We were awoken at around 07:50 by Aaron banging on our door asking us to come quickly. We threw on some clothing and rushed downstairs to find Pam sitting on the floor leaning against her bed. She had spent the night sleeping in her reclining chair as she had been unwell but got up around 07:30 to have a wee and then decided to get into bed as she wanted to lie flat. It appears that in her weakened state she didn't have the strength to pull herself up with the overhead grab rail and she slipped off the edge of the bed and onto the floor.
Fortunately she hadn't banged her head but she said that her legs hurt. We decided to play it safe and called an ambulance as we didn't want to risk moving her just in case. The first bit of good news was that nothing appeared to be broken. The paramedics then got her onto a chair and she had a cup of tea while they took some additional observations. They were a little worried about her breathing which was understandable given her recent illness. The main sticking point was that although Pam could stand she seemed unable to take any steps with her Zimmer frame. On this basis it was agreed that she should be taken to hospital for a thorough check up.
Aaron had already headed off to work (hence him being up so early) so Toni and I let Sam and Zoe know what was going on and then jumped in the ambulance with Pam and we were all off to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I tell you what though, there's nothing like a panic shot of adrenaline to knock any lurgies into the background while important things are dealt with.....
A sad indictment of the current state of the NHS was being wheeled through A&E and out onto the next corridor to join a line of trolleys and being told that there were no beds/rooms available and we were fifth in the queue and we would receive some diagnosis/treatment out where we were. The poor old A&E staff were swamped and they even had an ambulance paramedic doing queue juggling duty. Everything took a LONG time but it did happen. Bloods were taken and chests were x-rayed. Then there was a more thorough examination which was still in the corridor but was at least behind a screen to preserve a level of modesty. An additional x-ray of Pam's right shin was ordered and she was put on a nebuliser for her chest.
She asked if she looked like a dragon with the neb mask on (presumably due to the "smoke" coming from her nostrils so I had to oblige her with a photo! I wasn't sure if this was more dragon or Blue Velvet psycho but in the interest of dignity I won't be posting it!!
After far too many hours we did finally make it to a cubicle in A&E. We seemed to get the one with the chair adorned with Woolwich signature stab/slash marks. OK they might be wear and tear marks but that's not a story eh? LOL
Lots of treatment took place, more nebs and obs etc. I took on the role of jester to try and keep Pam's spirits up. I tell you what, the party hats in hospitals are a bit shit!
It was just after this little routine that I came up with an idea on what to call Pam's little mishap this morning;. I didn't like to call it a fall and as her maiden name was Fosbrook, I decided to name her failed acrobatics this morning the Fosbrook Flop (a bit like the Fosbury Flop only less graceful and in a more downward direction). Both Pam and Toni thought this was hilarious although it did bring on many bouts of coughing following the laughter!
Everything was slow from here on too as things just didn't seem to be easing up. Pam's breathing had settled down so they were reasonably happy to look at discharging but wanted to check on her mobility first. Another team had to be called to be involved with this which just made the wait even longer. Pam was starting to go a bit stir crazy by this point as she was bored and just wanted to go home as she was worried that Toni hadn't eaten anything.
After what seemed like forever A&E seemed keen to start clearing the rooms so were them moved on to the Clinical Decisions Unit where Pam was to be assessed for fitness to go home. She had perked up a lot more by the time we got there:
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It was a strange place that looked like a cross between a ward and a beauty salon as it was all chairs rather than beds with rather fetching furniture. Most odd. It wasn't too long before a doctor appeared with a Zimmer frame and got Pam to do a small circuit. He was satisfied that she would be OK at home and so said that she would be discharged soon. Timing was perfect as they had just brought dinner round so Pam had a chicken casserole, mash, green beans and a trifle before we got to finally go home. There was a LOT of happiness at that point I can tell you!
Sadly as we left the hospital entrance I was confronted with this bizarre piece of irony which I still can't get my head around:
All home safe and sound now and Pam has settled back in watching bad TV too loudly! Phew, what a day!
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