Pride

Gay pride isn’t usually associated with anything scary or frightening. I mean with it’s array of colour and campness how could it be? Well I’ve attended Manchester Gay Pride for a number of years and always had a great time. Not only is it a big party but you get a warm feeling inside knowing that you’re helping to support gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans charities. However this year was to be different…

On a wet Saturday afternoon in the city centre I was ready to play my part in the parade. Wearing a white paint print t-shirt and white jogging bottoms with bright coloured hankies stitched down the sides I was ready to go. The parade set off and it was not long before I felt really unwell. I felt tired and a bit shaky. I was having a hypo. So I sent a friend to the float to get my bag with my chocolate in, sugar being the remedy for a hypo which normally kicks in pretty fast. He toodled off to get my bag.

Then my eye sight seemed to switch it’s self on and off intermittently. I could see and then for a split second just black, then back to seeing. I looked at my hand and up my arm all of which seemed to be shaking. I started to feel like I was loosing my balance and then I got a massive pain in my chest and remember my hand going towards my chest before everything going black.

I came round in an ambulance with two gay, sexy paramedics. One putting some sugar based gel in my mouth and then the other taking my details. I was on my way to hospital with another friend accompanying me. Apparently I had had a fit and fell to the floor hurting my cheek (see photo below), knee, back and arms on the floor.

It took me a while before I came round sat in the accident and emergency department at the hospital. But when I did I couldn’t remember if I thanked them. I should have thanked them and gave them my number so I could buy them both a drink when they were off duty. My excuse for buying them a drink would have been to say thanks, but the real reason, well I’ll leave that upto your imagination. If only I’d been more with it in the ambulance.

Write soon,

Antony