BA 10: Supply Shortages

Dangerous Climbs, Deadly Sands and the Hunt For Something Precious.

After thinking I was going into hospital for a minor procedure, only to find out that I was being prepared for open heart surgery, the only logical thing to do was drive a couple of hundred miles to Southport beach and hide out for a week.

Deserts and Mountains

When I say hide out, I mean in the metaphorical “hiding from the stress” sense. The hospital knew exactly where we had gone but were happy to let us have some time to relax after the shock of what had just happened.

So, that is what we tried to do and in spite of the need to administer antibiotics through a line in my arm every evening (a process which required my parents to become part time medical professionals) we did manage to have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday.

We spent as much time as we could on the beach but some mornings we would walk down to discover that the wind had turned every grain of sand into a deadly projectile. Those were the days we decided to spend inland.

The holiday complex we stayed at had plenty of things to keep me and my sister entertained which meant that my parents could sit back a little and chill…
Ha! Who am I kidding.
As much as they put on a brave face I’m sure their worries never faded in the slightest.

Still, between the wall climbing, sunbathing and cheesy evening entertainment, we all managed to settle into a happier state of mind.

Finding Connections

This had been the first real chance for us all to take a breath and actually enjoy some time together since my surgery the previous year. Naturally, once the week had flown past, none of us were ready to head home.

In fact, we were so against the idea of heading home that my parents decided they would visit the reception and see if they had any availability for the following week and as luck would have it, they did.

There were, however, a couple of issues.

The line in my arm through which my parents administered antibiotics had a small device on the end called a bionector. It was what the syringe clipped into and pumped the medication through. Clearly, a pretty essential component.

These needed to be changed regularly and the hospital in Glasgow had given us enough to last just over a week. If we stayed in Southport much longer, we would run out.

Not a problem we thought, we’ll just pop down to a local pharmacy and explain the situation, even if we need to pay for them, it isn’t and issue.

So, off to a nearby pharmacy my mum went with my little sister one morning and explained what was going on. They told her they would love to help but did not have any in stock.

One of the ladies working there very kindly called around a number of other nearby pharmacies and medical centres until she found one that had them. She called for a taxi to pick my mum and sister up and within ten minutes my mum had a bag of bionectors in her hands.

It was at this point it became apparent that they had no idea where the taxi had actually dropped them off. So, in a move that sounds like it comes straight out of a fantasy novel, mum decided to walk towards the coast and find their way from back there.

Home Time?

Several days later (it was two hours but that sounds far less dramatic), when they finally made it back to where we were staying, the time came to address the second problem.

As with the bionectors, the hospital had also only given me a weeks worth of antibiotics.

No worries though, the solution was bound to be simple. We called the hospital back home in Inverness and spoke to the people who had been dealing with me as an outpatient the last few months. They assured us that they would have it sorted quickly and would get on the phone to our closest hospital right away.

We sat on the walkway outside our apartment (there was no phone signal inside) twiddling our thumbs in the sunshine while we waited for the phone to ring.

Fortunately, they called us back very quickly with the wonderful news that the local hospitals policy was to not treat people on the medication I was taking as outpatients. This meant, in order to continue our holiday in Southport, I would need to appreciate the sun from behind a hospital ward window.

We were not particularly happy to hear this and informed them that it would not be happening, deciding that if there was no other option we would just head home. After all, we had already had a nice holiday and the smart thing to do would be to go back home and begin figuring out what would happen next.

So that was it, we had a plan. Until, of course, the plan changed…

The Wisdom

Repetition has its down sides.
While writing this post, I have typed, deleted and retyped the word “bionector” so many times that not only am I convinced I’m spelling it incorrectly (despite several checks with google) but I have also found myself questioning if it was ever a real word to begin with.
If you are ever lost, aim for the sea.
This is what is known as “joke wisdom” and I include it for humour purposes only.
I will never miss the opportunity to end a post with an ellipsis.
Never…