Our days at home fall quickly into a routine. Visitors from England come and go, staying with us in the house, chipping in with the cooking and helping to manoeuvre me in my giant green sling. During the peak we have two friends from England and their baby in our master bedroom, another friend from … More Chapter Thirteen: Do you remember what it looked like before?
The equipment arrives at our home on my final evening in Vacaville and Mat sends me a picture of it, all set up and waiting for me. It’s hard to imagine myself in that fragile looking bed, without all of these wires, the hustle of nurses streaming past my door, and the beeping. I lie … More Chapter Twelve: Alexa, Play BBC Radio Two
The reason I have to go through the God-awful colostomy training is because today the doctors have finally decided on a plan for the next phase of my recovery: In less than a week, I will be sent home. The news stuns us all. Given that I am now stable, the doctors explain that there … More Chapter Eleven: God Bless the NHS
“Do you want to see?” the doctor asks mum, beckoning her around the back of me as I lie with my legs bent up toward my chest. “No, no”, she says, not moving from her chair beside my bed. “I think some things should still be private”. She forces a small cough, and busies herself … More Chapter Ten: Ur(new)anus
It is night-time, and Mat has left me with a wet flannel on my head and a handheld fan pointed at the hole in my neck brace. It’s funny how you can become accustomed to a certain state of normality. Being uncomfortable all the of the time is my default now, my benchmark against which … More Chapter Nine: It’s Possible
There is something magical about sunlight, the way it changes how you see the world, draining the fear and replacing it with hope. As the day creeps into my room the next morning, the sinister shadows are replaced with tables, wires and machines, the frantic voices masked with sounds of routine and hustle. I have … More Chapter Eight: Are you Stupid or What?
“Are you ready Luce?” Mat mirrors my nurse. I nod at them both, excited but nervous to be leaving the familiarity of the gun and knife club. A syringe of clear liquid is connected to a tube at my wrist and a familiar intense, metallic flavour floods the back of my throat. I feel the … More Chapter Seven: Strange New Places
I open my eyes and watch the fox circling on his clip above my head. Light streams through my window and fills my room with the promise of another day. Another day of being rolled over. Another day of beeping. It’s been two weeks since Kevin and I got hit, and the time seems to … More Chapter Six: Moving Day
And so our days fall into a routine. The nurses come and go, all of them angels – yes, really – doctors, consultants, surgeons; the constant flow of Lucy’s support team. In between, I read, or talk with Lucy, take photos of what’s around her – her wee bag (Gladys), the controls of the bed, the … More Mum’s Story – ICU
A lady is at the door. I have no idea who she is. “Hi Fran,” Mat embraces her with his whole body. She wears a long cardigan and big sturdy boots, her black and red hair quaffed perfectly into an elegant sphere. She walks over to my bed. “Hi Lucy. How are you doing?” “Good”, … More Chapter Five: The Kindness of Strangers
Lucy (Feltham) Leonelli 