Sometimes I have a little commentator in my head and because I am in my 40's and I have regular aches and pains it will say.... 'great, that knee is hurting today' etc.
On 3rd February 2011 at 2.40pm whilst doing some browsing in shop it said 'OH YES!!!!! ...... THAT'S AWESOME!'
A feeling of dread came over me and I knew it was bad, my brain felt like it was been squeezed to the size of a walnut and I had to sit down for a minute. I was going to call out and ask the shop people to call for an ambulance immediately but I didn't. Because I am a 'tough' Yorkshireman I thought, get over yourself, stop being soft. So I decided to leave the shop and go home.
After walking about 20 paces my neck began to stiffen up terribly and I was in a proper state, staggering a little and almost blacking out but I got into my car and thought to myself to man up and travel to the doctors.
My neck was 95% stiff by the time I managed to move off, this is about 3 minutes after initial attack and by this time I had now decided to drive straight to A&E.
I drove for about a mile and got to a junction to turn left and could not look right because my neck was so stiff.
By this time I was in a proper state and I thought I was going to die there and then..... and it was only at this point that I went 'soft' and called for help on my mobile. Picture if you will readers - a fellow in his brand new car - not knowing where his hazards are (lol), at a junction, writhing in agony, tears rolling down his cheeks with sweat on his brow and trying to explain his location to a 999 dispatch clerk who could not work out where he was !!!!!!
She eventually put me through (seemed an age) to the ambulance people who knew where it was immediately. To be fair she then gets back on the phone and brilliantly helped me through the waiting time until the ambulance arrived. I definitely thought I was a goner at this point and found it amusing and ironic I was going to die and not know the cause, I guessed brain tumour (never heard of SAH before). Because I didn't know where my hazard lights were I opened my car door so people knew I wasn't moving soon and would overtake and so on.
Anyway 10 days in hospital, pain was just incredible, I was more animal than man at times. The doctors did the tests, were unsure of the cause of the bleed and said that probably the aneurysm had destroyed itself. This was very upsetting as I assumed because they had not found a cause as such that I could get another bleed anytime..... and guessed I had approx 6 months to live. Because I didn't get a 'cure' such as a coil I was missed out on the outpatient process and was given no info at all. I looked on the internet and found this place and wiki's explanation very good but I was still worried until I went private and searched out all the info I could.
I retired through ill health this Saturday, I can walk and talk but I have little mental stamina and have a permanent headache which ratchets up and down for no reason (actually it's because of the Hemes floating around up there).
When I get those particularly nasty bolts of pain my little voice says either 'that all you got today?' ........or '<expletives> leave me alone!'.
But you know what? - after all that - I feel lucky and my wife family have been absolute rocks.
Respect to all the sufferers and even more to the families who support them.
Later,
Steve
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