Getting Ross home from hospital and a great night out

One fleeting thought that crossed my mind on Friday afternoon, while sitting beside Ross as he lay on a bed in the Clinical Assessment Unit of our local hospital, was that I was probably going to miss the choir night out. I know that must sound bad - but it was only because I’d been there for a few hours, and Ross was nodding off, that my mind started to wander! Up until then, all I could think about was the ramifications for Ross if his blood tests came back confirming the doctor’s suspicion that an appendectomy was necessary.

After Ross received his Highers results last summer, knowing that he had all that he needed to get into Uni, he decided to leave school and work for a year before he started his course.  So, for the past 12 months he’s been working for St James’s Place in the big Prudential offices; a well-known Stirling landmark. He’s gained valuable work experience, saved up some cash to help him out at Uni and was lucky enough to be working with a great team of people. Friday was his last day at work, which should’ve been spent enjoying a bit of banter with his lovely team of workmates followed by a wee leaving ‘do’; instead, it was his first day off sick. Talk about bad timing! Excruciating pain on his right side had led the GP to send him straight to hospital, and that’s how we found ourselves waiting on blood results after an examination by the surgeon.

Missing his last day of work was bad enough, but even worse was the prospect of missing Fresher’s Week, missing the start of his new course at Uni and - more importantly, as far as Ross was concerned - not being able to run at the start of the cross country season! While we were waiting on the results, Ross’s colour gradually started to return and the pain started to dull. We were delighted when the results came back as negative for appendicitis, but frustrated that no clear conclusion could be given as to what had caused the severe discomfort. The results showed a slightly higher than expected result for something to do with his liver (I can’t remember exactly what the surgeon called it), so the diagnosis of a possible gall bladder issue was suggested. He’s to go for further blood tests next week to see if they can shed any further light. The doctor told him not to worry – he thought it was possibly a wee stone that would probably pass into his large intestine and give him no further bother – especially as he’s so young. We’re kind of going with that at the moment as the severe pain and general yucky feeling had gone by the middle of the evening. He’s still got a bit of discomfort in his side – but we’re hoping that’s just been caused by a bit of irritation or something. Anyway, fingers crossed, all’s going to be well for him having a week of getting ready for the off before being able to throw himself fully into Fresher’s Week.

Getting back to my drifting thoughts while I was sitting by Ross’s bedside, it had occurred to me that I'd have to miss the choir night out if Ross had to have an operation. However, his good night’s sleep on Friday night followed by a good day on Saturday, with no hint of any severe pain, meant that I could head out without worrying too much. Strict instructions were left at home to call me if necessary (Ross would’ve had a fit if he’d know that I had my phone on the table and kept checking it every ten minutes or so, as he just wanted me to go out and enjoy myself and stop making a fuss – but it’s hard to switch off those mother-hen worry hormones!) .

As far as the night itself was concerned; you know how you have good nights out, and you have GREAT nights out? Well, the choir’s was a GREAT night out; great company, a good wee boogie, lovely grub and a room full of fantastic singers taking turns on the karaoke machine – brilliant! And, I managed to shake off a bit of a gremlin. A bit of Dutch courage late on in the night, and a bit of gentle encouragement from Colin (choir director Annie’s lovely husband), saw me standing with the mike singing a wee song. I felt a bit of a numpty because everyone else had just got up and sang and enjoyed themselves, without appearing to be at all nervous. I just hadn’t had the courage to do that.  And when I did change my mind and decide to have a go, I still tried to bottle out at the last minute by trying to get Gordon to come and sing with me! For every bit of confidence I was lacking, he had more in bucket-loads. Gordon had already been up on the wee stage, giving it laldy – just as we all do at home when we’re having a sing-song - but his ability to just relax and entertain was matched in equal measure by my reluctance to have a go! However, I did end up singing on my own; my hands and legs were shaking and I was sweating buckets – I don’t think I’ve felt that nervous since I sat my Grade One piano exam as a quivering thirty five year old wreck (that’s another story for another day..!) But in the end, I did sing the whole song - with some much-appreciated encouragement from the wee group that were still left, including Alex - and stepped off the platform with a real sense of having hurdled a big barrier. I know that some of my friends who’ve known me for years – especially those who’ve sometimes had to fight to get the beer bottle off me at sing-song time – would find it hard to believe that I was so nervous about doing something they all know I love to do; just to sing. I think I was getting too hung up on hitting the odd bum note or three – I think I naively thought that doing that in your living room is different from doing it with the choir peeps. It really brought it home to me last night that that’s not the case at all. It’s really just the same thing. It’s being with a bunch of good pals, letting your hair down and having some fun. And, what’s the odd bum note between pals?!

So, the last couple of days have been a mixture of worry, relief and fun. The most important thing is that Ross is OK and - fingers well and truly crossed - he’s going to be fighting fit for moving through to Glasgow next week. We’re off out for a whole big family meal later as Ross and his cousin are both leaving for Uni soon. It promises to be a lovely way to end what, thankfully, turned out to be a great weekend.