On the 15th October 2013 I kissed Jayne goodbye with the usual “see you later” and went off to my job - the Service Manager of the local BMW Dealer, the trade I’d been in since starting as an Apprentice Mechanic in 1980.
Rewind to the Thursday, 2 weeks prior.
I’d complained of a nagging headache and under protest and feeling a bit of a time waster I saw the GP but when he realised I wasn’t being sick or being kept awake at nights he basically said there was nothing he could do and on MY suggestion I should get me eyes tested. This I did on the following Sunday with the Optician telling me my prescription was “a mile out” and recommended new glasses.
Off to work Monday still with a nagging headache but convinced my new glasses would sort things out.
The fateful day came and from my office I needed to go look for a car around the back of the Garage and set off to do so. I passed a member of the Valet team, bid him good morning and BANG!!!!
I have no knowledge of this but I collapsed and only because I was seen disappearing between two cars help was fetched and I was told I was found screaming in pain holding my head!!!
The first responder was minutes away, I was whisked up to the local A & E and after scanning me they contacted the Neuro Team at the specialist Hospital in Sheffield who after seeing the scan simply insisted I was taken there. My Wife was contacted and in no uncertain terms was basically told what had happened and to expect the worse.
An aneurysm had ruptured, not a berry aneurysm but a dissecting one meaning that the entire artery had exploded over my brain stem and the Neurosurgeon’s realistically explained to Jayne that planning my funeral was probably the next step.
Bring on my life saver who wasn’t on call until the best day. After viewing the scans it was proven to be impossible to coil or clip the aneurysm and the only hope was a bypass, something that he was the only person skilled to do and I was scheduled for an Occipital Arterial Bypass.
The loss of blood pressure can cause other organ failure and before anymore head work could be considered I had to be transferred to another hospital with a carousel full of wires and tubes connected and I had sections of my large and small intestines removed, an Ileostomy performed and a stoma bag fitted.
Then I was to be the 7th person in the UK to have this 18 hour bypass operation performed but only to find out afterwards I was in fact the first to have to have it performed laid in my side as the stoma prevented me from being face down.
I was woken up the next day after the remaining piece of artery had had to be 100% coiled off to ensure blood flow went through the newly built bypass and although Jayne was waiting they couldn’t allow her to see me as apparently I was a bit of a mess and needed cleaning up.
God knows how but I’d survived the operation - it’s only afterwards when talking to the Neurosurgeon about what he did and how he cooled me to almost flat lining for 15 hours and myself watching a very similar operation on the internet that I still, today, pinch myself to make me believe I’m still here.
Sadly it didn’t end there as I suffered a pulmonary embolism which very nearly finished me off, hydrocephalus and a VP shunt fitted and had a massive internal bleed in my bowel.
5 years on I’m a million miles away from where I was but I’m still here though!!!
I suffer constant headaches, I have no short term memory, no balance and walk with a stick and with a knackered stomach then I’m afraid things aren’t good there either. I’ve had two instances of DVT’s since and I’m on a bucket load of drugs but you’ll never hear me moan cos I’m just happy to be alive.
I rattled on deaths door many times over I long period of time but as I’m the dutiful husband who wouldn’t dream of arguing with the wife when she says I wasn’t allowed to die - I didn’t.
I hope I’ve not bored you all.
Getting on with life
Are things looking up?
Adapting to new way of things
Do things get better?
