By Gillian on behalf of Chris
Chris has asked me to update his blog for him. He has been feeling grotty & weak all day, so has spent almost all of the day in bed. We were getting very low on food and I’ve been raiding the freezer. The main roads are passable now, and since our neigbours and I dug the car out yesterday I could probably have made it to the shops to stock up. But something told me that Chris wasn’t in a fit state to be left. Fortunately, a good friend and colleague of ours, Richard, lives not too far away, and very kindly volunteered to do a shop for us and drop it off on his way home from work. Thank goodness he did. At four o’clock this afternoon I was sitting in the living room when I heard a loud crash. I went running and found Chris lying on the bathroom floor, wedged between the toilet and the wall. He was clearly breathing, but very unresponsive – his eyes were rolled up and he didn’t seem able to hear me or respond. And he’s too heavy for me to be able to move him if he won’t cooperate. I put a duvet over him to keep warm and phoned 999. A paramedic was with us within 10 minutes – the 10 longest minutes of my life. He got Chris into bed and checked him over very thoroughly – blood pressure, pulse, ecg, temperature. Chris by this stage was clearly deep in shock – shivering & shaking uncontrollably. But the paramedic decided that there was nothing critical wrong – his blood pressure was low, and the working hypothesis is that he got up too quickly on his way to the loo and fainted. We don’t think that he hit his head on the way down, but I’ve been told to keep my eyes peeled for signs of concussion. The paramedic said that he was prepared to admit Chris to hospital for observation if we wanted, but that in his opinion the best thing was to keep him here in bed and keep him warm. So that’s what I’m doing.
{ 15 } Comments
Dear Gillian & Chris,
We were both shocked and saddened to hear about Chris’ recent faintness, but impressed that help was so quickly on hand.
As ever, you’re both very much in our thoughts, and we will do our best to support you however we can at this difficult time.
R&F
I’m one of Chris’s co-admins at librivox. Just wanted to say I’m thinking of you both. Stay warm!
Chris, you and Gillian are very much in my thoughts. If I can visit and/or help out in any other way, let me know. Whatever happens I’ll be reading what you write.
So sorry to hear about all this, Chris and Gillian. I hope you are both comfortable and warm. Sharing your experiences with people who may be going through similar things is a fantastic thing to do.
A very nasty shock that I’m sure you could have done without at the moment!
However, the fainting hypothesis does seem very likely, so fingers crossed that it’s just a one-off.
Best wishes to you both. David.
Thanks all. Crisis over, now. Just very hungry and weak. Working on filling up with food slowly.
My goodness. Glad to hear you are back online. Take it easy! I hope you have some relief soon from stent-related issues.
Best wishes from Camden. Speak soon – D
Hi Chris, glad to see you back online today. We are keeping up with your news and thinking of you lots.
Tons of love
Katie & Tom
@David, Much better today, thank goodness. Look forward to talking.
@TomKT Good to know. Don’t forget to think of Gillian too. 🙂
Hi Chris!
How are you doing? I’ve just read… all my thoughts and prayers are with you & Gillian! *hugs*
All the best,
Elli (Aravis at LV)
Thank you, Elli, it means a lot to me that so many people at LV are thinking kindly of me.
Hi, Chris,
Daft bugger! Take it easy! Thinking of you both lots, despite Jack’s bad behavior. Looking forward to seeing you out and about, maybe even a trip to the Anupam?
Cheers,
Andy.
Don’t give Jack’s behaviour a second thought. I know what toddlers are like, and it sounds as though he has just discovered that he can express his wishes, to put it mildly.
I’m really looking forward to telling everyone all the gory details at the Anupam one day 🙂 Well, maybe some of the funnier ones, anyway!
Chris and Gillian – thanks for keeping up the blog. Your body is taking some big shocks at the moment, Chris. It’s not surprising it rebels sometimes. Take care of each other, my dears. I am glad you have such good friends nearby to help.
Ruth, the friends are wonderful, both online and IRL. I don’t know what we’d do without them/you.
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[…] was the second time he’d fainted on me when he was wedged tightly into a small space – last time he was stuck between the toilet and the bathroom wall, this time he was sitting firmly wedged up […]
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