I was on holiday the week before last and on the way back got a message from my brother that my Mum had had a bad accident one week into a cycling holiday in India.
She's fallen ooff her bike at speed and from the description of the injuries, did a face plant into rocks and has pelvic and head injuries.
It took 5 hours to get a hospital, which must have been very scary (Dad is himslef a retired doctor - radiologist - so must have been besdie himself). They were on an orgnaised cycling tour, and apparently one of the other people was an army docotr, who helped during the journey.
She was stabilised in a very good hopstial and then after 4 days was flown to Delhi, where she is in a state of the art hospital. SHe has only just, 10 days later, left the ICU/ITU and is in a room on her own (where my dad can sleep too, on a pull-out sofa bed).
I feel very helpless so far away. Dad haaid all the medics have been very positve - saying that althoguh she will have problems with memory loss and personality change, they should resolve within 6 months or so. The expressive dysphasia that she was usuffering from (the inability to find the correct word) has as predicted started to resolve.
Dad's not worried about the pelvis - although she has multiple fractures, that will heal. She was initally in traction, but then they found another fracture in the sacral wing, which has meant she has had to be extranlly pinned. In the long run that will be easier, but at the moment, she is trying to pull at them, as she doesn't know not to.
I've read out my Dad's e-mails to my best friend, who is a GP, and she has been very reassuring - saying that the injuries are all at the front (front pelvis, front head) and that the description o f the head injuries are essentially just bruising.
But it is still very scary. She is apparently still very confused and gets agitated if she doesn't know what's happening. Dad is so far away with no-one to give him a big hug.
They would have been due back yesterday. Dad is now hoping to be back within 2 weeks, which is better than he had thought at first. He deosn't know how she can travel on a "public" plane though, as she would be so agitated that she would disturb everyone unless she was sedated - but doesn't know if that is a good idea given the head injuries.
Having had a great skiing holiday, this really brough me down with a bump (no pun intended). I didn't even have my dh to give me a hug, as he had had to go on to Bordeaux for a course, but he got back yesterday .
Work have been great - I was OK for the first couple of days and then cracked on Wednesday and was a mess, and everyone was really nice.
Don't know why I'm posting all this - except I just wanted to get down somehwhere how worried I was, We're in for a long tough summer, giving my mum support.
She's 66 and loves her cycling. However, this is her 4th bad fall in the last c.12 years (every time in exotic location abroad, never in the UK) and I hope it doens't put her off getting back on her bike, as that is what Dad and she have done to keep themsleves young.