I Took a Close Friend of the Family to A&E – and his condition shifted from unwell to scarcely conscious on the way.
He has always been a man of a truly outsized figure. Witty, unsentimental – and never one to refuse to another brandy. During family gatherings, he’s the one chatting about the latest scandal to befall a regional politician, or entertaining us with stories of the shameless infidelity of various Sheffield Wednesday players for forty years.
It was common for us to pass Christmas morning with him and his family, prior to heading off to our own plans. Yet, on a particular Christmas, roughly a decade past, when he was planning to join family abroad, he fell down the stairs, holding a drink in one hand, his luggage in the other, and sustained broken ribs. The hospital had patched him up and advised against air travel. Thus, he found himself back with us, trying to cope, but appearing more and more unwell.
The Morning Rolled On
The hours went by, however, the anecdotes weren’t flowing like they normally did. He was convinced he was OK but his condition seemed to contradict this. He tried to make it upstairs for a nap but was unable to; he tried, gingerly, to eat Christmas lunch, and failed.
Thus, prior to me managing to don any celebratory headwear, we resolved to drive him to the emergency room.
The idea of calling for an ambulance crossed our minds, but how much of a delay would there be on Christmas Day?
A Rapid Decline
Upon our arrival, he had moved from being peaky to barely responsive. Fellow patients assisted us guide him to a ward, where the generic smell of hospital food and wind was noticeable.
The atmosphere, however, was unique. People were making brave attempts at Christmas spirit all around, notwithstanding the fundamental depressing and institutional feel; decorations dangled from IV poles and portions of holiday pudding went cold on nightstands.
Upbeat nursing staff, who certainly would have chosen to be at home, were moving busily and using that great term of endearment so peculiar to the area: “duck”.
A Subdued Return Home
Once the permitted time ended, we made our way home to chilled holiday sides and festive TV programming. We viewed something silly on television, perhaps a detective story, and played something even dafter, such as a local version of the board game.
By then it was quite late, and it had begun to snow, and I remember experiencing a letdown – had we missed Christmas?
Healing and Reflection
While our friend did get better in time, he had in fact suffered a punctured lung and subsequently contracted a serious circulatory condition. And, while that Christmas does not rank among my favorites, it has become part of family legend as “the Christmas I saved a life”.
Whether that’s strictly true, or contains some artistic license, is not for me to definitively say, but hearing it told each year has done no damage to my pride. In keeping with our friend’s motto: “don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story”.
