A busman's holiday

All is well up here. My body is in good shape and my doctors have discontinued all IV antibiotics.

I managed to get home both days over the weekend. Saturday was a little stressful. When I arrived home for lunch, Charlie was gavotting about in his usual exuberant way. Then, after a short while he started whining. The whining turned to wailing as he became doubled over with pain.

For the first time in his life, Charlie was able to communicate his concerns with words. He told us he had a sore tummy. Camilla asked him where it hurt and he pointed to the leftt side of the abdomen. Thankfully, this was not the appendix side.

Camilla and my mother both diagnosed colic and agreed that it should pass with time. I was stunned. They rarely reached any form of consensus about these things. As the third member of the judiciary, I concurred that the diagnosis must be correct, and my father did so as well. Concurred in the sense of made no objection. Who were we to blow against the wind?

I tentatively suggested that they give beer to horses when they have colic, but nobody was prepared to trial this treatment so I shut up and left it to the experts.

Charlie did not improve. Three hours passed and he remained distressed and doubled over with pain. He could not walk. The committee agreed that it was now time to take him to the Accident and Emergency Department of our local hospital, the Wesley. We decided that Camilla, my father and I all ought to go. If it proved to be serious, Camilla could then take me back to Desolation Row and deal with whatever needed her attention.

Charlie decided that he would like to go "for a drive" with my father and so Camilla and I travelled to the Wesley separately in our car. I was a little uneasy about going back there. Seven and a half months earlier, my father had taken me there in the middle of the day because my pneumonia had worsened and I was short of breath. That night, Doctors Woodrow and Scalia diagnosed my heart failure and told me I would have had days to live had I not checked into hospital. I have not slept in my own bed since.

Whilst a little uneasy about this, my primary focus was on Charlie. He has always been terrified of doctors. Hence, we told had him that he was going merely for a drive. Admission to hospital would be a torturous experience for an autistic child. Camilla and I comforted ourselves with the notion that he would only be admitted if there was a compelling reason to do so.

Dad got Charlie ought of his car. Charlie was a little better but still walked stooped over. We took him inside and Camilla explained to him that he was going to see a doctor and what the doctor would do. Charlie understood and asked questions. He was calm.

We then saw the doctor on duty, Jenny Bowles. I remembered Jenny from an admission a couple of years ago when I had slipped in the street, fallen backwards and broke both elbows as I landed on  open palms to back my fall. I must quickly add that it was midday and I was completely sober. Jenny recognised me and we explained the situation with Charlie. She had a niece with autism so she knew the deal.

Jenny told Charlie that she was going to listen to his tummy and look in his ears and mouth. Charlie said, no eyes and Jenny assured him that she did not need to shine a light into his eyes. She then pulled out her stethoscope and listened to Charlie's tummy. She looked into his ears and mouth and watched him walk. He was still somewhat crouched, but walking freely. Moreover, he was enjoying the whole experience. This was another measure of the progress he has made.

Jenny decided that Charlie indeed had colic. She gave him a balloon. Charlie asked to go to the toilet and my father took him into the cubicle. He came out cheerfully and announced he had done a poo. As Camilla punched in her PIN number to pay for the consultation, he was miraculously cured.

So we packed up our VADs and our healthy, vibrant boy and the whole entourage left the Wesley and headed home. We we very relieved that Charlie was well. It had been a busman's holiday for me but really nothing to complain about.


Until next time,