Feck Off Festive Season

Back to work tomorrow, for the first time since mid-December. I'll be lucky if I can remember my password.

This hasn't been a festive season to fondly recall, for a number of reasons.

In the space of three weeks I managed three hospital visits - including one full on flashing lights and sirens episode - and two visits to the emergency doctor.

The cause of two of the hospital visits is already well documented. The third came last Saturday, when my dad called from the local post office to say he was feeling unwell.

When I got there he was out-of-breath, dizzy, and had the complexion of Pete Doherty after a week long bender.

'Just take me home for a lie down', he said. 'Call an ambulance', I told the lady behind the counter.

This is typical of my dad. With a severe heart attack, and a triple bypass on his medical record, you might imagine he'd err on the side of caution, but he won't be told.

Last Christmas after experiencing chest pains, he drove my mum to work and sneaked off to the local Accident and Emergency Department without telling anyone - thinking he could have a quick check up and be back home before we realised he was missing.

When he got there, his symptoms resembled another heart attack and he was soon hooked up to an ECG - necessitating a gruff phone call to me to go and collect mum when she finished work.

Fortunately they were able to confirm he hadn't had another heart attack, and he was released twelve hours later.

This time, he was kept in overnight. It seems he reacted badly to a recent change in his medication, causing his blood pressure to plummet.

Prior to this I'd already had one visit to the emergency doctor with K after she started experiencing severe neck and head pains. A call to NHS Direct had them covering everything from meningitis to possible post-op complications, and they booked her in for a visit.

Much to our relief if turned out to be nothing too serious, and she was soon on the mend.

The final visit came on New Years Day. E had a very restless night and by early morning was running a very high temperature - so hot she was visibly reddening like someone with nasty sunburn.

When I checked her temperature it was showing 39.7C which put it in the top band of 'high fever' on the chart. Another call to NHS Direct, and another visit to the emergency doctor, who diagnosed a viral infection and prescribed some medication to get her temperature down.

So, again nothing too major, but scary nonetheless.

Which leads me almost to be relieved to get back to the inevitable backlog at work.

Three weeks off work should mean rest and relaxation, instead it's been sadness and a fair degree of stress.

2006 couldn't end quickly enough for me. I'm already formulating plans to ensure 2007 and beyond have better things to offer.