I am a poor wayfaring stranger
I wish someone had told me last Thursday.
Thursday morning I climbed out of bed, put a kettle on the stove to boil water, put coffee in the coffee pot, and dropped two pieces of toast into the toaster. The kettle whistled, I turned off the stove, and……
…. woke up in Vancouver General Hospital.
If you asked what happened between say 8 am and 5 pm on Thursday I’d have to admit that I have no real idea. Despite, I am told, being awake and conversing with various people, I recall almost nothing of the day.
Susan found me sprawled on the dining room floor. She asked if I was OK, and got an “Uh.” She asked if she should call an ambulance, and got a “Yup.”
Two fire-fighters arrived first, then two paramedics. I was given oxygen, and fluids, and some other treatments. I was questioned about health in general, and liquor, and drugs, and was assured that I was in good general health and fitness, and wasn’t either a drug addict or an alcoholic.
I was loaded onto a wheelchair, and carried down two flights of stairs to the ambulance.
At the hospital I was subjected to all manner of scans and tests, before being released to go home.
We picked up Japanese food on the way from Shiro, on Cambie.
What fascinates me is that I remember almost nothing of this day, from morning til the time we left VGH. If Susan hadn’t been there it would be a totally blank slate.
Which, ultimately, leaves me asking a pretty fundamental question: what in God’s name is happening to my brain?
I know that sometimes, when speaking, I struggle to recall the specific word that I need. Thankfully (?) this doesn’t seem to happen behind a keyboard.
And a for a few years I’ve made a habit of writing things down rather than relying on memory. It works well for me, and keeps me on track.
But this latest escapade is a whole order of magnitude of debilitation. Not knowing why I wound up on the floor, and not remembering a whole day, is obviously cause for concern.
Still, somehow, after a day to recover, I’m actually feeling hopeful, and surrounded by people who care, and - unlike in Nova Scotia - find that I have confidence in the BC Health care system.
Tomorrow, we’ll see what develops.