To find what’s happened to Michael Mosley quite anxiety provoking

[Glasto73lover]

It’s that idea of never really knowing what’s going to happen- the idea that we walk such a fine line in life. If you think too much about it, you probably wouldn’t leave the house.!

A close family member died suddenly and tragically a decade ago - literally dropped dead at home age 48 - something went pop in their head. So you genuinely don’t know when your time is up.

It’s that idea of a chain of consequence that can go so horribly wrong too- people always say ‘oh but you could get hit by a bus’ - stuff like this actually makes me really anxious. So many what ifs.

For Michael Moseley - a chain of probably inconsequential decisions may have led to his death- not having a phone on him, choosing to undertake a walk that in the U.K. is nothing but in that heat, was devastating and probably caused his death.

It makes me anxious that I won’t know if I am making those decisions - am I making sense? I think as I have got older, I have become more anxious and risk averse (thanks menopause) and as a result, you could end up not leaving the house. How do you choose a sensible approach? Not too much risk but some!

But I also want to live my life too!! I guess I find incidents like this quite difficult!

I guess always having a phone, not undertaking walks in intense heat in an unfamiliar place etc are the common sense points that will come out of this tragedy.

Aibu to find it anxiety provoking tho?!

Are you sure you’re on a healthy diet? I think many people believe they are but in reality aren’t. I certainly was in that category. This being said, agree that even someone on the healthiest of diets can get sick. The risk is much lower though.

and intense exercise in excessive heat can kill through a kind of poisoning caused by the break down of our own muscles. If you survive it you can end up disabled due to kidney damage. Many people will perhaps get a bit more life through the shock of the loss of his life, I like to think he would be glad he stoked these discussions and that his family can take some comfort in knowing that his death will make a difference to others' lives. I had to learn more about "rhabdo" as have become very susceptible to heat stroke Once the ambient temperature is above our body temperature the danger really ramps up.

https://thesimplehiker.com/hiking-rhabdomyolysis-causes-symptoms-complications/

Yes, I'm sure thanks.🙄 The disease I suffer from has not been associated with a poor diet but that doesn't stop people giving me advice on it which can be very irritating. I think people underestimate just how much is down to genetics, age and just bad luck. It makes them feel better to think they have control.

I'm guilty of spending too much time looking at the route MM took on this journey and have come across some info posted by a trekker several years ago, link below. Relevant in this thread as it loosely links to risk, in the sense of being prepared for a journey you're undertaking. It shows photos of parts of the route and also says how the first kilometre from Pedi beach is paved. Perhaps this lulls you into a false sense of security if you have no idea of what to expect? But the photos show how rough the terrain is up there, and is consistent with the mayor calling it a "treacherous" route.

https://www.google.com/maps/reviews/@36.6248224,27.8723082,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!14m5!1m4!2m3!1sChZDSUhNMG9nS0VJQ0FnSURBcDVhMVVBEAE!2m1!1s0x0:0xfbd07999152e0eaf?hl=en-US&entry=ttu

It doesn't make me anxious but it does give me cause to think about how easily a normal day can go very badly wrong.

Reading everything that's been said about MM's walk that day, it very much sounds like he took the path to the ancient marina on purpose, presumably he wanted to walk up there and maybe catch the boat taxi back. He wasn't heading straight home.

I'm guessing during the walk away from Pedi to the marina bar area, which was only 1.4km and maybe 30 mins of not terrible terrain, he either took a wrong turn or possibly actually decided to go higher, to see the view perhaps?

What should have been a half hour walk became a lot longer, once up higher he may have really started to feel the effects of the heat/dehydration and has tried to come back down as quickly as he safely could.

The terrible sad part is that he was so very nearly at the bar when he collapsed,
literally a few meters and within shouting distance of people.

If anything it's made me think that you should never underestimate heat and I will never forget that.

But if they're really fit then they are really fit! An obese 45 year old is going to be less fit than a fit 67 year old I'd wager

A relative, fit , slim, long distance walker had a sudden cardiac arrest when on a walk. It's when the heart stops and you drop to the ground. Very often fatal. Caused by problem in the electrical signal to your heart.
And not by heat ,exertion or dehydration. Or anything within my relatives control.
None of us know the cause of MM's death so we should not be assuming it could have been the result of his decision to walk as he did.

We are not talking about fitness, but about susceptibility to heat stroke. A fat 45 year old is less susceptible to heat stroke than a fit 67 year old. Your autonomic system deteriorates as you age.

But it doesn’t change the nervous system deterioration that the 45 will have in their favour.

😬cross posted again about this - sorry

Re MM.
He did not set out on a long hike... he took a wrong turn, which made it into a longer walk than expected. Reports say he had felt unwell before he set off, so obviously he was wrong to do so at all. Some say he would gave been safe if he had reached the cafe but not necessarily so, especially as he had already walked past a cafe. There is some confusion between being dehydrated and heat exhaustion. More fluids may not have made a difference, unless he had poured it over his head..
We all make mistakes in life, but for most of us these do not result in tragedy. Sometimes I think it is just luck I have survived so far..

To answer the OP, as I have got older I have found myself getting more anxious over things I would previously have taken in my stride. My adult DC have commented on it as well.
So maybe it's an age related thing.

I would love to go to Antarctica! How did you do it? A cruise?

@Thisoldheartofmine You're right we shouldnt assume anything as fact, but lets be honest the combination of extreme heat and ascending/descending treacherous terrain and the exhausting effects of all this is most likely to have been the deciding factor.

yup its the same as I commented earlier about incurable cancer. People assuage their own fears by thinking (and saying) eat healthier, fight, use this or that fake cure...because they don't want to think that in the same circumstances there would be nothing they can do.

@CaptainClover
"The terrible sad part is that he was so very nearly at the bar when he collapsed, literally a few meters and within shouting distance of people."

I agree this is terribly sad but the fact is he was seriously ill by the time he reached that area. The CCTV showed him in a very confused state for about 30 minutes in that area. Look how quickly he died. It's very unlikely that a waiter would have been able to save his life and he wouldn't have reached a hospital in time.

I do feel sad that he died alone. If he had someone with him, they could have comforted him.

@milveycrohn we do not know if he intended to set out on a long hike or not. We've no idea of his intentions. He may have thought about doing a loop of that peninsula and ending up in Symi where he was staying or maybe he was aiming for the beach bar he almost made it to. I doubt very much it was an accidental wrong turn from the outset and he was aiming direct to Symi from Pedi - if so he'd have soon realised it was the wrong direction.

I had cancer in my 30s and a baby and it was life changing.
The first few years after it I was very anxious with the thought of that we don't have any control over what happens and the possibility of cancer recurring.

But one day this changed and I find liberating the realisation that we are in this world for a short time. I don't focus about getting old, so I will never do botox.
I am not worried about any of that. I am focused in enjoying life as long as I can which I have no control over. To enjoy my children for as long as possible even when they become adults.
I find it liberating as you feel women are constantly wasting time in trying to look younger and miss what is important.
Aging is a privilege. We have no garantee of growing old. The only thing we can do is to focus in staying healthy.

Yes, even if he'd survived at that stage, heat stroke can result in permanent brain damage, which arguably could be worse than death.

I get what you mean. But really, it doesn't do to dwell on it.

The thing is, you often don't even know when you've had a "near miss". You just blithely carry on, and don't realise.
About 3 years ago now, I got heat stroke driving home from a day out on one of the hottest days of the year. My then-car didn't have air-con, and I hadn't bought enough water with me. The car had been sitting in full sun for a couple of hours and it was a 45 minute drive home. In hindsight, it was one of the stupidest things I've ever done. I felt absolutely appalling. Just about managed to stagger in from the car and got fully dressed into a cold shower. I think much longer and it could have been really nasty. People easily die from heat stroke. As Michael perhaps has done.

A friends dad passed away instantaneously from something going pop in his head when he was in his early 30s. Left behind two pre-teen children.
My own dad died completely out of the blue in his sleep at 62. Having gone to bed feeling a bit queasy, but otherwise fine.

Unfortunately, you just don't know what's around the corner. But dwelling on it, and making yourself ill with worry just isn't worth it.

I missed the bit about a confused state on cctv?

@Calliopespa It's not been published thankfully, just for the authorities but apparently theres 20 mins or so footage of the poor chap crawling around trying to descend that steep rocky hill beside the beach bar where he came to rest.

@Gettingbysomehow as awful as your post read I felt exactly the same. Him of all people, determined to live longer than his father if possible, then goes and does a frankly irresponsible thing like this and his family live with the consequences for the remainder of their lives.
So unnecessary and so tragic.

@ducktapez combination of extreme heat and ascending/descending treacherous terrain and the exhausting effects of all this is most likely to have been the deciding factor. Not if it was a sudden cardiac arrest.
Of course it's unseemly to be speculating but we don't have all the facts and talk of him making wrong choices and writing as if he brought it on himself , is awful.

Oh the poor man. That’s real suffering. Just awful. I’m so sad to hear that.

Yes apparently he seemed very confused, going back and forth. An area that should have taken 5 minutes to cross took about 30 minutes. It's heartbreaking. I well up every time I think about it.