A Sheffield man with epilepsy is calling for more seizure response awareness after no-one helped him during a seizure in Sheffield City Centre.
Joe Robbins, 29, has been epileptic since he was five, and has experienced seizures throughout his whole life.
The biomedical scientist was walking home along Glossop Road in the city centre on 21 April when he had a seizure.
He said: “It was a busy day in the lunch rush, and I woke up and I was on the ground completely unaware of what had happened. It took me a second to come around.
“There’s a postictal effect which causes a lot of memory loss and a lot of confusion, and after I got home it occurred to me that no one had come to my aid.”
Mr Robbins added usually someone will check that he is breathing or conscious.
“There were plenty of people around when I blacked out, so I can only assume they thought I was drunk or high or something.
“I felt disregarded and prejudged but also vulnerable. I could have died in that moment.”
Mr Robbins, along with many other epileptic people, is at risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).
Approximately one in 1,000 people with epilepsy die from SUDEP each year.
He said: “My seizures are more frequent when I’m more anxious or vulnerable, quite often when I’m out and about, but usually there’s someone with me.”
On 8 April , Mr Robbins had a similar experience on West Street in the city centre when no-one came to help.
He said: “I’m a very resilient person because I’ve been living with it for 20 years now.
“But it is a hindrance, always having to be dependent on someone. I’m always having to rely on someone to almost keep watch over me.
“It feels like you’re a child that needs to be cared for and that impacts my sense of independence.”
Mr Robbins is calling for more education around epilepsy awareness, urging people to help in these life threatening events.
He says if you notice someone having a seizure, you should go over, check their responsiveness and breathing, see if you can find a necklace or bracelet with emergency details and call 999.
He added: “Even if it helps save one life by speaking out about this, that’s enough for me.”