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.
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.
2 comments:
An accident is news you'd never want to hear. It can be traumatic and painful, both for the people involved and as well as the family. Good thing your family, who was in London, kept in touch with you from time to time, and you were able to know her condition and the treatment she went through. At the very least, you were assured that she received all the care and medication she needed. How is she now, btw?
Sabrina Craig @ Medical Attorney NY
Sabrina, she is well and recovered. I was very grateful for the National Health Service in England...for my sister and, later, myself. Thanks for dropping by!
Post a Comment