A year ago today I had a stroke. Fortunately, I’m one of the very, very lucky
ones who’s able to look back over the year gone by with fully restored brain
capacity and without impairment to any bodily function. One dreads to think how
the whole situation could have turned out, had it not been for the alertness of my partner Andrew and the stellar medical care provided the NHS. To come out
at t’other end completely unscathed is like divine intervention, if you believe
in such nonsense.
Since it’s Oscar nomination day (Parasite for the win), I’d like to take the opportunity
to give recognition where recognition’s due, in the shape of my own private
Oscars.
Best Picture – This one, taken a just over a week after the
stroke. Made it up the hill in Greenwich Park.
Best Director – Dr Striha, Neurology Consultant at King’s
College Hospital for being in charge of administering the all-important clot busting treatment, and continued after care. I’ve since found out
that he’d finished for the day and was waiting for a train at Denmark Hill when
A&E called and said that a patient who would benefit from
thrombolysis had just arrived. He duly headed back. Hashtag lifesaver.
Leading role – Andrew Dibb. Possessing the right balance of persistence and nagging for dealing with a stubbornly uncooperative patient.
Supporting role – The stroke team at King’s College Hospital and the speech and language service at Oxleas NHS trust. I heart the NHS.
Best Script – The high drama of Sunday 13 January 2019. The gentle build up (panning shots of the Thames pathway at Greenwich peninsula, morning run in the early sunshine), the moment of crisis and drama (stroke in Sainsbury's, unwitting protagonist wrestled to the ground by punters, breaks free and makes a dash for it), the 'get with the programme' moment (protagonist unwisely goes to bed, amidst said crisis), the knight in shining armour moment (partner comes home and rescues protaganist), the ambulance stand off (paramedics vs partner, partner wins), the hospital sequence (rapid jump from assessment, to scan, to thrombolysis). The stroke ward (tracking shot through hospital corridors and lifts, crisis averted).
Best Music – R.E.M. Soundtracking my life since 1991.
Best Foreign Language – Swedish. Or rather, the relief at regaining
cognition for both Swedish and English. To start with, I definitely struggled
with both. Had my first or second language ended up foreign, the road to recovery would definitely have been more gruesome.
Best Sound – The cork on the bottle of fizz we’re about to crack
open. Here’s to another stroke-free year!
