It's amazing how in the space of 18 months, you can go from having Acid Reflux to recovering Renal Cancer and suffering the unseen burden of Chronic Pain.
Back on a evening in August 2013, I was settling down for the evening on the couch with the missus having just finished with the nightly ritual of getting 2 little girls down for the night.
I had been feeling a little off all day, nothing too serious but uncomfortable like I had really bad indigestion and visiting the loo more than normal with no result from the efforts. Throughout the evening the symptoms continued and I took some antacids and paracetamol and tried to settle for the night.
At around 2am in the morning I was awoken by what I can only describe as the worst pain I have ever experienced in life, it was a crushing pain in the middle of my chest and alarm bells were ringing so loudly in my head about was I having a heart attack, I managed to wake my wife and collapsed on the couch in extreme agony as my wife picked up the phone to call NHS Direct, I somehow managed to get the words "Get me an Ambulance" out of my mouth, which only served to panic my wife even further....
The next 10 mins were a blur as I, and i'm not ashamed to admit it cried in agony on our couch, then the rapid response paramedic arrived and started diagnosing me and got the heart monitor / ECG out and wired me up, out came the Nitrous Oxide and passed to me to breathe in, having taken 1 too many tugs on the gas I completed tripped out, although a welcome break from the pain it was an scary experience in itself. By this time the ambulance crew had arrived and got a line into my arm and administered morphine to help with the pain, at this time my brother had arrived also to look after the children, the look on his face will stay with me for a long time as he arrived to see his brother wired up and lines in my arm writhing in agony, I'm truly sorry for you having to see that bro...
I was transferred to hospital just round the corner from me by ambulance under blue lights being given more morphine en route. We arrived at the A&E dept where I was assessed by the Doctors and Xrayed and drip fed more pain relief. At about 5am a doctor came back into my cubicle where I had now stabilized and was dozing off from the pain relief, he delivered his verdict that it would seem that I had suffered acid reflux.... Acid Reflux surely not but hey they're the doctors and by this point the pain had gone completely and I was feeling so stupid for having all the fuss made the night before. I was discharged with paracetamol and my tail between my legs awaiting the mockery that I was certain would await me from my friends and family, and I wasn't' disappointed.
All calmed done for the next two weeks, and then all hell broke loose again. But that will be explained in my next installment. :)
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