Walking with Ghosts ! Today I arrived back in the UK after what turned out to be nearly a month in the Ukraine. What was supposed to be a short holiday to see Iryna’s family turned out to be far less simple. When I met Irynas mother the formidable Swetlana Gurbonova … she was concerned about how pale I was looking and noticed I was getting tired easily… I can’t say I had noticed myself but after her and Irynas relentless persuasion I agreed to take a blood test in one of the many hospitals under her control….not satisfied with the Anemia which seemed innocuous enough, she promptly instructed department after department to take one test after another from body scans to cameras in every place you would never want to push a camera… after a day of testing… all quiet… 2 days later Iryna and I met her mother in another vast hospital where we sat down in a large office with the institute’s Director and the senior surgeon… The surgeon, who spoke fluent English then said …….” Im afraid Darrell your situation is very serious”…. A very short sentence that will certainly get your attention. After further explanation , I had to make a very quick choice… not one but TWO Tumors that were set to explode like Sempex on my intestines that would need to be operated on within 10 -14 days or… Game Over !! I pondered for a while about reorganizing flights back to the UK, how long it would take to get into the NHS then transferred to BUPA… but I could sense from the Consultants that I did not have a lot of time so decided to put my faith in Iryna and her very powerful Mother, and the Ukraine’s leading Surgeon who had only recently dragged the Mayor of Kahrkov “literally” back from the Dead after a failed assassination attempt 6 months ago… so without hesitation I said … lets do it !… The Institute Director scheduled my operation for the following Wednesday. On the morning of the OP I had psyched myself up like a Boxer for a fight….. In the Ukraine the Hospitals are “Grimm”… so no glide down the hallways on a trolley on pre meds…. No.. it’s a long walk to the theater where you climb on to the table yourself while what appeared to be the cast of Ben Hurr in Al-Qaeda masks strapped me down to a cold steel operating table whilst I mumbled to myself… anytime you want to knock me out guys… feel free !! .. The only good thing about an operation is that you don’t know a thing about it.. and after a stretch in intensive care the first thing I remember is Irynas fantastic smile as I was back in my room…. A presidential suite compared to the cramped conditions of the wards. After a few days living like an Octopus with drains and plugs from just about every part of my body. The days in Hospital were just about tolerable but the nights are like torture…. So at night as my strength returned I found myself walking the corridors.. 25 mtrs the first night, 50 the next…on and on until I ventured to new floors where I joined all the other “Ghosts” … pushing their IV’s along a mtr at a time.. hollow eyes… whatever “Life Force” they had ebbing away from them…. Some I would see night after night… some I wouldn’t see again. After a few days I had moaned to Iryna about the lack of Internet so with a quick call to her Mum, I heard the distant sound of IT technicians cabling over 175 Mtrs to get a router outside my room….. FANTASTIC… !!! I had re-joined the world.. in every sense.. It will be 2 weeks tomorrow since my operation … and if you ask me how I feel.. honestly… I feel great !!! I feel so very lucky to have more time… so thankful I was bullied into the hospital for tests and ready for the next phase of the battle…. Glad to be given another seat at the poker table of life…….. Dx
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 19:44:18 +0000
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