Odd experience on way to work

[Calicot]

On my way to work this morning (driving) I had the oddest experience. Very busy road, man on bike starts to wobble and look really uncoordinated. He looks really unwell. He then collapses and falls from bike across road/pavement. I stop car as does person on other side get out of car and me and a cyclist/woman on the other side rush up to him. He then proceeds to get up, say "only joking" and cycles off. This looked like someone having a seizure or something very serious. He fell heavily on the road. It totally shook me up. Would appreciate your thoughts.

What the Pete?! What did the other people say?

Not the best really

Nutter

Sounds to me like a genuine thing that he then tried to cover up for whatever reason.

@TheSunIsShining19 they were as confused as me. There were quite a few people who were about to help this nan. I literally was about to call 999

Scam trick? Have you checked nothing missing from your car? Could have been a distraction technique, handbag then gets stolen from car.

Yeah for some reason I have the same hunch: he had a momentary seizure or collapsed, and when he recovered he was so embarrassed he styled it a joke.

He was probably disoriented and mortified. Sometimes people cover that up with humour. Poor guy.

Nothing missing from the car - I actually left the key in the car, it occurred to afterwards someone could have stolen it

I agree it was a misfired joke because he was embarrassed about the fuss. It’s a sort of British response isn’t it? ‘Don’t mind me.’

I once helped an old gent who had fallen off his bicycle. I was a pedestrian though.

I offered to walk with him back to where he lived.

He seemed quite with it but a bit shaken. He was able to push his bike. He told me the very sad tale of how both his daughters had emigrated and he had no one to care about him or visit and how lonely he was.

As we neared his home an agitated looking woman appeared out of the front door, “Dad! What have you done now?!”

It was then I noticed that his shopping bag on hanging in his bike contained cans of beer!

The woman was mortified and ushered him inside and apologised to me profusely!

Well that is strange.
Either;

1. Drunk
2. Scam
3. Possible diabetic (they become confused and personality changes).
4. Embarrassed about falling
5. A very unfunny numpty.

How strange! I would think maybe embarrassed about falling so tried to British it out by pretending he meant to.

He could have had an absence seizure and then tried to cover it up. Absences last typically up to ten seconds - which is a long time if you are cycling. If it was an absence he'd have 'zoned out' sort of gone blank but his legs may have continued to move do rather a couple of bike revolutions. He wouldn't lose consciousness and would be 'back in the room' as soon a son it was over.

Oh should say he may have epilepsy and have had an absence seizure. Epilepsy is pretty common but 70% or so of people with the condition have good/complete seizure control with medication.

Yeah, DH has epilepsy and has absence seizures. When he’s had one he often doesn’t clock until a little later that that’s what it was, it makes it look like he’s daydreaming. The clue is that he often says random shite when he’s coming back ‘in’ from it. My first thought was that it sounded a bit like that.

Someone I know was consistently late to work with a myriad of weird excuses given to his boss. Then one day, he was walking along to work and spotted a dead pigeon in the road. He decided to move it so it wouldn't get squashed and put it in a bush or something (god knows why!). So he strode out into the road, picked up the dead bird carefully in both hands, then just as he stood up with it his boss drove past staring with his mouth wide open. When he got to work boss said he'd believe any excuse he had for being late now cos that was the weirdest sight ever.

I had something similar a few years ago. I was cycling along a busy road, and suddenly a pedestrian seemed to collapse and fall in the gutter.

A few people stopped, and he seemed to be totally unconscious. I called an ambulance while others put him in the recovery position.

As soon as an ambulance arrived, he jumped up and started shouting that he was fine, why were we all making a fuss.

The ambulance people ushered us all away so I don't know what happened next, but I assume he was mentally ill.

We were told at uni that people with a leg condition that causes intermittent pain will be forced to stop by the pain, and cover it up by pretending to look in shop windows. Cue anecdote about old ladies rooted to the spot outside Anne Summers and gazing in with slowly dawning horror.

If he does have a condition that causes these episodes it may be illegal for him to drive. Pure speculation of course, but that might make him more inclined to try to minimise any incidences when he's cycling.

Bayley
Happened to my husband when he was first diagnosed with epilepsy. Had a massive seizure, witnessed by about a dozen workmates. When the ambulance arrived he said "who's that for?2.