Set backs are set backs and are an inevitable part of a challenge, and life, but that is all they are, a set back, and when we are all dusted down, we can stand up, and get on with the job in hand!Last Friday I was out on a very gentle jog with a friend and Grace the dog, we had been out for about 20 mins, and I started to feel a little bit nauseous, so I sat on a wall to compose myself. 20 minutes later I woke up surrounded by paramedics and passers by that had stopped when my friend had realised that something wasn't quite right.
The kind people that had come to my aid held me upright and tried to get me to communicate, and keep my eyes open. I wasn't making any sense (nothing unusual there!), and I couldn't raise my arms, so they were reluctant to lay me down, as the word 'stroke' was being used a lot. The blood had drained to my feet so I was looking a bit grey apparently. When the paramedics got to me, they worked to get me to lay on a foil blanket and as soon as my head was level with my feet the headache started.
It turns out that when the blood rushes back to your head it hurts. A lot! With this we had a trip to the A and E department, and an overnight stay while the marvelous people at Southampton General did all the tests necessary, to rule out a small brain bleed. This includes a CT scan and more importantly a Lumbar Puncture (small needle in the spine). This put me out of action for 48hrs, as the fluid removed from the spine leaves you with a bit of a headache, and a sore lower back.The good news is that everything is 100% clear, and I have been given a clean bill of health, although the cause of me wanting to faint has been attributed to a small infection, and being unusually dehydrated, due to the infection.
If anything, this has made me more determined to successfully do this challenge, as it really bought home how life can throw curveballs, and while laying in a hospital bed not knowing the results of any of the tests, I had time to reflect and contemplate the things that are important. I thought of my wife Polly, and my children Matilda and Alfie, and if the test had come back saying I had had an aneurysm, life for us in the future would be very different!I obviously hoped the tests would be clear, and thankfully they were. With that renewed clarity, and the feeling of 'a second chance' I now more than ever want to succeed, and this episode has reinforced that although we all get knocked back on occasion, we all should get back up, and get on with trying to achieve our goals. Life can be a bit scary, but that feeling of being scared just means we are alive!
