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 Posted:
Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:43 am |
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Episode-1
I worked for a moderately sized Consulting Engineers/Building Surveyor in Oxford. It was on 4 Dec'03 that I got up to go to Portsmouth General Hospital to continue doing a condition-survey of the whole of the premises.
I went into my bathroom & showered, but I couldn't control the water temp and after repeatedly scalding, and freezing myself I gave that up. "It must be one of those things" I said, & went to the office where I had to meet a young Mech Eng from my Reading Office.
The next thing was that upon reaching the office I couldn't get in. No, I had the front-door key, the problem was I couldn't remember the code to let me in upstairs - I had 3 trys before the alarm sounded, & had to ring the alarm-company and explain. My colleague arrived and we set off for Portsmouth.
I was slightly puzzled by now as I had let myself in many, many times previously.
The next thing was my colleague was figitting nevously as we were driving out of Botley, and eventually said "You had better turn the lights on Phil" I had been driving at 50mph along a busy dual carriage-way at 07.15am - it was still dark, December - so I was now getting worried, but I still felt OK in myself.
Well, I wont bore you with the journey. It was long but I knew the way as I had been before. We got lost, I said nothing, found the way, & continued to Portsmouth.
On arrival booked in with hospital , met client, and set about my duties. It began to dawn on me that something serious was wrong as I found my speech was not as fluent as it had been the day before. There started a nightmare of avoiding questions, grunting replies, and non specific answers where I had to make them. I wrote copious notes for my own benefit, they turned out to be mostly gibberish, on later examination. We went to lunch in the hospital canteen; I was scared of dropping the plate-of-food on the floor. I was slowly losing control and panic was begining to grip me.
Episode-2
The journey home was a nightmare of self doubt; what was going on? I'm dreaming - it wasn't really happening, but there I sat in my car which I recognised, and my collegue was expecting me to deliver him back to the office where he had parked his car. In my confused mind this was paramount, I had to get Tim back at a reasonable time. We made it without an accident, and I then drove home. Most of the journey I cannot now recall; the feeling of panic and confusion I can, it was still with me. When I reached home my wife, Pat, took one look at me & asked "What's the matter?". I replied "Don't know" "Don't know" .....and that is all I could say, literally.
Episode-3
Next morning we visited the local GP, & after a false start with another Dr who prescribed tranquilisers ( !!), I returned to my own GP the on the following day. He asked some questions and quickly concluded I may have suffered a minor stroke, I was sent to the Radcliffe Infirmary in Woodstock Rd. Oxford for an immediate Brain Scan and associated tests, that confirmed I had suffered an infarct on my right hemisphere. I was prescribed Arbesartin, Soluble - Aspirin, Simvastatin, & Bendroflumethiazide. I refused the offer of yet more tranquilizers.
Episode-4
Well, approx 3 years later today, in June '06, my speech has more-or-less returned to my pre-morbid state, but the feeling of confusion is still prelevant especially when stressed. In general I feel OK, I have joined Speakabilitywhere I am Secretary, I do voluntary work at The Nuffield Orthpaedic Centre as Dialability, and am retired through illhealth. I swim 20-30 lengths most mornings in the local pool at Kidlington, live in a detached bungalow with my wife, & have a grown up married daughter Ruth(currently living in Australia, but returning at the end of this month) and a grown up son Daniel living here in Oxford. I am 63 years young. !! I've recently met Jenny & Willy. What wonderfull people. |
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' on the day 
her birthday twice a year, being grateful she survived 
