June 30, 2014 Denoument

As I write, I am sitting at Manchester Airport waiting for a flight to Washington D.C. and then to Toronto.

Yesterday afternoon, the results for my lumbar puncture came back negative.  I was discharged soon after.  What I actually had, I think, is a nasty stomach bug and a migraine.  My stomach is in knots and my head continues to hurt on and off.

Arranged for a train ticket from Nottingham to Manchester.  Booked my flight to Toronto.  Booked my hotel in Manchester, close to the airport -- or so I thought!

Before leaving the hospital I visited my sister who is still in ICU.  She was awake and doing much better since I last saw her two days before.  She was able to communicate by mouthing her words.  She can write somewhat.  Seeing her for only 15 minutes, I tried to be as reassuring as I could and said good-bye with only a little bit of guilt but a lot of relief too.

The train ride from Nottingham was unremitting torture as I had the stupid luck of sitting beside two lovely looking kids and their inattentive mother.  The kids received sweets to placate them and tirades to try to shut them up.  Neither reinforcers worked and mom was very occupied with her phone.

The hotel I booked was not as close as it first seemed and a taxi ride of £20 was needed to get me there.  I took a looooong shower to soothe my aching back (from the lumbar puncture, three needles all together) and went out for a quick bite to eat.  By this time it was 10 p.m.

Managed to speak to Marsh to inform her about my arrival in Manchester and fell into a almost undisturbed sleep.

Are you kidding me? June 28, 2014

I have spent the past few days disconnected from the world.  Have spent a lot of time with my sister's 2 daughters and their partners and kids.  My sister's prognosis is uncertain and she continues to need help to breathe although less so now.  She is making tiny bits of progress each day which is heartening.

I had been feeling somewhat tired and this was followed by an unrelenting headache and symptoms that felt like the flu or gastro-enteritis.  This started on June 26, 2014.  My birthday of all days!  By yesterday, June 28th, I was feeling so badly (fever, headache, nausea, lack of energy, achy joints) that I went to a walk-in.  After assessing me at the clinic, the nurse called for an ambulance and I was admitted to the same hospital where my sister currently is.

They suspect meningitis and are conducting tests to exclude this.  I am much better as I write (June 29th) this due to rest, antibiotics and pain medications.  Last night I had a CT scan of my head.  I assured the technician there was nothing in there for them to see....nevertheless, had the scan.

I may have to put up with a procedure called a lumbar puncture today.  It involves putting a needle into my lower spine and drawing spinal fluid to determine if there are any signs of infection (higher white blood cell count, presence of bacteria).  A doctor who seemed very tentative in conducting the test was beginning the procedure on me last night, when I called the procedure off.  He was not inspiring any confidence in me of his abilities.  The last thing I want is someone who is unsure of that particular skill of theirs poking around my spine.

Crazy turn of events.

I worry about Marsh and the kids being on their own after all this time and of course, miss being with them at home.  Hopefully, I can return to Toronto soon.

I was also expected to return to work on June 30th or July 2nd.  But this seems less and less likely and is also worrying me.

Toronto to London to Nottingham June 19, 2014

On June 17, 2014, I received a call from my father informing me that my eldest sister and her husband, who live in England, had been in a car accident and were in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in  Nottingham.  My sister was not able to breath on her own and my father asked me to fly to England.  Although it remained unspoken, the understanding was that her situation was desperate and there was (is) a real possibility that she may die due to her injuries.

At the time, it was unclear whether my sister was in London or Nottingham.  I did not have the name of the hospital she was in or any other details concerning her prognosis.  Nevertheless, by the afternoon on Wednesday (the 18th) I had booked a ticket to Gatwick Airport.  And then the calls began to pour in: First from my sister’s youngest daughter and then her two older sisters.  Between the three of them, they had me, as they might say, “all sorted out, yah?”  Before I left Toronto for England, Shamina (middle daughter) had made a reservation at a hotel in Nottingham close to the hospital.  Azra had offered to have me stay at her place in Nottingham and Azmina had offered to have her husband drive me from London to Nottingham — a distance of 170 miles.  In the end, I took a cab from Gatwick Airport to Nottingham as it turns out to be cheaper to drive than to take the train.  Plus, the added headache of schlepping my baggage from the airport to London and then changing trains in London to go to Nottingham would not have been worth the effort.

Before leaving Toronto I learned that the hotel I was staying at looked really nice, at least on TripAdvisor.  My sister’s condition was somewhat improved and she was to go for an operation to repair injuries to her stomach.  Her ribs, lungs and liver were also effected to the point that they were not functioning.  Scary stuff.  But crisis is a mode of work I am familiar with and so my attitude has been to almost downplay the severity of the injuries until I physically see my sister.

Air Transat:  Remind me never to fly this poor excuse for an airline.  Their seats are narrow to the point where my 5'5", 145 lbs frame could not find a comfortable position with which to recline, relax and sleep.  My seat cushion was so old and beaten up that as soon as I sat on it I could feel the hard bottom of the chair.

My niece had arranged a cab to pick me up and ferry me to the hospital in Nottingham.  A place called the Queen's Medical Centre which serves the same role in this part of England as Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre does for much of Ontario -- It is a recognized and highly regarded trauma centre.  "Being the largest hospital in the East Midlands, it has a busy accident and emergency unit, and is the primary destination of the Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance, for more seriously injured patients. Being part of the University of Nottingham, it can call on the choice of highly qualified doctors in their respective fields. It is the East Midlands main hospital for acute cases." (Wikipedia).  The cab ride took about three-and-a-half-hours.  I napped and chatted with my Indian cab driver.  Cost: £150.00.  Ridiculous and yet necessary considering the circumstances.

My sister had been brought out of the operating room where they worked on her bowels.  When I saw her she was in Intensive Care, intubated, with many tubes coming out of her.  Her bowel had been stitched back together and she was not breathing on her own.