MESSAGES FROM THE PAST & THE PRESENT

About five years ago I was working in Qatar, when one weekend a few colleges including yours truly  decided to fly over to Bahrain for a jolly with the staff of another office. We arrived there mid evening and proceeded out to the local haunts and onto a club.

 At about 1pm, the young lady I was with called Becky suggested we all go to a local apartment to have a drink . Now here's the choice, for, like we all do from time to time I needed the loo, but as it was only 5 minutes down the road in a cab I thought I'd wait. Unfortunately,  Becky lost her way and the cab driver didn't  speak very elegant English, so 5 minutes turned into 25, but none the less we arrived with more urgency on my part than we began with. Then she forgot the floor for the apparent, this did rather take my need further past the point than I would normally choose to go.

Eventually, we found the right apartment with my comrades already ensconced in booze, at which point I made bee line for the loo. Unfortunately, the very act of releif was no realif at all, as my midsection began to contract in a level of pain that I would only describe as giving birth. I walked out to the kitchen and calmly suggested to my friends that a trip to the hospital might be the way to go, and threw up in the sink. Noticing I was indeed in pain, I was taken by our local friends to a building nearby they thought was a hospital, which happily they were proved correct, as the front door led into a waiting area for a private hospital.

My body in the meantime was beginning to shake uncontrollably as the pain increased further, so when the doctor asked me how I felt, I threw up again onto a very clean floor, at which point I was ushered to a bed, a canular inserted and pain killers administered. Unfortunately to no effect as I still shivered uncontrollably. A second and then a third shot were given, after which I spent the next  eighteen hours undergoing CT scans, ultra sounds, and examinations I don't care to remember, including one of my credit card for a £1000. 

The doctors could not find the problem,  so I was taken to a private room, now with a canular in each arm. I'd had two CT scans, two ultra sounds and a stomach tube, so whilst I think this was just to increase the bill,  I was in no fit state to complain as every time the pain killer wore off I would return to convulsions. 

The head surgen immediately turned up with a grave face and said they were preparing for exploratory surgery. I said key hole, he described garage door, I considered garage sale of a kidney at least with a big bill for the donation. I asked for a few minutes to think,  I had already thought. No sooner was he out of the door I had telephoned my now very drunken colleges to come and pick me up. I pulled the tubes out of my arms, dressed and made my way toward the front door only to be accosted by the surgical team who felt I was taking a risk with my life and their pay check. Fortunately my friends turned up, albeit more the worse the ware than the patients for alcohol,  and took me to a local doctor who put me on a drip for six hours till the pain subsided. 

The next  morning we flew back to Qatar after my friends had enjoyed the time of their lives, and I'd come away keeping mine. The next day I passed a kidney stone half the size of a grain of rice. The male pregnancy and I can tell you its just a painful as any woman in labour with an eight pounder in the breech.

So what's  the point of this story, well first and formeost go when you need to, not when you have to,  second beware of men in White coats who scare you to death so they can get their hands on your valuables, and remember to think who is benefiting from your uncomfortable  situation, it's usually not you.

The reason I am reminded of this, is my last ten days reminds me of this, not because of doctors wanting to see more of me, internally and externally, in actual fact they were happy to see the back of me because I was catching, but more the level of pain, all be it, refined to between my ears. No pain no gain, I'm just not desperately sure what either of these events did to enhance my life experience other than to value every day  as I'm healthy. Maybe I needed reminding, but a simulated heart attack, followed by the face of Egor of the bells fame, and raining inside my head was more than a slight dig in the ribs.

That said, events however small or painful have the habit of pushing you in a certain direction or seeding your mind with an attitude or knowledge that can be highly significant at a later date. Therefore in our minds, we already have the answers to future problems waiting in the depths to influence  our thoughts for more significant reasons than our  negative conditioning can deny.

Whatever the reason for my recent bout of ill health, as usual I will always look for the advantage that comes from experiences perceived  both good and bad. Stress is undoubtably a factor and one if this was a shot across the bows I will have to address.

However, today I have managed to down load the entire blog onto a book format. I will leave the majority in the raw state rather than review  such a vast quantity of words which would take days and end up a delay. I know I will get criticised for gramma and spelling, but for .98p  I think it represents good value from yours dyslexic truly.