Cancer patient trapped in Bus Éireann luggage compartment

Neyite

ColeTrain wrote: »

Were you in the luggage compartment with her? Seems you know exactly what happened..

No, I wasnt.

But I have had to crawl completely into a luggage hold to get my suitcase on more than one occasion because its slid around or others have pushed it to the back by theirs.

I have had family members get chemo and I saw how sick and weak and feeble they were after a treatment. How they could barely lift their leg high enough to kick a short dog, let alone lift a bag or a small case.

I know what its like to be queasy and nauseous on a bus because I get bad travel sickness on buses, and while its bad enough when I'm sitting above the shock absorbers, I'd imagine its very different in the hold.

I know from being on buses daily that I hold onto the bars for dear life when the bus is moving otherwise I'd go flying. In a luggage hold she would slide around and get slammed into the metal of the bus or other luggage as it'd nearly be impossible to see what you can hold onto, or in her case, have the strength to hold on enough so you don't get tossed around like a rag doll.

I'm just putting a possible scenario together.

HondaSami

ColeTrain wrote: »

It's not funny on the woman but there's no need to make it out to be a horrific ordeal either.

But it was imo, she was trapped in the luggage compartment in the dark with luggage probably falling on top of her, not knowing how she would get out of there.
Imagine if you were trapped in the boot of a car or in a lift, would it not frighten you?

Wossack

I'd be freaked out if luggage started falling on me while I was in a lift alright

ColeTrain

Neyite wrote: »

No, I wasnt.

But I have had to crawl completely into a luggage hold to get my suitcase on more than one occasion because its slid around or others have pushed it to the back by theirs.

I have had family members get chemo and I saw how sick and weak and feeble they were after a treatment. How they could barely lift their leg high enough to kick a short dog, let alone lift a bag or a small case.

I know what its like to be queasy and nauseous on a bus because I get bad travel sickness on buses, and while its bad enough when I'm sitting above the shock absorbers, I'd imagine its very different in the hold.

I know from being on buses daily that I hold onto the bars for dear life when the bus is moving otherwise I'd go flying. In a luggage hold she would slide around and get slammed into the metal of the bus or other luggage as it'd nearly be impossible to see what you can hold onto, or in her case, have the strength to hold on enough so you don't get tossed around like a rag doll.

I'm just putting a possible scenario together.

That might very well have happened but on the flip side it might not have been as bad as you described. The main thing is she is okay now.

HondaSami wrote: »

But it was imo, she was trapped in the luggage compartment in the dark with luggage probably falling on top of her, not knowing how she would get out of there.
Imagine if you were trapped in the boot of a car or in a lift, would it not frighten you?

There's no guarantee that luggage was falling on top of her, believe it or not everyone brings a bag or a suitcase with them and the bus might not have been near full.
Also, she might have been calm and knew that she would be able to get out at the next stop rather than being stuck there for eternity.
I'd much rather be stuck in a bus compartment than a boot, not that either is a nice place to be.

Turtwig

I have no issue with people punning this situation. Nor do I think the cancer side of this story is one bit relevant. We don't know what type of cancer she has or what type of treatment she was getting. All we can do then is speculate. It shouldn't matter one iota though because getting locked in a luggage compartment is a pretty f**king awful ordeal for anyone to have to go through! It shouldn't matter if she has an illness or not. It also doesn't automatically make a healthy person an idiot if it happens to them. It was (hopefully!) a freak incident that could have happened to anyone! Lets hope the company investigate this properly and implement any necessary measures that would reduce the chances of this occurring again. If, of course, they are necessary. Flukes and bad misfortunes can happen too.

goose2005

Clareboy wrote: »

I really don't see what is so funny about this story. I blame the hospital as they obviously discharged a cancer patient without making sure that she had somebody to bring her safely home. I always thought that a hospital could not discharge a patient unless there was somebody there to take them home.

She was an out-patient.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I suppose the driver would have been dealing with customers boarding when she entered the compartment. She wouldn't have been visable from his wing mirrors or outside camera when he closed the door, unfortunate thing to happen but hopefully she's ok after the experience. That road out to Doolin isn't too smooth, I wouldn't fancy riding down there. :pac:

miss no stars

Duck's hoop wrote: »

I'm sorry the woman has cancer but at the same time it's not relevant to the story.

Of course it is. If it happened to a fit and healthy student it'd be hillarious, but it happened to someone undergoing chemotherapy. Ever seen what chemo does to people? It's like turning a 30 year old into a sickly 90 year old overnight.

Fighting Irish wrote: »

So if the woman had a really bad head cold would the headline read:

"Woman with head cold gets trapped in bus luggage compartment"

No it wouldn't - a cold wouldn't be relevant to the severity of what happened to her.

ColeTrain wrote: »

That might very well have happened but on the flip side it might not have been as bad as you described. The main thing is she is okay now.

I'm sorry, but you don't know that. She has come to. I think the fact that she's not lodging a complaint actually shows how ill she must be. I'd be ****ing FUMING if it happened to me. You could bet your life on it I'd be lodging a complaint - because I'm in good enough health to do so. This lady is gravely ill and was bounced around for 25km in the hold of a coach. I'm sure she's not okay.



People making light of this need to think about how they'd feel if it was their mother, or father, or sibling, or relative who was already going through hell before this happening. Who already had poison coursing through their veins, making them sick, frail and frightened to begin with. It would have taken the driver 30 ****ing seconds to hop out of his seat, check compartments were clear before closing them.

I hope the little sh!ts on this thread who find this funny don't actually have to see what chemotherapy does to people - clearly they haven't already and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Femme_Fatale

Comparing a cold to cancer is pathetic all right, but I don't think people are making fun of her having cancer, rather the way the story looks as if the bus driver knew it and decided to be horrible to her. It was an accident.

miss no stars

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Comparing a cold to cancer is pathetic all right, but I don't think people are making fun of her having cancer, rather the way the story looks as if the bus driver knew it and decided to be horrible to her. It was an accident.

Does that make it excusable? Maybe, maybe not. I don't think it's excusable that a driver didn't notice he had trapped a person in the hold. What makes it worse is the fact that she's undergoing cancer treatment. He probably couldn't have known that, but it doesn't change the facts of what happened.

But all that aside - there are obviously no checks in place (or he didn't follow them) to ensure the safety of passengers retrieving their bags.

happyviolet

EdCastle wrote: »

Driver is 100% to blame for this.

.....with these automatic doors which involves the driver pushing a button on the inside to close the luggage compartment, they rarely get up from their seat to check on passengers outside. It's a quick check of the mirror, push the button, close the door and drive off.

You'd think with the healthy salaries and pensions they will all be on, they could at least get up off their holes and go out and help passengers especially those who are elderly, sick or disabled......but no, they probably need another extra 20% on top of their already handsome salaries to do that too.

I'm with you on this, when my family was on holidays and we took a bus from the airport to the hotel, the bus driver always got out of his seat and help take out a couple of suitcases for some people, especially if the compartment was really full and it was impossible to find your own case, or would just come out to check on passengers at least if the compartment door was facing the road, where is could be busy with traffic, and not facing the pathway. In my experiance, I have never seen any Irish drivers do this.

DarkJager

miss no stars wrote: »

Does that make it excusable? Maybe, maybe not. I don't think it's excusable that a driver didn't notice he had trapped a person in the hold. What makes it worse is the fact that she's undergoing cancer treatment. He probably couldn't have known that, but it doesn't change the facts of what happened.

But all that aside - there are obviously no checks in place (or he didn't follow them) to ensure the safety of passengers retrieving their bags.

Sorry but personally I'd expect people to have the sense to place their bag in the hold and not climb in to it. The bus driver couldn't and shouldn't be expected to check things like that. It's like saying a cashier on a checkout should check on their break if there's someone caught in the conveyor belt by a tie or item of clothing - it's not expected and would be a freak occurrence.

Artful_Badger

I get the puns, crappy jokes and thanks whoring, its AH its what people do. But of course its relevant she had cancer because she was on her way home from treatment. You ever seen the effect both having cancer and getting treatment for it has on a person ? That fact turns a somewhat humorous situation into a pretty harrowing event for some poor person.

miss no stars

DarkJager wrote: »

Sorry but personally I'd expect people to have the sense to place their bag in the hold and not climb in to it. The bus driver couldn't and shouldn't be expected to check things like that. It's like saying a cashier on a checkout should check on their break if there's someone caught in the conveyor belt by a tie or item of clothing - it's not expected and would be a freak occurrence.

Did I misread? I thought she was trying to RETRIEVE her bag. I seriously doubt she was climbing in to push it as far back as possible. If Bus Eireann won't make like the other coach companies and ASSIST people with getting their bags back (seriously, just send the drivers on a manual handling course..) then they should bloody well make sure their drivers don't actually bring harm to passengers who are trying to retrieve their bags themselves. As funny as people here seem to think it is, she could have been killed. That's not a dramatization. a heavy bag could have fallen on her and suffocated her.

Also, it's not like saying a cashier should check there's not someone caught in the conveyor belt - they can SEE the conveyor belt. It's something they ALREADY DO! If it did happen it could only happen if they were there to turn the belt on, meaning they would see it and assist.

The lady in question got trapped because nobody checked to make sure the holds were clear and nobody was still trying to get a bag out before closing the doors. The reason they need to check is because, unlike the cashier, they cannot SEE whether they're clear from their seat. So they should get up off their bum and make sure they're empty.

Fighting Irish

Neyite wrote: »

Lets see.

She has had chemo, so is dizzy and nauseous. Gets the bus home, and is even more queasy at all the bouncing around on the bus for an hour and a half. Cant wait to get home to her own bed after being in a public ward with others disturbing whatever sleep you manage to get.

At her stop she goes to get her bag. Its slid to the far side of the hold, so the only way to get it is to reach in. Because she is already weak and sick from the chemo and the journey, she faints momentarily. Gets locked in.

Then she is transported 25km sliding around with other bags and suitcases banging into her, in the pitch dark on a hard cold floor.

If it was my mother it happened to I'd be fcuking furious.

Ye i'd be furious too, for letting my mam get the bus home from a chemo session

ColeTrain wrote: »

It's not funny on the woman but there's no need to make it out to be a horrific ordeal either.

with time the serious people of this world see the humor in these types of incidents as well, give them time :pac:

HIB wrote: »

You're honestly comparing cancer to a head cold. Is that cause you have a head cold and you're feeling sorry for yourself!

lol, i didn't compare a cold to cancer


just so you know, you can die from the flu as well

pog it wrote: »

Disgusting replies to this incident.

In case you're talking about my posts, i do feel sorry for the woman

Jake1 wrote: »

They should put an emergency button inside the hold for incidents such as this.
have it lit up so you could find it, if you were caught in such a situation

feel sorry for the woman, cant have been nice, and if she was heading home from chemo, thats awful.

/thread

miss no stars wrote: »

No it wouldn't - a cold wouldn't be relevant to the severity of what happened to her.

Like the cancer so, proving my point, thank you

Fightingirish I've merged all your posts, I think you'd like the multiquote feature :P

miss no stars

Fighting Irish wrote: »

Ye i'd be furious too, for letting my mam get the bus home from a chemo session



with time the serious people of this world see the humor in these types of incidents as well, give them time :pac:



lol, i didn't compare a cold to cancer


just so you know, you can die from the flu as well



In case you're talking about my posts, i do feel sorry for the woman



/thread



Like the cancer so, proving my point, thank you

If you actually think that having cancer doesnt affect the severity of it you're either stupid or ignorant. A cold doesnt weaken you like cancer does, it doesn't kill the good tissue and the bad like chemo does. The severity is measurable only by the consequences. Someone with a cold might be cranky and get snot on someone's bag. That could kill a person with cancer. So which is it? Stupid, ignorant or just not serious?

Turtwig

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Comparing a cold to cancer is pathetic all right, but I don't think people are making fun of her having cancer, rather the way the story looks as if the bus driver knew it and decided to be horrible to her. It was an accident.

Cancer is such a broad term. The connotations of it are terrifying for some but the fact is for some people cancer isn't really all that more morbid than a cold virus. (The latter can be equally devastating to some people.) We don't know what type of cancer she had. Likewise we don't what type of cold a person could have had. Comparing the two based on common connotations seems wrong but really it's the morbidity of either thing that counts.

We also do not know what external circumstances could conspire on a perfectly healthy individual to put them through a similar ordeal. To think less or more of any individual for going through this ordeal is what's pathetic.

tacofries

i bet if the bus played a message over and over and over thats really loud and really annoying then this wouldnt have opened..., oh wait..

pharmaton

Wossack wrote: »

be sure to keep us posted as to how the rest of your day goes

did a bit of shopping earlier, bumped into some people I knew, drank two cupsof coffee, had lunch with daughter. It was sunny and warm where I was so we made a day of it and didn't get back til late so then we watched the first series of Game of Thrones on dvd. Was good day all in all, nowhere near like getting stuck in the baggage hold of a bus.

Aineoil

I'm healthy and this would have been an ordeal if it happened to me.

I have had two loved ones die of different types of cancers. If you experience that you wouldn't joke about cancer.

princess-lala

I think this is hilarious

I'd cry laughing if it happened me!

Gongoozler

Aineoil wrote: »

I'm healthy and this would have been an ordeal if it happened to me.

I have had two loved ones die of different types of cancers. If you experience that you wouldn't joke about cancer.

I've had my mother die from cancer, and while I don't joke about cancer often I don't agree with the whole "omg she has cancer so she's got to be on the verge of dying" attitude. Neyite created a very sad possible scenario that is as likely as the scenario that she was fit as a fiddle (like lots are at the beginning of their treatment) and so her cancer isn't relevant.
If the woman doesn't want to take it further then try not be too outraged on her behalf

I feel sorry for what happened to this woman and wouldn't wish it on anyone but I think the criticism of the bus driver is a bit unfair.

Bus drivers are as the name suggestes drivers not baggage handlers. I'd imagine the driver would have gotten in trouble if he was in the habit of turning off the bus, getting out of his seat and helping any person who may or may not look like they need some help.

He may have been distracted by passengers boarding and had no way of knowing this woman had stepped into the hold.

Fighting Irish

Aineoil wrote: »

I'm healthy and this would have been an ordeal if it happened to me.

I have had two loved ones die of different types of cancers. If you experience that you wouldn't joke about cancer.

:rolleyes: