I hadn’t slept at all well and had broken out into a sweat during the night. In the morning I thought I felt ill because I had not had enough sleep. I got into town and to the Shrewsbury Coffeehouse near the station where I met up with Steve and had a coffee. I was already feeling a bit delicate but still thought it was the lack of sleep. Calling at the bakery I got myself a Danish pasty and walked to the station. I tried to eat the pastry but gave up half way through. This shuold have warned me what was to come.
On the train to Crewe I was pretty sick and vomitted in the tiolet. Feeling better, I changed trains at Crewe for London. On the London train I again vomitted in the toilet but also all down my trousers so I now I had vomit soaked trousers. Arriving at London Euston I made for the toilets, opened my case, chose a new pair of trousers and washed the sick off my shoes. Cleaned up a bit, I now had another problem. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t walk, stand up and do anything. Nobody offered any assistance and after some time I got together enough energy to walk to the attendant and tell her I was feeling ill.
As I waited for a medic I threw up again. When the ambulance came I managed to avoid the humiliation of a wheelchair or stretcher and walked slowly out of the station. They whisked me off to University College Hostoial Euston where I was eventually put into a cubicle and visited by a series of nurses taking blood, measuring everything, sticking tubes into my arms and generally causing pain. Three hours elapsed and I still hadn’t seen a doctor so, feeling better, I decided to discharge myself. I got dressed in the cubicle and promptly threw up again. But I had decided it was time to leave. They took all the tubes out of my arms and let me go after singing a discharge paper.
In MacDonalds I got someone to queue for a sweet tea for me as I couldn’t stand and in Sainsbury’s they got a chair for me and went the round the store getting me coke and water. Then the helpful staff got a taxi for me and I was despatched to Harpenden through the rush hour traffic. Although I couldn’t eat anything in the evening I managed not to throw up and enjoyed the company of my old friends.
Just what you need the day before starting a summer job at a specialist sports college – hope they don’t expect me to run around to much tomorrow!