Do you think festival should have helped me?

[MyAppleTree]

Not really a big deal, but home and musing. Went to a festival this weekend, on my own. Had an ok time.

For context my stuff was really heavy, 8 man tent huge heavy, only one I could borrow and obviously had to bring it back.

The night before I’ve left my asthma inhaler ran out, and I’ve started bleeding and cramping from a minor procedure I had done last week. I had an asthma attack about a week ago too.

Anyway the car was absolutely miles away, through mud and hills. Sincerely worried I could not physically make it. So I thought I was sensible going to camp welfare and asking if there was any way to hire a buggy to take the stuff to the car. They said no but sent me to first aid to see if I could get an inhaler to manage the asthma doing the drag.

First aid wouldn’t give me a spare inhaler unless I was having an actual attack, not just feeling wheezy. No help available obviously for the cramping as I need a gp to assess that.

So basically no help.

Now I did make it to the car. Very very breathless and in pain, car got stuck in the mud and had to be towed. Stupid gear and I fell down a few hills too!

Hence not a big deal because while breathless I have made it home (2hr drive) and have my inhalers. And yes it’s my own fault for not picking up my spare!!

So just a hypothetical really, were they unreasonable not to help me when I asked? It could have ended differently.

Sorry, but YABU. I hope you feel better soon though.

My inhaler is literally always on my person. I have brittle asthma which can flare up with little warning, so I carry it at all times, even when walking around my own house. If I don't have pockets, I stash it in my bra. It was highly irresponsible of you to allow your inhaler to run out and leave your spare behind. If you had an asthma attack last week and are still wheezing this week after the 5 days of steroids you would have been given, then you need to go back to your gp for another 5 days at least, possibly more and tapered dosage. You should be keeping an eye on your peak flow too, if it drops too low, go back to the GP. If you're taking your symbicort as you should, it sounds like it's not working well. When was your last asthma review? You should have one withing 48 hours of having an asthma attack, so if you've not had one, book it in now.

Sucks that they couldn't lend you a buggy, but YABVVU to not take care of your own health. 'I forgot my inhaler' is a poor excuse. As soon as you realised, you should have gone back for it, or at least stopped off at a pharmacy to buy a salbutamol inhaler. Imagine if you had a peanut allergy and you'd forgotten your epi pen, would you carry on regardless? Asthma is no less dangerous than anaphylaxis and if you've recently had an asthma attack, you're at high risk of having another soon after.

@chergar yes there are often really good facilities for disabled people at festivals. It’s been a few years since I last went to one, but the IoW festival (as an example) has a separate campsite where you can park your car next to your tent and access wheelchair accessible toilets and showers.

Sorry, that was much preachier than I intended....

Bear to be fair everyone had set up Thursday and I went Friday night and camped in a puddle so not sure they were envious. Never been before, wouldn’t take up the space again.

Zonkin well I did it alone believe me or not! Expensive, well it certainly looked it, but he bought it not me.

Faire well I guess so, but under the circumstances plus the inhaler thing. And I’ve got my answer.

Heart Kendall Calling

Totally off topic, but I can't stop laughing at the post about the inflatable flamingo, haha!

Ref suspected infection have you made appointment with doctor ?

I think you made a mistake calling a coil fitting a minor procedure, it’s mislead people into thinking you had, well, a procedure. Amazing work putting up the tent alone though, I wouldn’t even know where to start

Act no, going to ring Drs on an emergency one tomorrow am. I’m fairly sure this is not normal side effects.

Pass you are probably right!

I’ve got physical constraints that mean I just don’t do things like go to festivals. The world just isn’t set up for everyone.

MyAppleTree make sure you have your asthma review too. That's of equal importance.

Jeez, she knows she was UR. Give it up now 😂

I’ve put up a 6 man inflatable myself, but I was a girl guide back in the day when we had bell tents!

If your asthma is that bad, why did you let yourself run out of an inhaler?
If you felt ill anyway then why did you go? Why did you take a tent which was too heavy? All those things were on you, I'm afraid.

So you didn’t have a procedure and you wanted to hire a buggy but for some reason you couldn’t?

I didn’t just rock up without one at all. Sorry if that was unclear.

Sorry OP but I think this has been the problem-it wasn’t clear in the OP at all. And the ‘minor procedure’ sounds way more than just having the coil fitted. Your updates to paint a very different picture and people will struggle to catch up reading them in time of when they post! Lesson learned OP. Hope you feel better now you are back.

Don't beat yourself up about this.
My guess is that you were not on the ball because you were developing an infection but it wasn't yet painful....so you didn't know this.
As an asthmatic I have to take a spare when I go out but I was traveling for a hospital appointment one time and found out I had forgotten my inhaler. I couldn't believe I had been so stupid but it happened and I was unwell so I think being under par was the reason I forgot.
I had an asthma attack and it was so scary but we made it to the hospital in approx 40 mins and then I was taken to the Asthma clinic and given one to use, not keep.

This was a huge lesson learned and just draw a line and next time if you go to a festival you will be so fucking organized!!
next time will be better.
Also downside of coils is infections......rethink this one

I’m surprised your friend, with all his festival experience, would give any single person an 8 man tent. He would know how far you would have to walk with it!! I would have struggled to carry that.

Oh good god. I've worked on huge events and met people like you. Totally underprepared. 10% of festival goers take up 90% of the resources.

In your position I would have asked for help from other festival goers.

Nevertheless I hope you are okay now and suffer no lasting health issues.

Work was also ridiculous expecting you to sort yourself out last minute. If you didn’t have a tent they should have provided you with one.

What planet are you on? Her company gave her and other employees free tickets to an event. They bear no responsibility for the person at the event! It’s entirely up to the person whether they go and If they can’t get there, or haven’t got the necessary equipment then they don’t go. None of that is their employers responsibility. I can’t believe you think it is.

They should have at least try to help you in some way.

I was at a festival last year, that I always attend with DP, he didn't fancy it last year though, so I went with a girl friend.

I've a slipped disc and really struggle with lifting. I took a sack barrow, but even pulling it was too hard.

I asked security if I could hire a golf buggy, or something and one said that the buggies were all booked, but he got a mate to cover his post and carried my tent and rucksack all the way to the camp. I was so grateful.

On the last day, I explained my predicament again to the camp security and they let me bring my car to right by the camp to load up. I would have been crippled for a month, without their helpfulness.

I had tried making enquiries in the run up to the festival and had no joy, they said I should have bought a disabled ticket. But I'm not officially disabled, just in a fair amount of pain when I do certain things.

If they couldn't help you at your festival, it would have been nice for them to try and find someone else that actually could.

Rhymes what resources have I taken up?

Chloe that’s fair I was unclear.

Gold you may be right, I hope they can sort it, sounded a good idea at the time non-hormonal option!

MyAppleTree:
The eventual circumstances you encountered were obviously not envisaged or expected. The organisers were unreasonable in your case because they have a legal duty of care for anyone being inside the boundary of the festival, whether a paying guest or by climbing the wall. They are obliged to have adequate and measured risk assessments in place and considered every potential hazard and its' consequences. The Health & Safety of every man, woman and child at the festival is their responsibility to a reasonable standard. They should have had access to medical facilities and areas both on and off site, medical equipment and procedures in place for all contingencies. A lift would have been sensible on their behalf combined with the availability of oxygen or an inhaler and probably an assessment from a medical specialist, GP or similar.
Had you collapsed on the way to your car, the organisers would find themselves in a difficult position. Even the free working attendees would be held liable in certain conditions.
Too many posters on here are not aware as to the extent and involvement Health & Safety has on peoples obligations.

People like you - people who come to an event unprepared and then ask for help when everyone is stretched looking after the safety and security of everyone, and dealing with real emergencies.

As others have said, you could have helped yourself by making sure you could carry your own stuff and you had adequate medication.

But as you said, it all worked out so learn and move on.

Bloody hell my teenagers have been better prepared for a Festival than you.

All of this was in your control.

Well, I think they could have given you a puff on an inhaler, as a preventative measure.