Near Death Experience...

So on Sunday eve, after visits from many friends/family which was really wonderful, I started to deteriorate. I was starting to find that I could not breathe without 'rasping' all the time, and my heart rate and temp were rising.  This video shows what I mean, and some of you  might not like it!

Right, I'm going to condense a lot of stuff here, but bear with me and feel free to post any questions in the comments below.....

Im told that that night (Sunday/Monday) I was taken to the CCU/intensive care, where it was revealed that my temp - which was over 40c - and x-ray, showed I had double pneumonia.

The CCU team proceeded to induce coma with general anaesthesia, and put breathing, feeding and other tubes down my nose and throat. If they hadn't taken this action, I would not be typing this blog to you now.

Three days passed before I was anything you could really call conscious. My brother and Lee were still visiting me regularly, and it must have been tough for them.....they had the grimm task of stopping me from pulling tubes out. I can remember them being there and speaking from time to time, but I was in another world of hypoxia (lack of O2) and chronic infection.

 On Weds, I did what they call 'self extubation' where they were gradually bringing me out of coma by reducing anaesthetic. I woke myself and pulled the tubes out all by my self. Now the fight really started in earnest for me.

It's hard to describe the time while I was unconscious - the last place I thought I was, was in hospital though......some of the places I remember - as clear as day, were Shangrila, a hotel, on a Chinese ship, Jamaica and India.  I'm also told that I believed I was Rocket Man and Marlboro Man among others!

When I was awake, I thought everyone was against me - I even called 999 twice thinking I was somewhere

else, and trying to escape from CCU - I even took a punch at one of the staff!

On Thursday, the fog started to clear....and recovery was truly back on the map

The Road To Recovery (1st attempt).....and my first visits!

I slept most of Thursday, and awoke on Friday feeling quite positive about the road to recovery, and looking forward to my first visits!

Most of the day was quite positive, and I was feeling quite positive about my recovery....I would after all, only be here a few days to recover and get myself home.

 Anyway, my first visitor of the day arrived! In many ways a complete surprise, Ian Scott

from Actually Gay Men's Chorus (which I founded and ran for ten years,though you wouldn't know it), appeared from nowhere. Ian is one of the kindest,  thoughtful people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with. While he often got frustrated with my methods and lack of conventional management, he did his best to support me and my vision. I had said to my sister Lee, that if anyone from the chorus did bother to visit, he was the only one I really felt might bother, so I was really very happy to see him!

 Lee herself turned up not much later and I was ecstatic to show her my correct  prediction. First visit and already 2 of my favourite people were here! It wasn't long before another friend of long ago was here (Matt S) and I was feeling great!

That night I found a bit difficult to sleep, as I kept coughing stuff up, but I managed eventually.

The Operation......and pix you dont want to see....but i want you to see

So I awoke on Thursday after my operation on Dorcas Ward.......as planned.

I was told that yes, I have cancer, but they had removed it along with half of the lobe of that lung. That was not the original plan, stating that if they found cancer they would remove it with the entire affected lobe.

The reason they only took half the lobe was that they had found my lungs to be SO badly affected by smoking, that removing the entire lobe would have left me without enough lung power!

I will be scanning these pix in high resolution so you can see properly what 30 years of smoking does to you......and this part is irreversible!