Posted by sean on November 24, 2019 at 3:34 pm in Health with No Comments


I Thought A Side Room Would Relax Me…

Most of the beds in Southmead are located in individual side rooms. My idea of bliss. I worship my privacy, don’t like being around fellow poorly patients and have hospital hygiene concerns bordering on the obsessive.

Why was it then, that I not settle in that room? I thought a side room would relax me.

Whatever I tried to do to keep myself amused in the day, or tire myself out for the night did not work. Time would just drag on and on. I wasn’t sleeping well either.

Maybe part of the problem was boredom. My two previous stays in hospital allowed me to use my phone to browse the internet, write my blog, as well as listen to audiobooks and music. This time, with two broken arms, using my mobile was impossible. As I am blogging this post now, over a week later, things have clearly improved – I’ll write later how this all came about.

It wasn’t long before the Intensive Care Unit had enough of me. Clearly I had recovered enough from my ordeal to warrant being moved on from the ward reserved for the seriously ill.

Despite getting rid of me, ICU wouldn’t allow me to take their bed and mattress with me. This involved ropes being tied around my shoulders, back and various other areas of my body, before being elevated into the air, like a circus act, using a hoist.

The hoist transfer was a disaster. A pair of physiotherapists thought that it would be wise to lift me from my ICU bed, into a chair, instead of another bed.

Due to my long-term back problems, sitting in a chair, even the infamous “comfy chair” (named by the physios), would either leave me in agony, unable to breathe, or both of these frightening scenarios.

Despite my worries and warnings to the physios about my incompatibility with chairs, I was placed in one anyway. I was asked to sit in the chair for twenty minutes. The stopwatch was yet to reach five of these, before I was screaming to be placed back into bed and for my BiPap breathing aid – primary reserved for sleeping – to be turned on and placed on my face.

This was a low and it was clear that I was a long way from being discharged home.

Posted by sean on November 24, 2019 at 9:27 am in Health with No Comments


Surgery

The paramedics must have realised I was in a bad way. I live just around the corner from The Royal United Hospital. However, instead of taking my broken body there, I was driven all the way to Souuthmead Hospital in Bristol.

I arrived at their Emergency Department sucking on a canister of Entonox, like my life depended on it – at the time, it felt as if it did . Incidentally, with Christmas just around the corner, should anyone be stuck for what to buy for me, Entonox would be lovely. You can probably buy a festive gift box of the stuff from the Seasonal Aisle at Sainsbury’s.

You know where I mean… the shelves of all those miniature bottles of spirits. You pay more than you would in the Ritz Hotel minibar, for a tiny bottle of Baileys, simply because it comes in a box with a holly leaf on, and occasionally with a small playing counter-sized chocolate, which is supposed to taste of mint, but instead resembles Listerine mouthwash.

Not content with destroying my new coat, the staff at Southmead proceeded to cut off my new polo shirt. Again, my only concern at that moment was getting my damn arms fixed, so was more than happy for them to snip away at my new clothes, although would have intervened had anyone gone anywhere near my luxury silk scarf, which cost more than my late coat and shirt combined (RIP).

I was admitted to Intensive Care, with a view to perform surgery over the next day or two. I am unsure when I attended radiology, to have a series of x ray images taken, but I do remember the results. Both arms – broken. Part of my face, above my right eye – broken. Right leg – I’ll givel you one guess…

Thankfully, my left leg – which broke in January – survived. It was presumably stronger, having had a nail literally hammered into it. In essence, the left had become stronger, with the right shattering under pressure. I hope that this is a metaphor for next month’s general election.

It was decided that only my leg would be operated on. The arms would be left to heal conventionally, along with my face. To be honest, if I had not been told about the damage, I would be unaware of anything wrong with my face. Perhaps I can withstand pain to that area – have I left it too late to pursue a boxing career? Would Sky Box Office be interested in showing a man in a wheelchair, attempting to fight his way out of a wet paper bag?

Surgery took place the following day (Tuesday). By this point, I had not eaten or had had anything significant to drink since Sunday. Even with all the pain and trauma, I was rather peckish, by that point, and extremely thirsty.

I had told the doctors upon admission, that should surgery become necessary, I do not want to be given the drug ketamine. I had a very negative reaction to the horse tranquiliser, when my left leg was operated on in January.

As I was taken to theatre, I reiterated my request. There was concern from the anaethetist, as to how the operation could be carried out without the drug.

After I explained that ketamine caused frightening and realistic hallucinations, it was agreed that I would only receive a very small dose of “ket”, once I was fully knocked out. An alternative tranquiliser was to be used instead – one which the anaethetist assured me, only causes “nice dreams”.

The only downside to this drug, is the fact it causes memory loss – primarily affecting the minutes before the start of the operation.

I agreed to be given this new drug. Ironically, that is the last thing I remember, until…

… I woke up. Thinking that I was still in the theatre corridor, I asked if I was finally ready for surgery. I was told it had taken place successfully, and I was back on the ward.

I realised that I had dodged a bullet there – my right leg had a nice, strong nail in it. Surely surgery would be the worst element of any hospital stay. How wrong I was…

I will continue to update my blog, detailing what happened next. As I remain in hospital, with limited use of just one hand, these updates may not be as frequent as I would like.

Posted by sean on November 23, 2019 at 5:21 pm in Health with 1 Comment


Do you ever wonder why all the bad things happen to you?

I’m not going to suggest that I am the only person to experience hurt and turmoil, but nobody could say that I haven’t had more than my fair share of excrement.

The reason why I have not updated my blog until now, is because I have been, and continue to remain, in hospital. Yes, that old chestnut.

 

The Accident 

The accident occurred on Monday morning.

You know those awful news stories, where some poor soul is attacked, or suffers a terrible event yards from their home? That was me.

I wasn’t assaulted, although it could certainly be argued that I was attacked – in this case, by the concrete pavement.

I had set off on the short scooter ride to work, when at the bottom of the path leading to my house, things went a bit mad…

While I am unable to recall all the events, leading from me being sat on the scooter, to being thrown onto the freezing cold floor, I am certain that I was initially riding at a safe speed. I remember the realisation that I had lost control of the mobility vehicle. Seconds later, I was lying stricken in the street.

I knew instantly that I had caused serious damage to myself. As anyone who has previously broken a bone will confirm – you know you’re in trouble. You can feel the multiple pieces of limb under your skin – weak and unstable, where it was once a single, strong bone which you would simply take for granted and never think about.

My right leg was a mess. My left leg felt damaged too. I knew for certain that I had broken both of my arms.

Trust me, the red stuff isn’t tomato ketchup.

I screamed and screamed for my wife, Claire; who just moments earlier, I had kissed goodbye. From martial bliss to hell and pain, in a matter of seconds

Claire, who hadn’t had time to close the front door after my departure, heard my shrieks of pain and fear, and came running to my aid.

I could tell from my dear wife’s reaction that I was in a very bad way. No wife becomes hysterically upset if their husband simply grazes his knee!

I cannot remember how long it took for the ambulance to arrive. It may have been 15 minutes, or over an hour. However long it took, it was too long.

As I lay on the freezing ground, unable to move, concerned neighbours offered whatever help they could. Claire rang everyone who needed to know, including both our managers, to inform them that we would not be in work for a long time.

The ambulance finally arrived and I couldn’t be more relieved to see the paramedics, who may as well have been white knights, riding in on horseback to rescue me.

The knights had to cut my new winter jacket, in order to access my poor shattered limbs. Luckily, my coat wasn’t too expensive – however, it was stuffed with duck down.

As a result, white feathers covered the path where I lay. I was later informed that I had been bleeding from a wound sustained on my head and around my right eye socket. I can only imagine how the street would have looked, after I eventually left the gruesome scene in the ambulance. Unknowing locals must have wondered what great white bird had been slayed and by what creature.

Safely aboard the ambulance, the blue flashing lights were turned on, with the driver bypassing the local hospital altogether, and heading straight for Bristol and Souuthmead. This was going to be serious…

I will continue to update my blog, detailing what happened next. As I remain in hospital, with limited use of just one hand, these updates may not be as frequent as I would like.

Posted by sean on November 10, 2019 at 6:25 pm in Website Stuff with No Comments


You may have noticed an addition to the menu on my blog.

No?

Take a look in the bottom right…

It looks like this…

This is a collection of all the blog posts, which I have made on certain topics.

I may add more links in the future, but for now you have the following…

  • Spotify ShuffleI didn’t like how my posts, listing the tracks Spotify randomly played for me, were clogging up my front page. Therefore, if you are one of the minority who enjoys reading my (embarrassing) choice of music, you will find all lists here.
  • Roman’s AlbumRoman, our incredibly cute house rabbit, is often featured on my blog. All photos and videos, which feature on here, can now be viewed in one soft, fluffy and cute collection.
  • The Roman ChalisNothing to do with rabbits. Read this if you don’t know what it is. Use this link to follow the journey of the Chalis.

Posted by sean on November 10, 2019 at 6:00 pm in The Roman Chalice with No Comments


The FA Cup has struck again!

One of the greatest and oldest cup competitions, has played another part in one of the greatest and newest cup competitions… The Roman Chalice!

This afternoon, Chalice holders, Chippenham Town were beaten 3-0 by Northampton Town in the FA Cup.

Get the champers out, guys! You have reason to celebrate.

This means that The Chalice has left Non-League and entered the Football League.

Will Northampton Town manage to keep hold of the Chalice for as long as the previous holders – Bath City, Slough and Chippenham – or will they surrender it as early as next weekend, when they face Crewe Alexandra?

  • About Me

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    If you are after a website which gives advice on how to hack an iPhone X, download the latest Steven Seagal movie, or view nudy ladies, you've come to the wrong place and may now press 'Back'.

    However, if you would like a lifestyle blog, written by a 30-something chap, living in Bath (England), feast your eyes on this.

    You won't discover how to copy PlayStation 4 games. What you will find is a blog, covering life in the West Country, the highs and lows of supporting two unsuccessful football teams, while sharing a house with a wife and rabbit.

    All written by a man, somewhere on the sanity-scale between normal and eccentric.
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