A huge thank you to Kevin Harper of the Bristol Bakery, the Bristol Rescue Squad, and the nurses and doctors at Porter Hospital for being enormously helpful during an awkward incident Sunday morning.
My friend Tom and I were sipping our iced tea waiting for breakfast at the Bristol Bakery when suddenly Tom began experiencing severe vertigo and nausea. Not wanting to throw up among the diners, he quickly stood up and stumbled to the door, and clumsily worked his way to an outdoor chair and sat down. It might have appeared to onlookers that he had eaten something that did not agree, but that was not the case.
Kevin brought out a bucket for Tom in case he needed to vomit, which he did, and a bucket of ice water to cool him off. Tom was so dizzy he couldn’t open his eyes. It was terrifying. When it became clear that something serious could be happening, we called Bristol Rescue. They arrived promptly and were fabulous.
We moved Tom onto a gurney, wheeled him into the ambulance, and from there our adventure continued at Porter Hospital. Tom was diagnosed with labyrinthitis, which is an inner-ear condition that causes extreme dizziness and nausea. It is sometimes caused by a virus, strikes randomly, and the symptoms can last hours for some, and days/weeks/months for others.
Happily, Tom’s vertigo responded to the intravenous valium within six hours, and he started feeling better, but not well enough to walk yet. We felt it prudent to remain in the hospital overnight, and could not have been happier with the care and treatment Tom received.
Tom was discharged Monday at noon, and we went straightaway to the Bristol Bakery to have a late breakfast.  
Irene Poole, Ripton, and Tom Cabot, Shelburne