It's been quite some time since I posted to this Far Place. The reason is both straightforward and a touch mysterious. I've been very ill, spending quite a few days in ICU with a serious lung infection, and suffering a series of seizures which effectively robbed me of all memory of events for some three and half weeks. Actually my stay in ICU came after the initial delirium and I sort of came round to a sense of reality when I was in there, though given how deeply uncomfortable it was to be intubated I rather wish this had been delayed. Fortunately, towards the end of my stay in ICU I managed to get a grip on reality again and by the time the tubes were removed and I was able to breathe without assistance I had shaken off the confusion and found myself again.
I've been out of hospital for a few days now, but recovery has been slow. When I first came round I'd lost a lot of weight and had no strength at all. I've made progress since then, but patience has been necessary, and will be for the foreseeable future. My trousers are still hanging loose despite the fact I'm eating well.
So what's the mystery? Well, the doctors haven't yet come up with any kind of definitive explanation as to what happened to me, though there's been plenty of conjecture. I'm on medication for epilepsy, on account of the seizures, but I'm not sure that anyone is convinced that I've suddenly become epileptic in my old age.
One last reflection for today: It's deeply humbling to be reduced to being completely dependent on those around you and effectively as helpless as a baby - and you don't even have the compensation of being cute.
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