As many of you will know I had massive problems with HE in the past. I know how bad it can be. I was in and out of hospital for months with it but as many of you know, there was a big Orange Order march in Glasgow on Saturday which prompted my memory of the same march so 2years ago. I was in Glasgow royal ward 9 at the time, my home from home. So the parade passes right past it and it’s a blummin loud affair. So that all goes off for about an hour then it quieted down and a normal Saturday ensued. I was totally fine and didn’t have any HE symptoms, or so I thought. Cut to the next morning. Starts off as a usual Sunday. Woken by half 5 with the stream of light coming through the massive windows on the ward. Then I’m just laying there. Trying to doze back off and all I can hear all around me are northern Irish accents. I’m still as you be, just listening to the chatting around me. So from further down the ward I’m hearing, ‘god I can’t believe we did that last night’, did you see what sammy did. Blah, blah,blah.
I’m not knowing what’s going on. So I take out my note book( used to have it as I was always forgetting stuff so I would write everything down) putting down that they were disappointed as they thought they were due a cooked breakfast, disappointment with the cleaning facilities, lack of towels and so on. Basically giving the hospital a hotel review.
Whilst all this is going on and I’m scribbling away, the doctors start doing the rounds at 10. I’m sitting there thinking right the doctors are here, this will all get sorted out now, normal service will be resumed. But NO!!!!!
All I heard was well you had far to much to drink last night so the police brought you in to sober up as you were causing disturbances and in the cells the doctor said you all needed medical care. ‘Now remember to see your consultant when you get back to Belfast’.
I must have heard that about 10 times. So I’m laying in bed, scribbling all this down and that it was all a plan to get a bed for the night and how they were all going to do the same next year. I’m thinking I’m going to be running out of ink and how I was going to the papers with the fact that the hospital was being used as a hotel and how this was a disgrace and putting the ward to rights. You know the sort of tangents you go off on. I’m laying there with me note pad in my paw, waiting, just waiting till visiting time.
My sister comes in and I’m starting to tell her everything, she’s looking at me all strange. So where are they now?? Oh down there, watching the telly. The ferry doesn’t leave till 5. She turns and goes to the lad in the next bed, so what do you make of all this? Fellas pipes up with, ‘all what?’. Further strange looks. I’m pointing to all the notes I made she takes a look at a blank page. Oh it’s before that. I’m turning page after page of blank pages. She then goes, oh wait here. I’m still laying there raging that nobody believes me. Nurse comes in. Well William, we just need to give you this. Can you roll over on your side and pull your knees up to your chest. You guys know what’s coming........
After that, my sister comes back in. I’m not talking to her now cos she sold me out. Snitches get stitches was that only thing I was willing to say to her.
For the next 24 hours I was so pumped full of laxatives I lost count of my sprints to the toilet. Eventually I fall asleep that night and wake up the next morning as if nothing had happened. So much so that I thought perhaps I had dreamed the whole thing. Well until my sister came back in to visit and decided to mock me for the next few hours.
It strange that even although I was obviously deep in HE at that point I can remember everything about that day, down to minutest of details but most of it never happened. It’s ok that I can laugh at it now and even the next day, but for those 24hours god knows what the nurses and doctors were thinking that I was doing.
Anyways, it cheered me up just thinking back to the way that I was to the way that I am now. Well I say that but as we all know it can strike again if your not careful........
Have a great day everyone and take care.
Mind how you go.
William.