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Monday, August 15, 2022

I Have been to the Royal Chelsea Hospital!

 


Blogging and gaming have been on hold due to a sudden influx of real life events, most of which were really good. But it did include a detour into an unexpected location in the form of the A&E at Royal Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

My wife and I were in the southern UK for 3 1/2 weeks until very recently.  It was very much a family based vacation, seeing relatives, going through my dad's effects and catching up with our daughter.  All good stuff until the very last moment.  We started and ended with stops in London for a few days after arriving and departing via Heathrow.  On our very last day we were out on a walk through Kensington Gardens en route to Notting Hill Gate.  We made it to the history section of the Waterstones before my wheels fell off.  

I suddenly came on very dizzy and week, but it was a heatwave and we'd been out walking so I did the standard grab a chair and a drink of water and let things settle.  Only they didn't and I got a very nasty bit of Vertigo - room spinning, unable to walk and then was violently sick.  If you are in that particular book shop and it smells a bit off then blame me.

The bookstore staff were very helpful, ushering me not their staff washroom, calling an ambulance and staying onsite late until they got there.  The ambulance crew were incredible (as were all of the NHS folks I met) but gave me a real scare.  I was thinking heat stroke or food reactions, but they quickly went to stroke.  Nothing like that particular S word to shake you up, even if you are clinging to the floor and toilet unable to move a muscle without throwing up.

A night in hospital, a couple of CT scans, multiple IV drips and multiple visits with docs later I got a visit from the neurologist.  He did some checks and threw me around a bit (literally) and decided that it was most likely benign paroxysmal positional vertigo or BPPV and not a stroke (although he didn't absolutely rule that out).  By the time I was done, we'd missed our flight time.  But my wonderful wife had managed to cancel the flights in time to get a credit (we think), book a new room at our hotel and move our kit and caboodles between hotel rooms without a minutes sleep while I was incapacitation by vertigo or sleeping.

Flights were rebooked at considerably higher prices than we originally paid and we made it home two days late and thoroughly exhausted.  My wife tells me we're on a diet of rice and beans once we've eaten down the freezer and any new hobby projects are on hold for now.  But we are home, mostly healthy and had a mostly wonderful trip.  I post about some of the non-HNS related stuff in a while.


19 comments:

  1. My wife had BPPV a year or two ago although not as severe as you have stated.

    Couldn't see a doctor face to face but a look at the Epley Manoeuvre on the NHS website encouraged us to try at home and it worked after a few repeats.

    Jim

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    1. Glad to hear that your wife is doing better with it. I was lucky that they were able to see me.

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  2. Vertigo is a really debilitating thing. I have Meniere's which is now thankfully undr control but when I was getting attacks it was very scary and would wipe me out completely. Hope you're on the mend soon.

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    1. It can be. Glad to hear that you've got yours under control.

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  3. Glad to see that you are at least stable now. Getting sick in a foreign country can be difficult. Hope follow-ups can pinpoint the nature of this episode.

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    1. Thanks Jonathan, I’ve an MD appt this afternoon. Luckily I was in the UK not the USA or I’d be selling a kidney to pay the hospital bills!

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  4. Awful thing, glad you were supported so well.Take care
    Alan Tradgardland

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    1. Thanks Alan. I scary moment and a rough day, but doing much better now.

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  5. Ouch - but glad to hear you were taken care of and have made it home . Take care Peter

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  6. Sorry to hear about this and hope you have a speedy recovery.

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    1. Thanks Mark, it was nasty but thankfully over in a day.

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  7. I too get vertigo, is not a lot of fun! Shame your holiday ended up the way it did, but at least you're back home safe and sound. And you missed coming along to Reject HQ for a game as well???

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    1. It was like the worst case of the whirlies and dry heaves without the benefit of getting drunk first. I'll definitely take you up on that invite next time, this time we kept it family based.

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  8. Good Grief! Always embarrasing to suddenly upchuck in public, let alone the dizzy bits which are worrisome incase they are a forerunner of something wordse. Hopefully there'll be no repetition and it won't prove to be a harbringer.

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    1. No my finest hour, but at least I've got a good idea what causes it and how to deal with it now.

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  9. Sounds terrible and especially the S word, rest up and tighten your belt! At least now you can reap the benefits of laying in a decent lead/plastic mountain!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain. It gave us a scare, especially the S word. Much better now, and yes I’ll be mining Lead Mountain this year.

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