Waking up

After four days of being in a medically-induced coma, today my husband woke up, squeezed my hand, looked at me…and asked me when he was going to be allowed home. This was at 10am – and by 5pm he was sitting up in bed, drinking tea and eating toast.

It’s far from idyllic – the tea was through a straw and the bed he was sitting in wasn’t his own but in the corner of the intensive care unit at our local hospital – but to be able to sit and talk to him after days of silence and worry was just amazing.

He’s been on life support since the early hours of Sunday, when after a night in A&E he was sedated while tests were carried out to find out what had gone wrong.

He’s had blood tests, brain scans, a lumber puncture, an x-ray, countless other investigations and still the reason why he became drowsy and confused remains a mystery. But whereas yesterday I was being warned there was a question mark over how he would be when he woke up, to see him awake and lucid enough to complain about being in hospital was progress I hadn’t dared hope for.

Although it’s still not clear why Roger fell ill, it seems the doctors might be a step closer to knowing as they’re looking into a rare complication with one of his medicines.

He’s been taking this one for months with no obvious side effects, but apparently this could be the reason why he ended up having a second stay in intensive care.

Since writing about all this on Monday, I’ve been overwhelmed by all the messages I’ve had not just from family and close friends but also from our colleagues, neighbours, long-lost pals and blogging buddies. Not only that but the care and support we’ve had from the hospital staff has been outstanding and very touching. Some of them remember us from last time we found ourselves here – back when I was nursing a huge bump as well as my husband!

After so long spent in critical care and on a hospital ward a couple of years ago, it sometimes feels like we’re part of the furniture at this hospital, and we have been welcomed back with so much love and care, but also sadness that we have to be back there at all.

So thank you for all your support, love, prayer and positive thought – it’s clearly worked wonders.

X Julia

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