'I had a massive seizure in the street - group of mystery angels saved my life'
A mother who fell into a busy road as she had a seizure was saved by a group of "mystery angels".
Cars swerved to avoid stricken Jo Scott after her seizure - caused by her epilepsy - saw her stagger into traffic outside a train station.
Good Samaritans dashed to save the 34-year-old woman, who in the past has been ignored by strangers following episodes because they've mistaken her symptoms for the behaviour of someone drunk and disorderly.
Jo, who has now recovered, doesn't know who the heroes were - and is desperate for the chance to thank them personally.
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Jo Scott, pictured with husband Craig and their son John, spoke about how epilepsy impacts her life (Supplied)Speaking exclusively to Mirror, Jo said: "It could have been fatal because it was a very busy road, and I was alone and I was completely out of it on the middle of the road.
"If they hadn't have acted so quickly, I would have been hit by a car and could have died.
"They saved my life and that is why I really wish I could find out who they are and contact them. They are my mystery angels."
The mum of one had got off the train at Kiveton Bridge Station in South Yorkshire and had no symptoms or episodes that day but, minutes after walking alongside Station Road, she collapsed into traffic.
She'd had an epileptic seizure, which can be triggered by lack of sleep and stress among other factors.
Jo, who is a teacher, continued: "I was coming home from work, had just got off the train as usual and then had the seizure as I was crossing the road to walk home.
"Thankfully, people around stopped and rushed to my aid. They realised that I'd had a seizure so it was just luck really. There have been times when I, and others with epilepsy, have had seizures but, because of stereotypes and a lack of awareness with these sort of things, people have thought we were either under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both.
"We stagger and look disorderly but that's what the seizure does by its nature. People jump to the wrong conclusions but, this time, I'm grateful I got the help I needed.
"But I was lying in the middle of the road with a crowd around me. Someone who was walking behind me said I looked drunk, but they instinctively knew I wasn't."
Jo, a mother, suffered a seizure minutes after she got off the train (Supplied)
The teacher, of South Yorkshire, says the strangers saved her life (Supplied)An ambulance arrived and Jo received the right care to recover. Jo lives a short walk from the station in Kiveton Park, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
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Since the incident, the mother has walked through the village and hoped to remember faces in a bid to thank them.
"Everyone was very kind and understanding. I'm not in touch with any of the people who helped me, but I still live in the same village, so I often wonder if I'm recognised for my seizures," Jo added.
"I have never met them, but I often think do people walk past me in the village and think 'there's that girl who I saved?'
"I would like to meet them because epilepsy is not particularly covered and talked about in the media and that's partly why there is this stereotype."
And data from a survey of people with epilepsy shows almost half - 47 per cent - have been accused of being drunk or on drugs in the event of a seizure while out.
Last month's National Epilepsy Week helped raise awareness of these daily challenges the 630,000 people with the brain disorder overcome in the UK.
Around 90 people are diagnosed with epilepsy each day in the UK alone.
Jo, who was diagnosed when she was 12 following a seizure at school, said: "I got lucky, but if it had been assumed I was drunk, then traffic might not have been stopped and I could have been seriously injured.
"Epilepsy just isn't seen as much in popular culture and therefore it isn't understood as much as other conditions or disabilities. We need more awareness of epilepsy."
Worryingly, the survey, conducted by Epilepsy Action, shows more than a third - 36 per cent - of people in the UK wouldn’t know what to do if they saw someone having a seizure in front of them. Almost a third - 31 per cent - say they would feel uncomfortable about being in a room with someone with epilepsy in case they had a seizure.
The charity has a range of support services to help people coping with diagnosis and daily life with epilepsy, available at epilepsy.org.uk.
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