Introductions

Hi.

I'm Kathryn and this is my blog. I'm 33 and living in Cyprus with my partner David who is 61.

On the 27th May our lives changed. David suffered a stroke.

I was at work and it was busy. I noticed I had a missed call from David- he'd rung me just after 9pm and it was around twenty minutes later when I managed to check the phone. Strange. He never rings me at work- he texts.

I rang him back.

And the phone rang and rang and rang.

Even more strange, he always answers a text straight away as the phone is next to him.

I leave the kitchen and head somewhere so I can hear.

He answers the phone with the words I will never forget.

I have had a stroke he says. He sounds weak, very faint, doesn't seem to be making much sense.

I nearly drop the phone in panic, heading back to the kitchen, trying to talk to David and get him to keep talking to me, calling out for help, I don't think I'm making enough sense but the pub manager hears me and other cooks appear. I have to write our address down so that ambulance can be called in Greek to make it faster, I end up with a glass of water sitting in the Executive Chefs office, not caring about the tears running down my face, trying to get David to keep talking to me as I need him to be there so the ambulance can get in. I need a phone, I have no credit.

I hear the words taxi and lift float around as I beg David to keep talking to me, where are you, what happened, keep talking, keep talking.

Charles the pub manager appears and says that I have a lift home with Zenia who is heading back to Paphos, I run into my kitchen and Andrea the pasta chef is trying to make something from my menu, I notice the orders and I don't care, I grab a few things and run downstairs for my bag. I can barely remember coming back upstairs but I am back in the pub and then I'm all of a sudden heading home.

And our friend calls me. She had given me a lift to work that day and David had shown her Aphrodite's Rocks. She went back to our flat after some something and David managed to let her in. She got him dressed and stayed there and then the ambulance arrived.

Worrying in the car I directed my lift to our road, just as the ambulance was turning to come out. I run after it, car horns must have stopped it, I hammer on the back doors, thats my husband in there, let me in let me in.

He's lying on the stretcher, not able to smile, I see a look of something in his eyes. Worry? Love? I'm not sure, I'm just glad he's there, he's still in there.

It seems to take forever to get to the hospital, they must have gone the longest way possible through town. David gets wired to the ECG, his pulse is around 67. I'm trying to keep him awake, I need to know when this happened, need to know that he can hear that I am with him.

We arrive at the hospital and David gets wheeled in. Not to a room, to a curtained off corner. They take his blood pressure. 120/70. He hasn't had a stroke they tell me. Not possible. His blood pressure is not high enough. They don't seem to notice his face drooping on the left side, his lack of movement, the attempts he is making to tell them of the pain is his in with a bad headache. He can't speak clearly and I have to leave the department. Relatives not allowed inside. I wander in and out, in and out. He gets taken for a CT scan. Nothing shows.

Eventually he gets taken upstairs to Medical. I ask when visiting hours are. They tell me I can stay the night so I make sure David is as comfortable as can be, tell the staff that he broke his back years ago and his legs might twitch and then get a lift home. I can't remember coming back to the flat but I knew I did. I emptied out my work bag, tipped a few things in it- a blanket for me, maybe a change of clothes and wash kit and head for the moped and back to the hospital.

To be continued......