September 2019
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News
Little Stoke bus driver thanked for actions
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bus driver from Little Stoke has been praised for his actions in dealing with a series of medical emergencies affecting one of the regular passengers on his route. First West of England driver James Mills has sprung into action on four separate occasions when regular customer Rachael Jay has suffered seizures or hypoglycaemic attacks whilst travelling on his service. Rachael, aged 46, from Yate, suffers from epilepsy and has type 1 diabetes. She travels regularly on the Y2 service between Bristol and Yate. She wanted to say a formal thank you to James, and so the two recently met up in happier circumstances at Marlborough Street bus station in Bristol. Driver James, aged 27, has had to call for an ambulance on four occasions for Rachael when she has been suffering an epileptic seizure or hypoglycaemia caused by low blood sugar – once in Downend, once in Coalpit Heath and twice in Yate – staying by her side until paramedics arrived.
Rachael has since had her medication changed and says her condition is now “more under control”, but she wanted to thank James in person as well as raise awareness of the effects of epilepsy and diabetes and how it can affect everyday life. Rachael, whose eight-year-old son Jacob has also recently been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, said: “I want to thank James for being so brilliant and acting so quickly when I have suffered attacks on the bus. Living with epilepsy and diabetes can really affect your lifestyle and for James to have presence of mind and to act so swiftly on all those occasions really helped.” Chris Hanson, head of operations, First West of England, said: “We are very proud of James, who responded as we would hope all our colleagues would do in the same or similar circumstances. We are pleased that Rachael seems to be none the worse for her experiences and really touched that she has taken the trouble to recognise James for his actions.”
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