8 am, Monday, Bus no. 75
I was sitting innocently at the last row of seats in bus no. 75 and studying my Abnormal Psychology textbook, when a man boarded the bus and sat beside me. He was talking to someone else on his left. Probably his friend, I thought.
Still, I was sitting innocently at the last row of seats in the bus, trying to squeeze in as much info about Alzheimer's disease as possible when suddenly that man raised his hands like he was having a good long stretch. Though it was weird to stretch so freely in the bus (esp. when there is a small gal next to you), I ignored it. But, the stretching never stopped. He suddenly stood up from the seat and I realised that he was actually having seizures. The seizures continued for about another minute, during which the passenger next to him stood up and this man fell sidewards on the seat (I was actually very scared that that he would fall on me). First there was saliva issuing from his mouth, but later it looked more whitish and bubbly like froth. The people in the back row( 2 men) were trying to control the man's hands as they were flexing up and down. I on the right side of him, tried to control his other hand. Actually I was afraid his hand was going to hit somewhere illegal if I din't control it. Might have seemed altruistic to others though. Soon after, the other people in the bus got to know what was happening at the back and the bus was stopped. A lady offered water while another offered sweets to raise his glucose level. Wonder whether that will help. But the man didn't speak at all. I guess he wasn't able to. He was just making sounds. One of the passengers had called for the ambulance and the bus was stopped near the Salvation Army at Bukit Timah Road. The bus was emptied soon after, leaving only the other two men with the one affected.
In the midst of all this, there I was thinking about whether I would be late for my Abnormal paper. It was so ironic that something abnormal just played itself out on the day of my abnormal paper. The scene did affect me considerably. I kept thinking about it through the rest of the journey, even throughout the day.We had studied epilepsy in Abnormal Psych but it was just more intimidating in real life. So much for wanting to be a therapist, I don’t know what I would do if my patient suddenly had a fit in front of me. I guess I got to think about this as well. It was quite scary.
When it is just a 3rd person going through it, it seems like epilepsy is such a far-fetched thing. But just imagine if it was one of your friends or loved one? Would really be very sad. I was even thinking about what I would do if my husband or father or child had this illness. Don't think I will be able to take it. Alhamdulilah my father (and the rest of the family) is healthy in that sense. May my husband and child be too.
Thank God, I was on time for the paper. How the paper turned out to be is another thing altogether. Well, I did write something, so I'm just hoping for the best.
I was sitting innocently at the last row of seats in bus no. 75 and studying my Abnormal Psychology textbook, when a man boarded the bus and sat beside me. He was talking to someone else on his left. Probably his friend, I thought.
Still, I was sitting innocently at the last row of seats in the bus, trying to squeeze in as much info about Alzheimer's disease as possible when suddenly that man raised his hands like he was having a good long stretch. Though it was weird to stretch so freely in the bus (esp. when there is a small gal next to you), I ignored it. But, the stretching never stopped. He suddenly stood up from the seat and I realised that he was actually having seizures. The seizures continued for about another minute, during which the passenger next to him stood up and this man fell sidewards on the seat (I was actually very scared that that he would fall on me). First there was saliva issuing from his mouth, but later it looked more whitish and bubbly like froth. The people in the back row( 2 men) were trying to control the man's hands as they were flexing up and down. I on the right side of him, tried to control his other hand. Actually I was afraid his hand was going to hit somewhere illegal if I din't control it. Might have seemed altruistic to others though. Soon after, the other people in the bus got to know what was happening at the back and the bus was stopped. A lady offered water while another offered sweets to raise his glucose level. Wonder whether that will help. But the man didn't speak at all. I guess he wasn't able to. He was just making sounds. One of the passengers had called for the ambulance and the bus was stopped near the Salvation Army at Bukit Timah Road. The bus was emptied soon after, leaving only the other two men with the one affected.
In the midst of all this, there I was thinking about whether I would be late for my Abnormal paper. It was so ironic that something abnormal just played itself out on the day of my abnormal paper. The scene did affect me considerably. I kept thinking about it through the rest of the journey, even throughout the day.We had studied epilepsy in Abnormal Psych but it was just more intimidating in real life. So much for wanting to be a therapist, I don’t know what I would do if my patient suddenly had a fit in front of me. I guess I got to think about this as well. It was quite scary.
When it is just a 3rd person going through it, it seems like epilepsy is such a far-fetched thing. But just imagine if it was one of your friends or loved one? Would really be very sad. I was even thinking about what I would do if my husband or father or child had this illness. Don't think I will be able to take it. Alhamdulilah my father (and the rest of the family) is healthy in that sense. May my husband and child be too.
Thank God, I was on time for the paper. How the paper turned out to be is another thing altogether. Well, I did write something, so I'm just hoping for the best.
No comments:
Post a Comment