Thread 4 - Michael Mosley

[Aquarius1234]

Body found and identified.

All testament to the fact that, quoting myself up thread, ‘impulsive ambles’ are not advised on a rocky Aegean island during an unseasonal heatwave at midday.

@LefkaOri Are you seriously trying to pat yourself on the back or point score?

As I said to you last time, we don’t know that he went for an ‘impulsive amble’. We know he intended to walk at last some way to somewhere, it seems possibly to get back to his apartment.

If he got lost, as it seems he did, and went of course, well it’s a bit graceless to call that an impulsive amble.

Hubris is more than over-confidence and you have absolutely no evidence of it. He could have done the walk by mistake, through ignorance of the terrain - or any other reason.

Next you’ll be pompously blabbing on about Nemesis - ooh, except you’ll probably write it in Greek 🙄 That’s more bloody hubris (and pretension) than poor MM showed.

It's getting a bit crass now to call it hubris. The man had an adventurous streak which isnt the same as being arrogant.

It's so sad, and how awful for his family. Their boat must have passed the coast around the time he was dying.

I have had multiple old injuries compound in my ankle, so gave up hiking alone for a year or two a few years back.

I was still daft enough to go for a long walk in -12 temps in Finland on my own. I was overtaken by the only others on the route (cyclists), and they were ahead of me on the way home. I'd shared my route with my husband back home, but my phone was suffering in the cold.

On the way back, I was slipping and sliding in spite of good footwear. The third time I went down, I was struck by the thought, "this is how I die then".

Of course, I made it back, but it could have been otherwise.

It can happen so easily.

It's so sad, and how awful for his family. Their boat must have passed the coast around the time he was dying. What an awful thought. @thecatsthecats

Not a nice comment @LefkaOri

He was bloody crawling for half an hour in a desperate attempt for survival. All this talk of hubris is bloody crass in my opinion. Poor bloke. I can't stop thinking about it.

Just read Fail that he was due to do Strictly. They wouldn't have signed him up without thorough medical check - two fingers up to those saying he made stupid decision.

It’s really affected me. I’ve been upset for days about it and keep thinking about it too.

It's not really anything to do with fitness level though, soldiers have died from heat exhaustion during exercises in this country on really hot days, it can really affect anyone at any time, in any place, your body can only take so much of a specific set of extreme circumstances. But I wouldn't go so far as to call it a stupid decision, I think that's quite an insensitive thing to say given the circumstances.

More an underestimation/miscalculation of the heat and the length/difficulty of the journey perhaps.. the problem is once you've got so far into a journey like that, past the point of no return, you can't just stop if you begin to feel unwell, you've either got to carry on or turn back, maybe he thought they'd be some shade, or the route may have got easier further on, or the place was just over that ridge if he climbed to the top etc.

I nearly collapsed watching cricket in Cardiff last year, of all places. Once your body overheats then there is little you can do about it and I'm only in my 40s. I didn't intend to get too hot and was wearing a hat and drinking water. I know that feeling of fighting to stay awake and having to stagger to a place of safety to cool off despite your body not co-operating. Luckily I could and luckily I was surrounded by thousands of people who could've helped if needed. In a way, the fact that he fought so hard and for so long to make it is testament to his strong will. He was a doctor. He would've known how much danger he was in.

Thinking about him is distressing. It's like an intrusive thought. I don't want to be thinking about it but what happened keeps popping into my head.

Me too @IdisagreeMrHochhauser.

I know but there are some idiots saying he had heart problems and diabetes when he didn't.

-to your last paragraph I mean.

I've been really thinking about it too. I wonder if it's my anxiety finding something to focus on

I'm glad I'm not the only one getting intrusive thoughts about this, picturing those last 30 minutes many times in my head.
I often get intrusive thoughts about child abuse cases stuck in my head. Now this. I think it's actually some sort of overdeveloped sense of empathy - feeling the horror of others suffering too deeply. But I hate it. I wish I could just forget about it.

My s had heatstroke once and it was frightening to see how seriously ill she was, I remember the GP coming to the house (back in the day) and she was shivering and everyone looked really serious and alarmed. It was as if her physiological systems were crashing. Awful; and she had only been in the sun in the UK but just for too long. She was really young and strong as well.

Totally irrelevant I know but I wonder why they had such a high perimeter fence behind a tiny beach wirh a kiosk. It's like something you'd see in a city. The island looked a barren wasteland from the air I can't think what needed to be kept out?!

@Janiie I wondered that too! Think it's probably to keep the mountain sheep and goats out and that's why it's so high because goats can jump

Aw that seems quite sad though they're harmless and I bet most of the time the place is deserted. Just seemed ott and not a particularly picturesque. Talking of which why is symi such an ugly little place, all the pretty Greek Islands and that one looks like a quarry.

And someone mentioned feral dogs on the mountain as well which wouldn't be welcome in the resort either

Ah yes true. Just so utterly horrifc that he got that far and couldn't get past a massive perimeter fence. I know it wouldn't have changed the outcome but it would of course have meant that he'd have been found the same day.

Regarding the high fence, it seems that everything that could go wrong for Dr Mosley, did go wrong that day. The fence was the final insurmountable hurdle.
I have been wondering why he didn't call out as he descended, to get someone's attention. Perhaps he did but simply wasn't heard. It's unbearably sad.

I suppose if 'he was crawling for half an hour' gets repeated often enough it will become true and take on the status of a fact.
I've also read people stating that he was pacing/walking backwards and forwards along the fenced perimeter looking for an entrance.
I read that he was ' gingerly making his way down the slope ' so I think I'll keep saying that .
But honestly we don't know these details.

No but we do know there was a massive perimeter fence protecting a tiny beach and kiosk. Seems ott and, once again if only they'd viewed the footage from that beach on the thur he'd have been found. So we know 'those details' don't we?