PLEASE READ - No really, please, please read!!

As many of you know, I have not been in the best of health this year; some of you know more than others about what happened, the cause and the results, whereas some of you have had to kinda guess. Well, I am going to try and clarify things a bit for everyone, and beg you to continue reading right to the end, as this might just save your life - seriously.

At the back end of last year, I was seeing a neurologist for various small issues, and he decided that I had a condition called Myasthenia Gravis; he ordered tests, which came back negative (all of them), and one of those tests was extremely unpleasant (EMG), and the consultant who did the test stated categorically at the end of it that I definitely did not have Myasthenia Gravis. However, the neurologist was adamant, and decided to put me on various drugs to see how I reacted to them.

In February, I volunteered to drive a bus for a few hours on a Saturday morning, to carry out a risk assessment on a route for a rail replacement service. That few hours turned into a whole day, and toward the end there was one chap on the bus who got to the point where he said he was going to give up and go home as he was full of flu. Sure enough, by the Monday afternoon I felt terrible and came home from work early and spent the rest of the week off with flu. I didn't sleep at all on the Friday night, and then took some Night Nurse on the Saturday morning and went to try and get some sleep. When I woke up in the afternoon, I was in trouble - really struggling to breathe, so Mrs C called the NHS 111 line for advice; they spoke to me for a couple of minutes, and within a few more minutes there was an ambulance at the door. I was carted downstairs on a chair, and taken off to hospital - the paramedic phoned ahead and I was literally met at the back door and treatment started instantly. As the night progressed, I was moved into Intensive Care, and they did what they could; eventually though, they had no choice, and Mrs C was called in the middle of the night to come back to the hospital and to bring our daughter, essentially to say our goodbyes. That was the 10th of February.

The hospital continued to work on me, but nothing was doing much; by the 11th February, my kidneys had packed up as well as my lungs and I was in increasing trouble. A specialist team from St Thomas Hospital in Central London had been in communication with the hospital I was in, and they decided on the Thursday that enough was enough - they sent a special team out in an ambulance to do what they call an ECMO recovery; basically, I had various machines doing everything - I was in multiple organ failure.

I remained in a coma for the next seven weeks; I had Influenza B, acute kidney injury, septicaemia/sepsis, severe respiratory failure, numerous DVT's, two brain haemorrhages and various other wee infections and issues. I was on dialysis, a mechanical ventilator and had a tracheotomy, and had developed some sort of issue where my blood pressure would drop like a stone when I was on dialysis and then I would stop breathing - - first I knew of each of these episodes was when I came back round to find my feet up in the air, and my head down toward the floor, often with some frantic looking nurses around the bed.

I left St Thomas on the 1st of May, to return to the original hospital, and at that point was still on dialysis and still had a hole in my throat, but no tracheotomy tube, and I was starting to move a wee bit in bed. I still couldn't move myself up the bed at all without assistance, and could only sit up in an electrically raised bed for short periods. All muscles were essentially shot.

They wanted to send me to a special neuro-rehab unit - the type you would go to if you had been involved in a major accident and had suffered a massive head trauma; Mrs C and I looked at the information for it, but to be honest it wasn't for me. No disrespect intended, but the statements along the lines of 'bring your special shoes, and big coat in case we go out on the special bus' (not worded like that, but you get my meaning).... sorry, that was just too much for me, not least as it was a three month placement. I would have been driven nuts, and Mrs C would have been demented trying to actually get to the place to visit me (it was miles away, and no easy public transport). So, they decided that they were going to let me home. I was off dialysis, so that wasn't an issue, but I would have various tests ongoing.

As is always the case now, resources were short, so whilst we had equipment at home (hospital bed, commode, hoist), the council couldn't give a date for a care package. After various failed promised dates of getting out, I ended up having a rather stern and frank conversation with a consultant (even longer story, feel free to ask!) who agreed to let me home and then the care would follow.

That care never arrived, so Mrs C took it all on, on her own, and she did a cracker of a job.

Before leaving hospital, I had an OT tell me that I would never sit on my sofa again as it was too low for me to stand up from (I am sat on it now!), I wouldn't get upstairs into my own bed (have been sleeping upstairs for weeks), and that I was unlikely to get back to work (going back on the 10th October).

It has been a lot of hard graft, and occasional tears of frustration, to get to where I am now and I still have a hell of a long way to go.

I could not have done this without massive (and I do mean massive) amounts of help from friends, many of them GC friends. I would happily embarrass them, but they may wish to remain anonymous - they know who they are, and they know that they have quite literally played a part in saving my life.

If you have read this far, thank you, and please do feel free to ask as many questions as you want, I am not shy about discussing it - just one last bit that I would like you to take away with you, for you and your loved ones:

GET A FLU JAB!!​

 

Yeah, I'm afraid I was as close as it is possible to get to a coffin, without actually opening the lid if you know what I mean.

The drugs that the original neurologist had put me on were a factor in as much as they depressed my immune system, and that let the flu in

 

You would have thought so, but no. In fact, the neurologist that was assigned to my case failed to answer calls from the ward (when I got back to the original hospital), and has since been removed from my case - nothing said to me as to why, but read into that what you will.

Having said that, there were people of all ages (even teenagers) in hospital, on ECMO, at the same time as me and that was solely due to the flu.

Thanks @roders, and I look forward to seeing you again, most likely at shineyland next year, as I am hell-bent that I will be there, and our good friend @JWK has already offered a lift (that is, unless I am giving him one!!)

For the record though folks, my reason for writing this is to hopefully encourage you all to get a flu jab, whether you think you need it or not. DO NOT underestimate what it can do to you.

 

I am lucky (or unlucky) to be old enough to get a free flu jab, I'm booked in for one this Saturday.

I had no idea it was the flu that triggered your problems FC. Glad to hear you are making a remarkable recovery and fingers crossed that you will eventually be able to drive again one day. I'm stil on for taking you to Shiney's Open Day next year

 

Believe it or not, I was cleared today by my GP, following info from opticians and a consultant at St Thomas - - not that I have a car anymore, but it is one more step forward. Thanks JWK

 

We're really pleased that you're coming on so well and look forward to seeing you in May.

Although we accept that flu jabs have certainly helped many people avoid the worst of the illness we don't have them for different reasons. I tend to be allergic to almost all vaccinations and do better without them (doctor reluctantly agrees) and, for similar reasons, never take any pills (apart from the occasional Paracetamol when I've overdone things in the garden). Fortunately I have a resident medical genius and have been kept clear of problems for the last 50+ years. Even with all our travelling to out of the way places we are able to avoid the necessity for jabs - although I was a bit nervous when travelling to Kent this month