I Wasn't Expecting That
Jay, Krista and our beautiful granddaughter turned up on our doorstep just over a week ago..
It was a total surprise.....
"Make sure you're in. There's a parcel coming from Amazon. A belated Mother's Day gift."
And when we opened the door to sign for the package?
There they were.
All the way from California.
It's been the most special week.
We hadn't seen them for 5 years.
And there's reasons for .....
a) Why we haven't travelled
b) Why this reunion has been so special.
Ran back inside.
Tried again to turn Nass.
No, can't do it.
Shouted through next door's letterbox.
They had heard the crash and were pulling on clothes.
In spite of self-isolating, Theo ran in.
He performed CPR.
I cleared the airway and did mouth to mouth.
I gather these days that's not required.
The mouth to mouth, I mean.
Change of thought....like a lot of things. But I didn't know that then (and it certainly wasn't the time to check the manual.)
In between, I whispered,
"Come back to us Nass, come back."
Elsa watched from a distance with wide, terrified eyes.
She adores Nass.
The ambulance arrived quickly.
The team took over.
Slick.
Professional.
Caring.
Sensitive.
One said
" Who owns the horses in the field opposite?"
" There is a number to phone on the gate."
Arundel stables were over, moving their horses in minutes.
Thank goodness for the field.
Where else could you land a helicopter in Arundel....
......unless you're the Duke?
Nass was put on a trolley and out into the road.
The team made their final checks.
They were calm.
Used to it.
The trolley was wheeled along the middle of the road and into the field.
Nass was gently put inside the
Air Ambulance.
The strangest thoughts you have during life's biggest moments.
Mine?
"Nass would love the drama of it all."
The team were discussing.
"Brighton or Portsmouth?"
The helicopter lifted off and took him to Portsmouth hospital.
One minute nearer.
Time crucial.
I heard afterwards about the little girl down our road.
She adores Nass and he, her.
She waved up at the helicopter from her back garden saying to Mummy and Daddy,
" I'm sending all my love up to Nass in that helicopter.
Don't any of you ask for any love today as I won't have any more to give. "
My neighbour Lisa drove me to Portsmouth.
She even thought of bringing us a coffee each to drink in the car.
Arriving at the hospital was not like it's ever been before.
You couldn't get in easily.
Like Fort Knox.
You needed to get past security.
It was difficult to park.
Mostly staff parking.
The security guard said we could park in the police bay.
We spoke to the doctor.
I wouldn't have remembered a word.
Thank goodness for a sensible friend.
I spent two days answering texts, phone calls and messages.
All three phones going at once
Mine, Nass's and the house.
The devastated family in Iran were trying for video calls at 5 am, forgetting the time difference.
Calling day and night, I didn't know how to explain.
Their English is ok for brief chats.
My farcie only good enough to say simple phrases like
"Where is the toilet?"
And " I'm starving, what's for dinner?"
Thank goodness for Google translate and our Iranian friend who was at Slindon College with Nass.
Affectionately known as Sandbag he took over family communications.
Then he was the one being woken early.
Elsa trawled the house looking for Nass.
After two days, as things quietened down, the realisation hit.
" He almost died..... he still might."
People left flowers on the doorstep.
Handed food over the fence.
Walked in the hills with Elsa and me,
listening while I went over and over the event trying to process it.
People are amazing.
Even during that time of lockdown they still poured out to a friend in crisis.
Nass was on a ventilator.
I never saw him, of course, impossible in those covid lockdown days.
He's such a fighter.
MS hasn't been a walk in the park....
After diagnosis 12 years ago we both fell apart for a while.....until
"I'm not taking this lying down"
"What are you going to do?"
"A marathon."
Nass ran the Brighton marathon for the local Chestnut Tree Children's Hospice.
and the Arundel 10k
Then the year he felt he couldn't run as his legs were playing up......what did he do?
He bought a bike and did the London to Brighton bike ride.
56 miles.
For the British Heart Foundation.
He had never cycled in his life.
But this.....
I thought we had lost him for sure.
He won't beat this.
Two days after his arrival in Portsmouth hospital they took him off the ventilator.
I was on the other end of the phone.
Christian the nurse said
" Nass, Brennie sends her love."
" Christian, what's he saying?"
" He's smiling."
Elsa was jumping around and barking at the sound of Nass's name.
Christian said
" What's her name?"
" Elsa. Tell him she sends her love."
" He's really smiling now."
As they handed him the phone I was crying with relief.
But...
I couldn't understand him.
I asked Nass to give the phone back to the nurse.
"Christian what's he saying. Is it the brain or the tube?"
" Its because he has had the tube in his throat. He is saying, "I want to come home."
That's Nass.
Thank goodness for WhatsApp.
I watched as he grew a little stronger by the day.
What I didn't know until Nass came home was his heart had stopped twice more in hospital.
They almost lost him.
He was home in time for the final Thursday night NHS clap.
Neighbours hadn't realised he was back.
Well, it was only a week.
They were ecstatic.
The NHS clap had finished when he walked out into the front garden....a neighbour saw him and called to others...the word spread down the street...
The clapping and shouting could be heard all along Fitzalan Road.
Strangely enough, the 3 horses in the field at the time, stood in a line and nodded their heads.
Thanks so much to everyone who supported us during that tough time.
Especially Arundel and in particular Fitzalan Road.
All the texts, emails and calls.
Sometimes too many to answer individually.
Huge thanks to NHS of course.
Theo, for saving Nass's life.
All those friends who provided food and support.
Sandbag for his immense patience.
All staff on C7 at Portsmouth Hospital.
Ambulance crew
Friends and neighbours
Air Ambulance
Arundel stables.
The cardiac team from St Richards Hospital
All the kind people who left cards, flowers, wine and homemade cakes and biscuits.
I have never seen so many get-well cards.
As for flowers, we ran out of vases.
They were in jam jars all over the house.
It's hard getting him to take it easy.
Of course, it is.
This is Nass we are talking about.
You will often find him in our antiques warehouse.
It was the first thing he did after leaving hospital.
We got into the car and with a sigh I said,
"Home?"
Nass looked at me in amazement......
"No..... take me to the warehouse. I want to see what you've been up to down there."
And typical him, within days he was shopping for elderly friends who were isolating.
Making stews for people living alone.
No stopping him, this force of nature.
Nass's reaction to what happened?
He can often be heard singing, loudly, out of tune, (as usual)
"I wasn't expecting that!"
Our antiques and more about
Arundel Eccentrics can be found on
our Instagram page
