Oliver Bromley, 42, suffers from neurofibromatosis type 1.
Image: private
While visiting the hospital in Camberwell, Oliver Bromley decided to skip the hospital food and had lunch at a nearby restaurant.
He quickly found a place that looked good and went to order it – but didn't get it.
Bromley says people often stare, but the restaurant never treated him that way.
Image: private
– The man behind the restaurant said they had received a complaint and asked me to leave the restaurant, Bromley told the local newspaper Stoke Sentinal.
“I didn't even sit down.”
The 42-year-old couldn't believe his ears and asked the cashier to repeat himself.
“Then he said I was scaring the guests,” Bromley says.
He says he became desperate and left the restaurant to sit in the garden and think about how to deal with rejection.
– I didn't even sit down, they must have seen me looking around and decided they didn't want me there, he told the Stock Sentinel.
Bromley wrote to the restaurant but received no response. He then called the police and reported the whole thing as a hate crime.
Police: Take it seriously
Police confirm to BBC They met with Bromley and said they take reports of hate crimes seriously.
Oliver Bromley says he's never experienced anything like this before, although he's used to the attention.
– People stare, especially young children, but I've never been treated like that before, he says.
Bromley suffers from neurofibromatosis type 1, which causes tumors to appear along nerves. It can cause a lot of trouble but it is benign.
He has now chosen to tell about the incident in the hope of teaching people about the disease.
“Unapologetic writer. Bacon enthusiast. Introvert. Evil troublemaker. Friend of animals everywhere.”
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