After nearly 56 rotations around the sun, one might assume I’m old enough and wise enough to not fall victim to one of the oldest – and most sinister – tricks in the book.
What I’ve learned following my horrific experience this week though – among many other things – is we are ALL vulnerable.
On Wednesday, in a busy bar in Birmingham, my drink was spiked!
Had I had a couple of drinks before I arrived? Yes.
Was I drunk? Absolutely not!
I had just come from a networking Christmas event and, because it was a work-related function, had been careful to limit my consumption.
And yet, within approximately half an hour of ordering drinks in this bar, I had fallen violently ill.
It was to be three hours before I re-emerged from the toilet cubicle, with all that time unaccounted for!
I recall copious rounds of vomiting before eventually passing out, only to come round at one point and desperately trying to stand, immediately falling to my knees. I had lost the use of my legs and this is the point at which I really started to become scared.
I fought with every sinew to focus through the blurred vision and tears just long enough to send out an SOS on WhatsApp but I later learned a lack of signal in the toilets prevented it from getting through in time.
My memory of this period is of course hazy. I must have been out cold and had no recollection of any other activity going on around me. Had I been more ‘with it,’ I’d have obviously called for help.
The second time I came around – head still lolled on the rim of the toilet seat – I knew I had to try and heave myself up and out of there to summon help. It was at this point, visibly shaken and staggering across the bar, one would anticipate a rallying of the staff to make sure I wasn’t in need of emergency medical attention.
Alas, I was even asked to describe my coat before they’d return it to me after it had been handed in to the front desk by someone earlier. And even though I was clearly disoriented – there was no concern shown for my wellbeing as I sat and shook uncontrollably in the corner in a state of utter shock. What the hell had just happened to me? I was starting to put the pieces together – and it scared the hell out of me.
At this point my phone burst into life as scores of messages from concerned friends pinged through.
One friend helped control my panic and stayed on the phone with me as she waited for my husband to complete the 45-minute mercy dash. (He’d received an alert by her earlier that I’d gone missing.)
Whether or not you believe I was spiked, let me make one thing abundantly clear – AT NO STAGE during this hour was any concern shown by staff for my welfare despite being clearly distressed and, importantly – ALONE. (My party had left after failing to locate me and assuming I’d gone home.)
There are two main points here – one is … follow the basic safety steps when in any bar.
- Never leave your drink unattended
- Stay with someone you trust
- Always share your location
Even at the age of 55!
We are all vulnerable and, on talking to my sons who frequent many more bars than I these days – this presents a far greater problem than we might imagine. I think the phrase ‘commonplace’ was used. Just shocking.
The second point here is, where is the staff training for this sort of thing – particularly if it is, as I’ve been told, commonplace? I absolutely know I can’t have been the first person to have been left in such a state of distress in this bar! In a day and age when so may venues are ‘on it’ with their brilliant ‘Ask Angela’ campaigns, I would have welcomed a simple ‘Are you OK?’ at any point during that hour!
While at this point, I at least, felt in control again, I was far from OK – in both the physical and psychological sense.
And after a long night of coping with the comedown of it all – and frantic Googling of GHB (Did you know most date rape drugs take effect within 15-30 minutes?) – I now find the fear being overtaken by a sense of rising anger. How could this happen to me? Why did I not feel supported by the bar staff when I eventually emerged from my ordeal?
The bar in question won’t be named here as they are currently investigating the events of the night, including trawling through CCTV footage. But I felt compelled to share my story as a warning/reminder, particularly over the festive season.
As a parent I am often accused of ‘over worrying’ when my sons hit the town or ‘assuming’ the worst when they’re late home. But drink spiking is rife and anyone can fall victim. 80% of cases happen in public places. My own experience has brought home too that it doesn’t discriminate on age.
While I recover from the physical and emotional scars of this horrific experience, I will continue to reflect on ‘what could have been.’ The worst feeling in all of this is that fear of what could have – or did – happen in that three hours I can’t account for. I can’t even bear to go there. . .
Have an amazing festive season and enjoy yourself. But most of all, please, please, please exercise caution at all times. I know I will be from now on.
Stay safe. x
Read HERE for more guidelines on drinks spiking and advice on how to protect yourself.
