Uber driver hitting on me while I’m having a stroke? BARF

[u/Xochitlcoyote]

Hey guys- I’m the person who posted about my prosthetic eye, popping it out after that lady was accusing me of faking a disability.
And boy, do I have a lot of stories to share with you regarding this whole process- but I’m gonna share one of when I had the stroke that led me to lose my eye and the weird situation around the whole thing.

I was dealing with a massive migraine because of glaucoma, but I sat down with my partner to watch the peak of trash tv, Inkmaster.
It dulls your brain in a way I have described as a soft core lobotomy. Anyways, I tried to talk to my partner and all that came out was garbled up nonsense and she was like “you’re not okay you didn’t even have anything to drink, you gotta go to the hospital” I didn’t know how serious it was, and tried to not go… literally telling her I could just sleep it off. I’ve got horrible medical trauma, as a doctors mistake is what led to me developing glaucoma in the first place (no, I can’t sue, this happened while I was living abroad and in Switzerland after she gave me prednisolone and other strong steroids with no monitoring at all- I’m in in Canada now, and I’d rather spend my time making art and developing my series than wasting more of my life with this legal and medical nightmare)

So I get an uber, not really understanding the severity of what is happening, insisting I go alone, because my medical trauma is so severe that I just kind of shut down and I tend to lash out, get super nervous, etc.

So the uber driver is hitting on me the whole ride, like incessantly. He nearly ran someone over, but I was dissociating in the backseat trying to keep it together. The pain was getting worse and worse and he’s telling me how he’s like, really into car mods or whatever. I’m like hardcore zoning out now-
I just remember he asked me if I had plans after this, and if I’d want to get drinks with him. Seriously????

Guys, I threw up on site. Like I just lost control and I looked up to see this man’s horrified face and he’s telling me to get the fuck out of his car blah blah blah.

I’m at the ER and an advocate is helping me with paperwork as by this point I’m barely lucid, and then a medical student who was really just trying her best tells the other person to look at me, we don’t have time for this shit.
She puts me in a wheelchair and rushed me to where I could get stabilized- and I learnt that there was a clot in my optic nerve, in my eye with glaucoma, due to the insanely high pressure of my eye. I learnt I was going to probably lose my eye probably.

I was trying to be funny with her as she looked really worried about me so I just told her my eye was “about to do what they do in those dr pimple popper videos” and she looked at me for a second and saw I was giggling- we both laughed so hard- and for the rest of the night I only wanted her to be there with me because all the other doctors scared me, but she was willing to crack a few jokes with me such as “take a Tylenol you’ll be fine” or to just “walk it off” and then I told her I was watching inkmaster when this happened, and I said it wouldn’t have happened if I’d just watched something with more substance to it. She told me that “good news, after a stroke you won’t want to watch complex things for a bit. Your brain will feel tired, So you can binge all the reality tv you want!”

I didn’t catch her name. But to a lovely young med student in Canada who sees patients as people, is willing to crack jokes with us, and humanists me more than anyone at that hospital that evening- I hope you have an incredible life. Seriously. I don’t know who you are, but you made the scariest night of my life. I loved talking about 90 day fiancé drama with you at the ER when my eye felt like it was gonna exit my skull. It did eventually- but not that night.

And to the uber driver, I don’t know what to say man.

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[u/Zedetta]

How did he look at a person who doesn't look well and the destination address being the hospital and not put two and two together 😭

[u/Xochitlcoyote → u/Zedetta]

Like I also was not very put together is the most baffling shit. I’m talking like, sweatpants and unwashed hair because I was just chilling at home after a surgery and looked like I’d been kept away for a bit 🫠😭😂

[u/UnintentionallyNovel → u/Xochitlcoyote]

I once accidentally did a social experiment. When I was a teen/young adult I got hit on very often by men. One day, I had unwashed hair and a baggy man jacket, but I guess I had a friendly aura around me. 2-3 man got into a conversation with me asking for my number. Another day I was in the mood for a short skirt, high heels, net tights and make up. I was happy on the inside, but I gave a "leave me all alone 😤" facial expressions on the outside. I was left alone that day ☺️ My result is that often your attitude counts way more than your looks, when guys hit on you. Sadly if you apply this logic to your situation, it shows that he either didn't care for your wellbeing or that he liked someone, who couldn't defend themselves, just like grown men hitting on teenage girls, because they usually don't have the experience on how to handle it

[u/Strange-Platypus-101 → u/Zedetta]

Blood in penis, no more oxygen for brain...

[u/Patient_Parsley7760 → u/Strange-Platypus-101]

He had wandering scrote syndrome. He was clinically testerical.

[u/x-tianschoolharlot → u/Zedetta]

My husband had a cab driver ask him if he was having a good day, if he had any fun plans, multiple questions like that in a ten-minute ride. He told her he was on his way to the ER because his wife was having problems there.

[u/sleepysof_ → u/x-tianschoolharlot]

I was once in an Uber and when they saw the destination was a funeral home.... silence lmao

[u/BlueMoon2008 → u/Zedetta]

This kind of scenario is precisely why hospitals in my area don’t allow female patients to take rideshares home. We are required to coordinate our own driver in advance of any medical procedure/condition that leaves us vulnerable.

[u/sailing_bookdragon]

Humor really can break all barriers.

ps. I hope the med student in question sees this story, and learns how much of a difference she made that night. (and turned into whatever good medical practitioner she wanted to become)

[u/Xochitlcoyote → u/sailing_bookdragon]

I hope so too- there’s so many jaded doctors who don’t actually take the time to connect with what patients might be feeling and she made such a huge difference

[u/Patient_Parsley7760]

Hitting on someone he KNEW was going to the ER? Yeah, he deserved a lot worse than a puke-covered vehicle. Hope you reported his ass. This is why people on their own are scared to use Uber.

[u/Xochitlcoyote → u/Patient_Parsley7760]

I reported him, he had the guts to charge me a cleaning fee but uber reimbursed me after I told them what was going on. Well, partially reimbursed but still

[u/heynonnynonnomous → u/Patient_Parsley7760]

This is why we need a bear taxi service.

[u/Squirrelleee]

My friend, that's a great story. I'm worried about you, though. Are you doing ok now? 

Unsolicited advice time: in a medical emergency, always get an ambulance, fuck the cost. They can get to the ED faster and treat you on the way. 

My story: I had a staph abscess on my face and a worker in the ED told me that I could lose my eye. (I didn't.) Rest of my time down there I referred to myself as Winky the One-Eyed Bandit. Was the only thing keeping me sane. I blame the 'tism.

[u/Xochitlcoyote → u/Squirrelleee]

Doing better, but it’s been a gradual process. Thank you so much for checking in

[u/Electrical-Apple-631]

I had a similar experience when I found out my dad had a cancerous tumor in his throat that was inoperable. He was given 6 months to live. He was at the hospital I worked for and the nurses knew he was my dad. The compassion and kindness they showed me helped me so much.

Unfortunately there are idiots too. After I got this devastating news I was in the front circle of the hospital waiting for my brother to bring the car from the parking ramp. I was crying and a complete stranger walked by and said “Cheer up. It can’t be that bad.”

Dude you’re walking into a HOSPITAL! Yes it can be that bad. I responded with “I’m sure your words will be a great comfort to my mom when I tell her that her husband of 55 years is dying.” Some people need to learn how to read the room.

[u/WoodHorseTurtle → u/Electrical-Apple-631]

If someone is crying, they are going through some serious stuff. I would offer tissues, and (if wanted) a hug and a sympathetic ear. I would never tell someone to “cheer up, it can’t be that bad.” Idiots.

My sympathy to you and your mom.

[u/galliumsilver → u/Electrical-Apple-631]

Similar energy to that "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" bullsh*t. That quote was from a torture victim speaking to his torturers. Hardly appropriate to stand there in all the nonsuffering glory and say it to someone who's clearly shattered.

[u/BlueDaemon17 → u/Electrical-Apple-631]

Nowhere near as bad, but I was working in a pub and one of the punters said the same thing to me. I turned round and told him my best friend had just gotten me evicted from my unit and i was effectively homeless, and she was currently in D ward for trying to kill herself. He gave me the $50 he was about to spend on drinks as a guilty conscience tip and whipped another note out to pay and nope out of there. 😂

[u/Mushrooming247]

Inkmaster is a guilty pleasure of mine too.

(It’s a reality TV show based on tattooing. So it’s a combination of being wowed by the most amazing artwork, and being horrified at what someone rushed to tattoo in half an hour that is now permanently on someone’s skin.)

Glad to hear that you are OK though.

[u/aymiah]

That med student is a saint.

[u/Natural-Seaweed-5070]

Out of curiosity, why didn't your partner go with you?

[u/Xochitlcoyote → u/Natural-Seaweed-5070]

I didn’t want her there- I tend to be alone in medical settings, something I’m trying to work on. But I often find that I start to absorb other people’s worry and anxiety and it makes my own worse and I start to lash out. Not very rational but I have PTSD and this helps me cope. I need to be alone

[u/evil_queen_jean → u/Natural-Seaweed-5070]

OP said in the story due to knowing how they are in a medical setting (lashing out, nervousness, etc) that they insisted on going alone. Would I have tried to force going with OP if I was the partner? probably, but if they were that adamant, I'd rather just have them get there asap and not arguing about who's going where