r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	meepmeep13
Comment	Something similar happened to me last year - just outside the subway a wee lassie had a massive epileptic fit and faceplanted into the pavement via a bollard right in front of me, and lay convulsing with her face smashed up. There were loads of people around but I was the closest person and spent the next 20 minutes trying to stem the blood, reassure her as she slowly came round, and sit on the phone with the 999 dispatcher. Felt like years. Then the ambulance sped off and I was left standing there and....just carried on to do my shopping. So I think I know how you feel - like for the next week I was in a weird limbo, where for a short period I'd become closely involved in an extreme situation of someone's life, and then as quickly as it had started it was over and I wasn't anything to do with it any more. (in this case I did know her name from her phone, so could possibly have followed up) I think the thing is to realise that despite your experience this person is still a stranger, you happened to be briefly involved, you did what you could and should have done, but there really isn't anything else positive that you can - or should - try and do. At best, you're going to make some random guy feel indebted in some manner and want to make it up to you, and at worst you're going to find out he died later that night - neither of which is in your control, or will give you closure. So I think rather than try and pursue this, you need to instead deal with your reaction to it, accept that the guy got all the help he could possibly get - in good part thanks to you - and move on accepting you're not going to get some satisfactory conclusion. Also, it's well established that first responders can often suffer from PTSD, even from relatively minor events - if this starts to adversely affect your mental health, then you may get great benefits from talking to someone about what happened.
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/c3f78z/long_shot_but_can_anyone_help_me_find_this_guy/ertov80/
Created	Sun 23rd Jun 2019 1:12am
Status	()

Something similar happened to me last year - just outside the subway a wee lassie had a massive epileptic fit and faceplanted into the pavement via a bollard right in front of me, and lay convulsing with her face smashed up. There were loads of people around but I was the closest person and spent the next 20 minutes trying to stem the blood, reassure her as she slowly came round, and sit on the phone with the 999 dispatcher. Felt like years.

Then the ambulance sped off and I was left standing there and....just carried on to do my shopping.

So I think I know how you feel - like for the next week I was in a weird limbo, where for a short period I'd become closely involved in an extreme situation of someone's life, and then as quickly as it had started it was over and I wasn't anything to do with it any more.

(in this case I did know her name from her phone, so could possibly have followed up)

I think the thing is to realise that despite your experience this person is still a stranger, you happened to be briefly involved, you did what you could and should have done, but there really isn't anything else positive that you can - or should - try and do. At best, you're going to make some random guy feel indebted in some manner and want to make it up to you, and at worst you're going to find out he died later that night - neither of which is in your control, or will give you closure.

So I think rather than try and pursue this, you need to instead deal with your reaction to it, accept that the guy got all the help he could possibly get - in good part thanks to you - and move on accepting you're not going to get some satisfactory conclusion.

Also, it's well established that first responders can often suffer from PTSD, even from relatively minor events - if this starts to adversely affect your mental health, then you may get great benefits from talking to someone about what happened.