Memories of Max - A Father's Story

Chapter 1 - Admission

Home

It started strangely. The event was unexpected, bizarre and a sad precursor to our own story.

Our next door neighbour was a gay man in his fifties. He was a colourful character and initially we got on very well but after about two years we fell out and he became very vindictive and rude to my wife, Sara.

While I was at work, on Thursday the 22nd July 1993, I received a gleeful phone call from Sara. Police had raided his house. She gave the general details and said that she would phone back once she knew more. Her second phone call was more sombre. The police had not raided the house. A bailiff had visited the house to make a reclamation on the mortgage and had found that our neighbour had hanged himself from the rafters.

We were left in a state of shock.

Our nemesis started the following day.

Max was four years old and had just started school. He kept coming home with bruised legs. He did not have just one or two bruises and those he had were often tinged an angry purple suggesting very hard knocks. We were concerned at the brutal bruising and wondered if he was being bullied. Max was our first child and like all new parents we did not know what to expect. He said that they were caused by rough play in the playground and he seemed happy enough at school.

On Friday Sara rang me at about three in the afternoon. She said that Max had complained of a headache and had started to stagger while playing in the garden with his best friend. My office was about three minutes walk from our home and I immediately left work to help. Max had a temperature and appeared unwell. The temperature did not bother me too much but I was alarmed by the staggering.

I went to check on Max at about eight o clock the following morning. He had a high temperature and was shivering. I phoned the on-call doctor who arrived at about eleven o'clock. He was unable to diagnose anything specific but was concerned. He told us to go to the local hospital and gave us a sealed note for the hospital doctor.

I took Max to the local hospital and he was admitted to the Children's Ward after a short wait in reception. Once on the ward we waited in a small examination room. By this time Max was obviously 'not well'. After about half an hour Max received blood, blood pressure, and urine tests.

Soon afterwards a doctor appeared but she seemed unhappy at being interrupted during her lunch break. Her hostility towards the nurses annoyed me immensely. They were just doing their job and the way she spoke to them was totally unnecessary. Her attitude soon changed from anger to extreme concern on hearing Max's medical details. She started to bark orders to the nurses and 'Something-Bad' seemed to be happening.

Click here if you would like details of how to buy a copy of the book