Angus is originally from Inverness and moved to Dundee where he has lived for the past 12 years. As a teenager, Angus was quite active and participated in many extra-curricular activities including cross-country running. However from the age of 19, he began suffering from a hereditary condition which results in misshapen cartilages in both of his knees. This results in constant, excruciating pain when his leg isn’t aligned, which can occur at any time and causes him to collapse. He had surgery on his left knee to attempt to fix the collapsing issue which did impact on the pain, but this doesn’t prevent it from collapsing. From the age of 21, he began using a cane in order to travel further distances, which he has now been using for almost 13 years.
A few years ago, Angus had just returned home from work. Upon his return he realised he did not have enough food to eat. So, since his flatmate wasn’t present, he decided to go to his nearest supermarket only 5 minutes away. At this point in time, Angus was suffering from depression and very rarely went outside because of his condition. It was quite late in the day and around 8pm he managed to get to the Tesco’s just down the road. All was going well so far, not just in the near-empty store, but the day in general was quite regular.
Suddenly, his right leg gave way and he collapsed to the ground in one of the aisles. Instead of shouting and asking for help, Angus’s initial thought was to not make any noise. He himself admitted he did not wish to cause a scene and at the time deemed it discreditable to do so. Although you’d think if anyone saw Angus collapse, they would help him, right? Unfortunately, none of the few customers who saw him collapse went over and assisted him. In fact, one of the customers stepped over him to carry on shopping, as if he wasn’t even there. In one moment, all of Angus’s faith in humanity dissipated. He felt a wide array of emotions, anger, pain, but most of all humiliated as he lay there for what felt like an eternity.
Thankfully, one of the store workers came to his aid. He presented genuine concern for his wellbeing, and Angus told him he needed something to bite down on as he needed to re-straighten his leg. Once he had straightened his leg, the store worker helped him to a checkout, scanning his items and carrying his shopping to a taxi for him. This in fact returned most of his faith in humanity straight after it was all lost. Once home, he called his flatmate who assisted him up the stairs, as his leg was still really sore and also incredibly tender. Even the slightest amount of weight would bring back the pain from earlier. He decided to take a good rest for the reminder of the day, considering what happened.
Since this incident, Angus started working with a new organisation, and is doing significantly better in terms of mental health. Whilst he does still have depression, he feels much more valued in his new work environment. Additionally, he has taken more steps in becoming less ashamed of his condition, which is a huge step forward in itself.
Angus jokes in defence to the customer who stepped over him, that there was a good sale on beans!!
