It's now October and so much has happened that previously would have been terrifying. They're now just memories of things that have just happened along the journey.
Every day is a blessing. Every day that is normal is even more of a blessing.
Days after we met with "Our warrior" things rapidly descended into madness. I can't think of another word to describe it. It was early May. Mike started experiencing excruciating pain in his back. He couldn't move without crying out. He made it to bed but the pain was getting worse. It was almost like his back was constantly in a spasm. Regular pain killers weren't cutting it, so at midnight I made the decision to call for help. I was mindful of Covid, especially with Mike now being vulnerable.
I guess there's a first time for everything. I'd never been in the situation of calling emergency services and I had no idea how to do it. I phoned 111 and explained the situation, that Mike had recently been diagnosed with Oespogeal Cancer and I didn't know what to do. 111 passed me over to 999 and within10 minutes an ambulance pulled up and three paramedics jumped out! All I can say is that they were next to amazing. Kind, compassionate and understanding. Mike kept apologising for calling them out but they brushed it aside and treated him with such care.
They were with us for a couple of hours. Mike was reluctant to go into the local hospital, but they weren't able to give him pain relief without knowing what they were dealing with. They had no idea how bad it might be or what it might be. They gave him a relaxant and waited for it to kick in.
Chatting with them whilst waiting, we were convinced that we were wasting their time and felt guilty that we had called them. Maybe Mike just needed to rest. "Oh no" said the paramedic treating Mike. "It's nice to meet normal!" Then went on to tell us of the time he'd been called to attend an address where the patient reported a heart attack. Obviously, they rushed to the scene where they found the patient sitting at the table with a COVID test in front of her. On asking the patient she said "I had a heart attack as my test says I'm positive".
The other said that she'd been called to an address of a stabbing. On arriving they were told that the householder had woken and believed that he'd been attacked in his sleep. The police were there when they arrived and were escorted in to see a man in his vest sitting nursing a cup of tea. Apparently he was convinced he'd been stabbed as his dream was so realistic!
They took Mike into hospital overnight. I picked him up the next morning and immediately emailed "The Warrior" asking for advice on what we should do. Within hours, I received a call from his team telling us to make our way to the hospital where they would investigate further.
Mike was admitted. He was there for 14 days. They found that the cancer had already made it's way into his vertebrae and was now collapsing which was causing the excruciating pain. Andy (the Warrior) called on another expert who would repair it. In the meantime, they needed to wait for a "balloon" from Holland to place the cement in, which would repair the rib. I wasn't able to see him due to COVID but we FaceTimed daily and he wasn't in a good place. He was in agony. He had to lie still, unable to move. Had we not had been lucky to have met our man, we have no doubt Mike would have been paralysed.
While he was under they placed a "port" in his chest so that they would be able to start the chemo.
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