Back to Our Pages
So
be serious…
13
July 1995, coronary artery bypass surgery. After two days, mind went BANG. There were tubes everywhere, a mask over my face!!
[My son tells me this – I cannot remember this.] Then I could not SPEAK, SWALLOW, or MOVE!!! Could listen! Could not read. Came back to: “Gbkhx jbjk ks ahsxl! Mis-a John
rlqdpqhs sus.” No names, no days, but the sun was lovely. Left to
sit – was lying – then standing. Then I could walk. Nothing worries
me. OK. But since I am different. Visitors, lots. Paul, Mavis, Harry, my sister, then
Peter came, I thought he had died and cried. Simon came, Bernard talked
when I eat. Left St Thomas back to my hospital at Greenwich, 27
July 1995. Could not speak. Paul found me, (Paul at the Greenwich
Hospital, is Microbiology). Stayed for several weeks in three rooms, last in the
best room. An Australian lady makes me to speak and understand.
Later a man then a South Africa girl (originals from India), was
wonderful. Time goes slowly. Get well slowly. Went in the park.
Summer. Very hot. Friends came to see me. One day there where a lot amount
7 or 8! Was taken to Mavis’s house. I cannot remember when
the Hospital send away. Moved in with Mavis and Harry. Every morning and afternoon I went to walk. Slowly,
and got better. Once a week to the hospital to speak. Walking, walking,
and very slowly to speak. [Writing,
the me speaking on tape…] I cannot remember everything about the Hospital. Some things come easily, some is all mixed and I
really cannot understand about some of the things which have happened, or
when it was. I’ve had four years and it’s in one sense quite mixed up. Obviously as I had been able to understand, to look
at some words in Newspapers, to be able to speak quite a lot. I find some of it very peculiar, because it’s where
there most of everything is in my brain, and I can think about it, smile
about it, cry about it. I cannot really describe it. Not able to speak to somebody. The connection is about babies. From when they are born, they learn how to see, can
recognise colours, can recognise faces and very, very slowly, they learn
how to speak, and of course it does take quite a long time for people to
use words. And somebody like me, everything is in my brain, now,
is enormous, but the problem is, to try to get words out and this makes me
to communicate, it-it-it-it… everything I try to say sometimes I just
cannot get what I want to say. I couldn’t really understand what is happening on
television. I looked at it, obviously I could hear people talking on
there, but most of everything was very quickly. You see people about plays, about cinemas, about
people doing the news. I really couldn’t understand what they were talking
about. Obviously I did watch television, in one sense it was
something to do. Just to watch people moving around and to look at
places in the world, and one of the best things on television, is to watch
animals and that is absolutely marvellous for somebody like me, because I
can understand the birds – the birds or the animals or what ever it is. I can recognise it. Some of it, of course, is not very friendly! But I could actually understand about animals. --------- |