An Alien Place

An Alien Place

Wednesday 6th April, 2016

At some point later, Marc arrived up in ITU on a trolley. I saw them wheeling him past the waiting room door and taking him into the Intensive Care ward. I think maybe Claire came back in to speak to me briefly, but there was nothing much else to say apart from to repeat that Marc needed to be 'settled in' to ITU, and this, apparently, would take a while. At some point (I can't recall when) I was told that the scan had shown nothing other than some fluid in the stomach which, although notable, did not reveal the mysterious cause of the illness. This meant that Marc was still struggling on with no concrete diagnosis and therefore no further ideas for how to deal with whatever was attacking his body.

Deteriorating fast

Eventually Lesley came out to speak to me again in the waiting room. Before I went into ITU, she updated on Marc's condition. She told me that, since I had last seen him, his condition had deteriorated and that he was 'really struggling'. The doctors had made a decision to put him into a medically induced coma, which they believed would help to give his body some respite, as it had now been struggling against the infection for several hours.

This, she explained, meant that he would have a tube inserted in his throat and be attached to a ventilator which would breathe for him, in addition to being sedated so that he would appear as though asleep. I'm not sure if I was given a choice about this - I don't remember signing anything to give my permission - but again I was certain that the staff at the hospital were not taking this decision lightly, and would only do this if they felt it might help Marc.

Lesley explained that I could come in to see him before they put him under. It struck me that I was being brought in to see him whilst he was still awake in case once they induced the coma, he didn't actually wake up again. This was an extremely frightening thought. She didn't sound at all hopeful about Marc's chances. With this in my mind, I was led in to see him, wondering what on earth I was supposed to say.

The sickest person in the hospital

When I entered the ward for the first time, I don't think I took it in properly. I was far more concerned with seeing Marc than focusing on my surroundings, but suffice to say for now that ITU feels like a very alien place when you first enter. Marc had been placed in a bed to the immediate right of the nurses' station. At the time this meant nothing, but later I realised that he was placed there because he was so very ill. The sickest people need to be within the closest reach of the medical staff. I was told several times over the coming days that Marc was by far the sickest person in the entire hospital.

When I reached his bed he was conscious, just, but extremely disorientated and I'm not sure that he knew who I was, or even that I was there. I don't think I was allowed to stay with him for long. He was very distressed and clearly in a lot of pain, almost raving. It was difficult to see him like that. You know in the films, when people are brought to the bedside of their loved ones before death and say the most poignant and beautiful things before the person's time comes? When all the loose ends get tied up and everyone gets to make confessions and say those things they always meant to say but never got around to? Those kind of scenes?

Well they're absolute rubbish.

Last words

If Marc had died that night, our last words would have been ones of confusion and agony. Our last memories, ones of pain and suffering. The last words he said to me before I left? I don't want to type them. He swore, which he doesn't do very often, suggesting that words to describe his pain were difficult to grasp. I probably stammered that I loved him and would see him soon, once he was better, believing these sentiments less and less with every second that passed but not knowing what else to say. And I was escorted back out of the ward with what could so easily have been his final words ringing in my ears. Not 'I love you' or 'My darling'. Not 'I'm so happy to have spent thirteen years of my life with you' or 'tell the children I love them', but an expletive which left me in no doubt about the amount of pain he was in.

I was escorted back out to the waiting room by a different nurse. For a long time I did not remember meeting anyone else that night other than Lesley, but there was a nurse on duty who escorted me back and forth between Marc's bed and that waiting room several times that night. I found out weeks later that she was called Regi and she remembered me very well, but when she looked after Marc on her shift weeks later I introduced myself to her, as I believed that we had never met. It's funny what the brain does - some people I remembered perfectly from that night, whilst my mind could clearly not cope with recalling the names or faces of others who played just as important a part in saving Marc's life.

What will I do without him?

I sat for another agonising period of time in the waiting room. My dad and Marc's mum Linda arrived at some point, and I filled them in on what had happened, painfully aware that if Marc did not survive the induction of the coma, his mum would never get to speak to him again. We were all in shock. I didn't cry often during those first few days in the hospital. I have no idea why. Something must have kept me going: crying wasn't going to help anyone, so it wasn't really an option. I also think that when you are in shock, tears are not necessarily your first response. But I do know that in that stupid waiting room, after I had told my dad and Linda what was happening to Marc, and she had gone in to sit with him, I broke down on my dad and asked, 'What will I do without him?'

This is the one time I ever recall admitting that he might die.

A horrendous call to make

And Dad told me that, while there was still a chance of him living, I had to stay positive and believe that he would be alright. So I did my best to pull myself together and carry on. I went in to see Marc again. This time he was asleep, and at least looked more peaceful than he previously had when awake, which was a relief in one way, but the thought that I might never get to hear his voice again was always in the back of my mind. I found out later that it was touch and go whether the act of inducing the coma in itself would kill him, but they felt that if they hadn't induced the coma he would have died anyway. Doctors have to make some horrendous calls sometimes, and this has to have been one of them. I can only thank them profusely for having the courage to make the decision to induce the coma. I am certain that it helped him to survive those vital few hours through the night.

Lesley said that it was just a case now of (you guessed it) waiting. Waiting until the consultant came on duty in the morning, when he would make a decision about what was best for Marc, which might involve an operation. Hospitals are staffed by excellent general doctors during twilight hours, and have consultants on call, but to my knowledge consultants and surgeons don't generally work nights. The doctors on ITU had spoken to the consultant and taken advice, and he was due in at 9am. Until then, all they could do was keep Marc comfortable and hope that inducing the coma would allow his body to keep fighting.

Comments

Marc

Thursday, 7 April 2016 at 11:13

I cried a lot when reading this. I have no recollection of any of this and still can't believe it happened to us.

clare

Thursday, 7 April 2016 at 21:27

Me neither. Sorry for making you cry 😦

Ria

Thursday, 7 April 2016 at 12:35

You two are amazing. You have literally been to xxx and back as a family and have dealt with it all so well. The more I read the more in awe I am of your strength, as individuals, as a couple and as a family. And you're still there for others as well as each other. You're such an inspiration.

clare

Thursday, 7 April 2016 at 21:28

Thank you Ria. I don't know what else to say to you other than thanks. Your words mean a lot.

Anita Warburton

Thursday, 7 April 2016 at 14:04

Like you Marc I cried a lot while reading this. It brought back a lot of memories for me as well.
I know it must have been a dreadful time for all of your family and we are so thankful that you are still here with us.
They say that experiences like this can only make us stronger.
All I can say is that you have a wonderful family, and you have all come through it and I am sure that you all feel blessed to be here to tell the story. Long life and good health. God bless.

clare

Thursday, 7 April 2016 at 21:30

Please accept my apologies if this post brought back more personal bad memories for you Anita. I know that anyone who has experienced a close relative in hospital might find this difficult to read. Thank you so much for your continued support in reading our story.

Pauline Moore

Thursday, 7 April 2016 at 17:45

So scary! Just realised how blogs so far actually cover short period- the number of awful experiences seems overwhelming!
Fantastic how you've both come out the other side so positively! x

clare

Thursday, 7 April 2016 at 21:22

Yes I agree Pauline - I keep thinking with every post that the horrendous first night will be over and it never seems to end! Thankfully the one I am writing now moves on to the next morning, and things after that start to be a little less dramatic hopefully.

Linda

Thursday, 7 April 2016 at 18:12

I cried when I read this.

I don't remember everything that happened, I do remember going in to see Marc and being told to prepare for bad news.

All I could think of was what you and the children would do if Marc didn't make it. I knew how much everyone loved him.

At 5.45 I text my friend to say I wouldn't be walking with her that day.
Then we waited and waited for something to happen, it seemed like hours .

At some point, I think someone told Matt that his brother was critically ill, I think I went to the chapel - but maybe that was another day.

I often wonder how we all made it through that night. X

clare

Thursday, 7 April 2016 at 21:26

So do I. And I know what you mean - it's difficult to be completely clear about what happened when in those first few days. I think now we just need to be thankful that he was strong enough to make it through and has continued to be strong enough to face all the challenges ever since. I'm sorry if this brought back unhappy memories for you.

Sheila Maloney

Saturday, 9 April 2016 at 08:04

I've just caught up with the last four episodes, harrowing to say the least. I can feel your panic, desperation, disbelief, sadness, such terrible sadness, terror and helplessness.
It doesn't matter how strong and organised we are in our daily life, when it comes to feelings for our loved ones, that strength totally deserts us just when we seem to need it most. Maybe it's an inbuilt mechanism to save us going totally doolally at a time when our medical staff don't need any further responsibility, who knows?
I can't lie, I cried, I cried for all of you. I feel your pain.
I'm also totally in awe of how you all coped.

clare

Tuesday, 12 April 2016 at 07:54

Thanks Sheila. Those first few days were pretty harrowing, but we did somehow get through them. I appreciate your comments - it does seem like this one in particular upset a lot of people. All I can say is as we go through, I'm hoping that the posts will become more about strength and coping with difficulty, and therefore more positive and inspirational. Thanks again.

Helen

Friday, 29 April 2016 at 11:24

Struggling to hold back the tears reading this one Clare! You are an amazing writer, I feel like I'm there with you experiencing everything (obviously not to the same degree) thank you to both you and Marc for sharing your story with us x

clare

Monday, 9 May 2016 at 10:38

Thank you Helen. This one was quite difficult to write too - thinking about the rubbish that is portrayed in films and books about the 'beauty' of a person's last moments makes me so sad when the reality is that someone can be snatched away cruelly and completely without warning. Thank goodness Marc pulled through and is still here today for me to take the mickey out of! I try and take the time often now to make sure I say the things I want him to know (to all the people in my life in fact). It was quite a difficult way to learnt this lesson though!