use if it have got a flat battery , GOOD LUCK and I hope you don't have any lasting effects . MM What3words is a good app to have on your phone, especially for those out in the wilds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjpainter Posted July 15 Author Report Share Posted July 15 Thanks all, it's been an eventful few days to say the least. I don't do much shooting these days anyway and I've only kept up the sub 12ft/lb stuff, so that's not a concern. Right now I don't have any kind of diagnosis and the specialist is expecting it to stay that way. One off seizures can happen to anyone, it's just in my case there are no obvious triggers or causes. All lifestyle choices don't seem to apply: I don't drink anywhere near enough for it to be a factor, I've never smoked and have a healthy lifestyle backed up by a healthy diet. Blood pressure's normally fine, O2 saturation's fine and sugar levels are normal. Stress can be a trigger, but I'm a teaching assistant doing a job that I love in a location that I love - and we'd finished for the Summer anyway, and had done for a couple of weeks or so. We're not in any kind of financial uncertainty particularly either. Sometimes things happen for no particular reason - it's just with me it's happened twice, almost 20 years apart! Bit of a vexation about not driving, but we can work around that and there are plenty of things to be cheerful about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Clavata Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 Glad you’re “ok”. With that positive practical attitude you’ll be just fine sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minky Posted July 15 Report Share Posted July 15 It doesn't matter how clever anyone is or how rich they are when things go wrong, your number is up. Some years ago The father in law of a bloke that I worked with had a stroke driving his car. He was driving in second gear, foot to the floor to valve bounce and the cam followers jumped off the cam stopping the engine and the car. He had been driving in the wrong carriageway making vehicles swerve to avoid him. When plod eventually got there they thought that he was drunk because he was slumped in his seat and hanging out of the door. They idiots arrested him for being drunk in charge. Then the ambulance men told them that he wasn't drunk but that he had, had a stroke. He wasn't able to drive again and only lasted a year or so before he keeled over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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