Part 2 you impatient bas***ds
#17
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 666
Re: Part 2 you impatient bas***ds
And please just tell us when you post Part 3 or else we may miss it !!
#18
Re: Part 2 you impatient bas***ds
OK, you've had a week, where the hell is part 3 you lazy good for nothing!
#28
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 352
Re: Part 2 you impatient bas***ds
Well folks. Apart from working 12 hour shifts, I do have a life away from expats but at your requests, I will continue. Angie has told me to date events, so we know where we stand. Arrived Sept 2006 Collapsed on 7th March 2007 and spent 21 days in an induced coma during which I was given the last rights and nearly had the machines turned off . Townsville hospital is probably like most other hospitals in Aus. The design being from one main plan where you could be in any industrialised city in the western world. This was the case for me when I woke up because I thought I was still in Scotland. I never knew why, what, where or who but I had a massive scar running from my throat to halfway down my stomach. I couldnt talk as there was a tube in my throat and I was totally disorientated. I had bandages like boxing gloves on my hands and people were around my bed. I recognised Angie and the kids and my sister.
My brother and two of my sisters had gone back home to Scotland and I never even saw them. There was celtic magazines and books by my bedside which was the evidence that they had actually been in Aus. My memory was shot to bits and for some reason I thought I drove a big black 4x4 when it was actually a gold wagon. I couldnt remember names in my phone and would get ratty when Anj tried to convince me that I knew these people.
I mentioned the boxing gloves which reminded me why I had them on. I was prone to pulling out my tubes which wasn't very clever as the alarms would go off and a crash team would rush into my room to put the tubes back in. This happened on numerous occasions so the staff decided to put these on and tape me to the bed. Previously, I said I was determined, well I slid down the bed, loosened the tape with my teeth, pulled off the gloves and pulled out the tubes. They decided to wheel my bed into the corridor so they could keep their eyes on me. So here I was, lying in the corridor with a sitter beside me for 24 hours a day (sitter is what it says. a BABYsitter).
It's around this time that I begin to realise what is actually going on and my memory slowly begins to return although I'm still driving the 4x4: I recite a phone number and realise its not an 0141 number (Glasgow) and its at this point that Angie tells me we are in Australia. The memory returns slowly but I'm still very ill. My mind is returning but the body is not up to much. A nurse asks me one day if I can shower unaided. Of course I can says I. What do you think I am. I move my legs out the bed and stand, only for my legs to give way and right on my arse I landed. I was totally embarrassed and managed to drag myself to the bathroom where I hugged the toilet bowl sweating. Me not the bowl. (too weak to even get up and sit on it). My first thought was "shit. I'm paralysed" Now was probably the first time that I could recall being scared.
It was all about getting better but god it was a long road. Every day Angie brought the kids to the hospital. They would go to a small school within the hospital to get some sense of normality and then come and see me in the afternoon. I was given an etch-o-sketch to communicate with and I moved out of the "sick" ward and downstairs to the rehab ward. This told me I was getting better but after doing an ecg one day, I was taken back upstairs as something wasnt right. Whatever it was, it didnt last as within a few days, I was back downstairs. The tube was still in my throat and was taken out to talk at visiting times and to eat. They gave me this puree to drink as juice or coffee could have caused infection by going down the wrong way and setting me back months. Was this stuff awful. They told me I was dehydrating and no bloody wonder having to take this crap.
One night when she was wheeling me around the hospital, we passed a drinks machine. "I've to get one of they drinks as long as its an isotonic drink" I told her. "No chance" says Anj. "Honest." says I. "I'll kill you if your lying" she says and buys me a berry drink. When I say nectar, I'm not telling a lie. I drank this with no side effects and repeated this event the next night guzzling the lime version. Did I get shit from the dieticians on the Monday. Back to the puree for me and x-rays to check where the juice had went. Bloody self importance if you ask me which was a sign I was on the road back as I know best as opposed to professionals who have trained for years in their field. This time the gamble paid off and I was correct. Lucky, Angie called it but anyway it was immaterial.
I look like a bag of bones and I'm now desperate to get home to Mackay. I've started my rehab but up and down a gym hall and I'm jiggered. A psychology student visits me and gets the sharp end of my tongue for trying to treat me like an imbecile. She wanted me to try out her simple (really easy) memory test and I refused telling her I wasnt some performing seal. Her boss visits me and asks to do IQ tests but sets the bar higher because I have a degree. "Thats cheating" says I and proceed to get an average score. I'm pulling all sorts of excuses out of the hat and manage to scrape by. Considering at this stage, I dont know if its new year or new york, I think I'm doing well. Basically she needs to give me the nod before I can get home so the charm is turned on and again, it works.
My brother and two of my sisters had gone back home to Scotland and I never even saw them. There was celtic magazines and books by my bedside which was the evidence that they had actually been in Aus. My memory was shot to bits and for some reason I thought I drove a big black 4x4 when it was actually a gold wagon. I couldnt remember names in my phone and would get ratty when Anj tried to convince me that I knew these people.
I mentioned the boxing gloves which reminded me why I had them on. I was prone to pulling out my tubes which wasn't very clever as the alarms would go off and a crash team would rush into my room to put the tubes back in. This happened on numerous occasions so the staff decided to put these on and tape me to the bed. Previously, I said I was determined, well I slid down the bed, loosened the tape with my teeth, pulled off the gloves and pulled out the tubes. They decided to wheel my bed into the corridor so they could keep their eyes on me. So here I was, lying in the corridor with a sitter beside me for 24 hours a day (sitter is what it says. a BABYsitter).
It's around this time that I begin to realise what is actually going on and my memory slowly begins to return although I'm still driving the 4x4: I recite a phone number and realise its not an 0141 number (Glasgow) and its at this point that Angie tells me we are in Australia. The memory returns slowly but I'm still very ill. My mind is returning but the body is not up to much. A nurse asks me one day if I can shower unaided. Of course I can says I. What do you think I am. I move my legs out the bed and stand, only for my legs to give way and right on my arse I landed. I was totally embarrassed and managed to drag myself to the bathroom where I hugged the toilet bowl sweating. Me not the bowl. (too weak to even get up and sit on it). My first thought was "shit. I'm paralysed" Now was probably the first time that I could recall being scared.
It was all about getting better but god it was a long road. Every day Angie brought the kids to the hospital. They would go to a small school within the hospital to get some sense of normality and then come and see me in the afternoon. I was given an etch-o-sketch to communicate with and I moved out of the "sick" ward and downstairs to the rehab ward. This told me I was getting better but after doing an ecg one day, I was taken back upstairs as something wasnt right. Whatever it was, it didnt last as within a few days, I was back downstairs. The tube was still in my throat and was taken out to talk at visiting times and to eat. They gave me this puree to drink as juice or coffee could have caused infection by going down the wrong way and setting me back months. Was this stuff awful. They told me I was dehydrating and no bloody wonder having to take this crap.
One night when she was wheeling me around the hospital, we passed a drinks machine. "I've to get one of they drinks as long as its an isotonic drink" I told her. "No chance" says Anj. "Honest." says I. "I'll kill you if your lying" she says and buys me a berry drink. When I say nectar, I'm not telling a lie. I drank this with no side effects and repeated this event the next night guzzling the lime version. Did I get shit from the dieticians on the Monday. Back to the puree for me and x-rays to check where the juice had went. Bloody self importance if you ask me which was a sign I was on the road back as I know best as opposed to professionals who have trained for years in their field. This time the gamble paid off and I was correct. Lucky, Angie called it but anyway it was immaterial.
I look like a bag of bones and I'm now desperate to get home to Mackay. I've started my rehab but up and down a gym hall and I'm jiggered. A psychology student visits me and gets the sharp end of my tongue for trying to treat me like an imbecile. She wanted me to try out her simple (really easy) memory test and I refused telling her I wasnt some performing seal. Her boss visits me and asks to do IQ tests but sets the bar higher because I have a degree. "Thats cheating" says I and proceed to get an average score. I'm pulling all sorts of excuses out of the hat and manage to scrape by. Considering at this stage, I dont know if its new year or new york, I think I'm doing well. Basically she needs to give me the nod before I can get home so the charm is turned on and again, it works.
I missed part one so i'm off to find it now!!! I will not be missing part 3!!
I hope everything works out for you and your family. Best of luck,
Lee
#29
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 666
Re: Part 2 you impatient bas***ds
Lee, I did that tooo .... and am also now waiting Part 3... please anyone tell us when it is posted and the title so we can find it !! ... dont want to miss this one.
#30
Re: Part 2 you impatient bas***ds
Patience is a virtue as the old saying goes. I'm a very busy man with 12 hr shifts, 3 kids and union business but I promise I'll get round to it at the weekend