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| Chapter 1 - Admission |
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“We don’t know but as soon as we have further information we’ll let you know.” |
She left. |
Still the true nature of Max's illness had not dawned on me. I think that I realised that it was potentially serious but I was still in denial. I just felt that I should not become pessimistic and that the situation would soon resolve itself. The denial still showed in my main concern: How long would I be off work? If I was to be away from work for any length of time then it would impact my current project and who would take over? |
As I reflected on the nurse's face mask and the urgency to take the lumbar puncture, my confidence started to sink. What could strike a child so quickly and be so infectious? My only conclusion was meningitis. |
At this stage my attitude towards our predicament started to change. If Max had meningitis then how might our daughter, Paula, be affected? What about Sara and myself? Still I felt that it was easy to let my imagination run wild. There was no point in getting worked up over these reckless thoughts. |
Later a family friend put her head through the door and asked after Max. I explained that he was very ill, that there was still no diagnosis and that she must not come into the room because of the risk of infection. She was quickly ushered away by a nurse. |
Nurses came and went but always the answer to my questions was that they did not yet know exactly what was wrong with Max. I became more alarmed by this apparent lack of knowledge. If the illness was meningitis then I knew that immediate treatment was imperative. If this wasn't meningitis then what was it? Did the doctors know what they were doing? |
Sara arrived at the ward at about six or seven in the evening. There was confusion because I would not let her into the room because of the risk of infection. Sara said that she had been told to go straight in and that she had been given no warnings regarding Max's illness. We questioned the current nurse assigned to Max and she confirmed that there was no risk of infection and did not understand why I was so concerned. |
I had not been told that infection was no longer an issue. Strange goings on here. I became worried that the wrong or no communication was being passed between the changing nursing shifts. The darker implication was that I had not yet been told some new information. Sara and I talked and wondered about the fate of our son. Max was still unconscious. |
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