POPPY WATSON: How off-duty NHS heroes helped me after I collapsed while running in Dundee

The Courier

2 days ago

I've never felt so scared or confused in my life.
I didn't know who I was, where I was, or what was happening.
Sentiments I think I made clear in my frenzied stream of questions to the group of well-meaning strangers who surrounded me.
Apparently, I did a lot of 'wailing' as well. At least according to my mum, who could hear me over the phone.
She got a call from a passer-by at 6.36pm on Sunday.
The kind woman told my mum that she'd found her daughter unconscious on Ninewells Avenue in the West End of Dundee (conveniently, right next to the hospital).
An ambulance was on its way, she said.
This was the moment I woke up. I remember three faces staring down at me, or maybe it was four.
They looked kind, concerned, young. The sky was so blue.
The strangers seemed to know my name, which they used in hushed tones, probably in an attempt to calm me down.
But it wasn't working. I was growing increasingly panic-stricken.
The appearance of a paramedic who wanted to strap me onto a bed did not help.
Then I was rolled into an ambulance, shouting 'WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?' and 'WHERE'S MY AIRPOD CASE?'
The doors slammed shut and we headed for Ninewells Hospital.
My yelling continued until the paramedic was forced to raise her voice in return.
'I don't know what has happened to you, Poppy,' she said sternly.
'That's why we're taking you to the hospital. The doctors will find out there.'
I quickly shut up.
Gradually, I returned to my senses.
I remembered who I was. I remembered going for a run, feeling lightheaded, seeing black stars, thinking I should just push through.
I still didn't know what day it was, or how long I'd been out.
The paramedic told me I had been found by a group of off-duty nurses and doctors.
I realised they must have used the Medical ID on my iPhone to call my mum, who was now on her way to the hospital with my dad from Edinburgh.
This feature, found within the Health app on iPhone, allows users to store and share critical medical information, including allergies, medications, and emergency contacts.
It is accessible to first responders or others in case of an emergency, even without needing to unlock the phone.
This would also explain how the soft-spoken strangers knew my name.
This is my hunch, anyway. It's also possible they were able to unlock my phone using my Face ID while I was passed out.
As the ambulance pulled up at the Ninewells A&E department, and I was rolled out the back, I heard someone call my name.
Then my friend Zoe, who lives nearby, was hugging me tightly.
She had been contacted by my panicked sister from Edinburgh.
As Zoe took a photo of me for my family, her boyfriend Ally quipped: 'Poppy will be writing about this in The Courier next week.'
We all laughed.
The discovery that I had somehow achieved my third fastest time on the Strava running app also offered some light relief.
Then I was shown into a room, and before I knew it, the ambulance crew had vanished – and I hadn't even thanked them.
Nor did I have a chance to thank the lovely group of doctors and nurses who found me.
So yes, I'm writing about my experience in The Courier.
I want to say thank you to all the amazing medical staff who looked after me.
Truly – thank you.
I also want to urge anyone who hasn't filled out the Medical ID on their smartphone to do so.
It's likely that because of this feature, I didn't have to spend one minute alone at the hospital.
What could have been a lonely and frightening experience in the 30-minute queue at A&E wound up being neither of those things.
Zoe and Ally were allowed to keep me company while I waited for a bed to become available.
My parents arrived shortly afterwards, and I made them fill out the Medical IDs on their iPhones while I inhaled buttery toast and sugary tea.
Most smartphones, including Android devices, have a similar feature. It takes just five minutes to set it up.
I'm okay, by the way. The on-duty doctors and nurses at Ninewells Hospital were just as amazing, and all my tests came back normal.
It was most likely a matter of being unintentionally under-fuelled and dehydrated (turns out that slice of banana bread was not an ideal substitute for lunch).
I'm just thankful I was found by the right people.