Exactly two weeks after transporting Simon to hospital, I took him home today. He still has his two silicone stents in place - one in his trachea and the other in his oesophagus. I have no idea how long they are going to sit there, facilitating his breathing and his consumption of food. Similarly, I have no idea what the next hospital steps might be, if any, and I remain in the dark about the previously intended removal of one of his kidneys. He can be very evasive and snappy.
Anyway, he's back in his draughty old cottage now, glad to get away from bleeping hospital machines, other patients and bothersome medical staff. The nights were very long and his sleep was always fitful. He is used to his own company and quietness. The first thing he did when he got in was to roll up a cigarette. Yuk!
Travelling back through Beverley, I saw a sign up ahead nor far from Beverley Minster at the end of Keldgate. It read, "ROAD CLOSED" and there was also a yellow "Diversion" sign. Stupidly, I followed it, imagining that the diversion would be short, soon bringing me back onto Keldgate.
Maybe I missed one or two of the yellow diversion signs or more likely they were never placed in position but I found myself on a ridiculous five mile diversion via Woodmansey and the new Beverley by-pass.
It was one of those situations where doing the right thing was not necessarily doing the best thing. I have the strong suspicion that if Clint had dodged the road closure sign we could have driven along Keldgate with no bother. After all, residents still have permission to access their street and their houses. The reason for the road closure remains a mystery.
Next time I meet a yellow diversion sign, I will have second thoughts about following it. Today's diversionary route must have been dreamt up by a practical joker. However, it wasn't funny. Fortunately, I wasn't in a particular rush to get home.
Woodmansey looks like a nice side trip.
ReplyDeleteI had not been there in decades.
DeleteDiversion probably referred to the fun someone had watching drivers get lost after they had placed the sign there.
ReplyDeleteHope Simon copes OK now he is back home.
That first notion occurred to me too!
DeleteI'm happy to hear Simon is home. Draughty or not, it must feel like heaven after a hospital stay. His health situation sounds bleak but at least he still has some control over his life...the smoking being an example.
ReplyDeleteIt is the smoking that got him here.
DeleteNot as a joke but by road workers, are road closed signs, diversion signs and more. Sometimes the signs tell the truth, sometimes not. I can understand why people ignore them and try anyway.
ReplyDeleteYup! That is what I should have done Andrew.
DeleteI imagine what happens next with Simon, depends on what the docs have found on his scans.
ReplyDeleteAt least you got some nice photos on the diversion.
I guess you are right Nurse Lily. What we have now is just some respite.
DeleteYou like a little adventure in your life! A little diversion would give some adventure.
ReplyDeleteI drove along a road I had never been down before. I did not see any moose.
DeleteWe dodged a road closure sign recently and discovered a bridge out.
ReplyDeleteGood job you didn't try to drive across that bridge Tigger!
DeleteDiversions are rarely signposted properly, there seems to be an assumption that everyone has some local knowledge and can self direct, which has rarely been the case for me!
ReplyDeleteSmoking is how Simon got to be here but he doesn't need to give up now so he might as well enjoy it
I wasn't about to admonish him even though I detest the stench of cigarette smoke.
DeleteReminds me of the Batheaston bypass, beautifully constructed but always empty as people still drove through the village on the old road.
ReplyDeleteIt can take a while for people to get used to a bypass.
DeleteI bet he is glad to be home and rolling up a ciggie right away had me thinking of my dad. In hospital, dying from lung cancer, yet shuffling out onto the veranda 2-3 times a day for a couple of smokes. He said once you get to that point there's no sense in quitting.
ReplyDeleteHe was probably right. It was too damned late. Cigarette companies have a lot to answer for.
DeleteAround here you can often come across a sign that says " Road Closed Ahead". but it is often a side road that is not a problem to anyone on the main road! So annoying. Why can't they say which road is closed?
ReplyDeleteAnd often there'll be nobody working there!
DeleteProbably an anathema, but you might have to get a satnav.
ReplyDeleteI had heard of TomTom and Garmin but I didn't realise that Anathema made satnavs.
DeleteThey make them especially for people like you and me.
DeleteYou mean people with excellent geographical skills?
DeleteAnathema are a Liverpool Prog Rock band.
ReplyDeleteSure it is not something you push up where the sun don't shine when constipated.?
DeleteOur diversion signs are called "detour" which sounds much more pragmatic and not as entertaining.
ReplyDelete"Diversion" has different meanings and sometimes being diverted can be a welcome state.
DeleteYou'd think if it was a long diversion they'd say that right at the beginning. "Diversion, next five miles" or some such. I'm glad Simon is home and I'm sure he is too.
ReplyDeleteTwo weeks in hospital is a long time these days but there will be more chapters ahead.
DeleteI want to share your brother's story with my son, Brian, who is 41 and is a smoker. But I know it won't do any good and he will do what he wants to do.
ReplyDeleteI think it is true that your brother might as well enjoy his smokes now as it is too late and they calm him down. I wonder if he will decide to stop medical intervention.
At least the detour took you through new territory and you got home anyway!
Sorry to hear that Brian got hooked on cigarettes. Cigarette companies have a lot to answer for.
DeleteProbably a boring day for the road workers, not much going on, no holes to dig, or cones to spread about. They found a few spare Diversion signs and decided to give everyone a treat - another way to get lost and waste petrol! At least you did see somewhere new, some contented cows, and Woodmansey looks very peaceful.
ReplyDeleteGlad that Simon is home and he can enjoy some time without interference.
I learned long ago that you'll never stop a dedicated smoker. My late husband smoked like the proverbial chimney, and after he was diagnosed with lung cancer, he smoked throughout the treatment. Not surprisingly, after a short reprieve, the cancer returned.
It is easy to blame the smokers but what about the tobacco companies? In the end, they were the profiteering dealers. He left you too early. You might have had him with you for another decade. So very sad.
DeleteI hear what you say YP - but how do you account for all those who, like myself, have never smoked? We've been able to resist the allure of the tobacco companies.
DeleteGood point Miss Marple. I guess it's about getting hooked in the first place. If you don't make that jump then they haven't won you over and all the money you will end up paying them - often over a few decades.
Delete