It's life Jim, but not as we knew it!

This isn't going to be a pretty blog or a regular posting one for that matter. It is however going to show how a change in one person's life affects the whole family. Basically, this blog is going to be about the struggles that I find myself and my family in since that day...I need an outlet so that my mental health stays intact and this is it. I'm not doing this for followers or likes, I'm doing it purely for me. 

January 1st, 2019 

My mother and father-in-law came around to inform us that James's dad had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer, asbestosis to be more precise, and had been given an estimated 18 months left with us.

January 2nd, 2019

We both got up as it was the first day back to work after the Christmas break for both of us; James back to work on the tractors as an arable tractor driver and me back to being a TA at the school I worked at, training day with no kids. I waved him off as I had done so many times previously and sat down to drink my cuppa. Five minutes later, I hear knocking at my window and see a man's face. I open the window, he asks if I'm James' wife, to which obviously I say yes and he tells me "he's had an accident just up the road." At this stage, I had no idea of the severity of the accident and just rush upstairs to put some clothes on quickly. I get outside and find my neighbours guiding traffic around the green so that the crash site is avoided, my husband's car had been shunted up the bank and the bloke's car who had hit him was on the green almost opposite my house.

James had managed to turn himself around so that his legs were out of the car, but he was having to support himself on the steering wheel and the car seat and he was screaming(as much as he does) in pain. The other bloke was wandering around and he was told to sit down in no uncertain terms as you could see he wasn't right but not in as bad a shape as James. After what seemed like an eternity an ambulance turned up and began sorting James out with morphine and then called out the critical care paramedic as he needed to be given ketamine as it was obvious he was going to need to be cut out of the car.

Fire crews turned up as did the police (eventually!!) and James was given ketamine and cut out of what was left of his car. He was then transported to hospital. I called both of our workplaces and told them what had happened and that I would stay in touch as I found out more before driving to hospital to be with him.

I got to the hospital and was shown to where James was and was told he was lucky and only had a dislocated left hip. This was put back in place and he was put on the ward to recover. Now, James being James, ignored the nurses on the ward as they told him to stay in bed and ask if he needed the toilet and they'd bring him a bottle. He took himself to the toilet and said on his return that his ankle really hurt. He told the Doctor when he came on his rounds and they organised an x-ray that night. I returned to the hospital the next morning to find out that he had a broken ankle and they needed to pin it.

Fast forward a few months and he was discharged with a clean bill of health, so he returned to work. Within a few weeks he was in pain from his ankle and was becoming dizzy. After a long drawn out process and being referred to the eye, nose and throat specialist, it was found that he had been suffering from a bleed on the brain causing vertigo. His ankle continued to worsen and as his ankle worsened, his hip also began to give him much pain. Eventually, he was unable to drive due to vertigo and the pain from his ankle...he was now unable to attend work and do his job. By April he was unable to work and on PIP and EESA.