‘They thought I was dead:’ North Miami mayor had seizure-like symptoms on Africa trip

North Miami Mayor Alix Desulme suffered what he described as seizure-like symptoms during a recent trip to Africa, where he fainted during a lunch, he told the Miami Herald.

“Oh my God, it was the scariest moment of my life,” he told the Herald shortly after landing in Miami on Wednesday.

For the past few days, Desulme was being treated at Johns Hopkins at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Desulme said he was among 40 South Florida delegates on a two-week trip to Africa, visiting four countries including Sierra Leone, where he passed out during a lunch with Nigeria and Sierra Leone representatives. Desulme said the council members were invited on the trip by Miami-Dade County, but paid for their portion of the trip.

Desulme said the basic package for the trip was $4,500 to visit the four countries. The city has a $15,000 budget for Sister Cities-related activities, according to its fiscal year 2022-23 adopted budget. North Miami held a Sister Cities signing ceremony in Banjul, Gambia.

Desulme was joined on the trip by Vice Mayor Mary Estime-Irvin, council members Scott Galvin and Pierre Frantz Charles and two North Miami staffers. Officials from Miami-Dade, Miramar and North Lauderdale were also on the trip.

North Lauderdale City Manager Michael Sargis said Mayor Samson Borgelin, Vice Mayor Regina Martin and Commissioners Mario Bustemante and Darrell Dee Lewis-Ricketts also were on the trip, which cost between $10,000 and $15,000. The mayor’s wife, Dorothy Suzan, also attended, but she paid out of her own pocket, Sargis said.

Miramar city officials did not respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment about the trip, including who attended and the cost.

RELATED: North Miami mayor recovering after medical emergency during Africa visit

South Florida officials arrived in Banjul, Gambia – North Miami’s sister city – on July 31 and spent two days there before arriving in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on August 3, according to a trip itinerary shared by the city of North Miami. Other stops included Dakar, Senegal, and Lagos, Nigeria. Officials are expected to return Friday.

Desulme said he hadn’t been able to sleep the night before the lunch in Sierra Leone so he took a sleeping pill and Tylenol PM, but neither worked, he said. “I wasn’t feeling good because I have a case of insomnia, I don’t sleep, and I didn’t sleep at all the day before,” he said.

By the time the morning came, Desulme had a full day scheduled, including a meeting with the Sierra Leone president after lunch. But the mayor said he never even got a chance to meet him. “I just sat down, I asked one of the commissioners, ‘How’s the food taste?’ I didn’t eat a lot of food, and then that’s all I remember,” he said.

In a matter of minutes, Desulme said two people from North Lauderdale — Lewis-Ricketts and Suzan – rushed to his aid. At one point, he was turned on his side and blood came out of his mouth. As told to him by his colleagues, Desulme said the room went into a panic and some cried. “They thought I was dead,” Desulme said.

Desulme said he was rushed to the hospital by a police escort and he regained consciousness at the hospital. “So, when I woke up. I saw all these people around me, and I’m like, ‘Why am I here? What’s happening?’ ” he said.

He was later taken to a different hospital, where doctors ran blood tests and took X-rays and said everything came back OK. Desulme said while the doctor said he exhibited symptoms of a seizure, including convulsing at one point, she said she believed much of what he experienced was likely due to fatigue. He also said the blood was due to biting his tongue.

Desulme returned to the U.S. on a commercial flight after Sierra Leone doctors advised him to return home and seek medical attention. Doctors at Johns Hopkins at Sibley Memorial Hospital agreed that Desulme may not have had a seizure but believed sleep deprivation contributed to him fainting, Desulme said.

While he said he’s taking it easy, Desulme said he plans to return to the office Monday, ahead of back-to-school activities the city has planned. But he’s still being cautious about his health and plans to see a neurologist next week.

“My doctor told me, just for my primary care sake, go because they will help me with the sleep, too,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to that.”