Beyond Frontier - 18. BF Chapter 18

When I woke up next it was dark with just the lights in the hallway and a small light above me that were on. I pressed the call button and a nurse arrived a few minutes later. “Good evening, Mr Hamilton. How are you feeling?” she asked me. “In a lot of pain,” I replied.

“I will be back with some pain killers in a moment,” she replied and left the room, returning with a small cup of water and two tablets.

Another nurse arrived holding a tray. “We kept dinner for you. It’s shepherd’s pie, apple juice, and steamed self-saucing pudding,” she said as she placed the tray in front of me and lifted up the front of the bed before she followed the other nurse out. The following morning, after breakfast I was sent to have an x-ray and an ultrasound scan, before I was taken back to a different room by an orderly.

Soon after he left a nurse arrived with my clothes, the flowers and cards that had been in my previous room. “Why am in a different room? I asked her.

“We spoke to your grandfather earlier, and now that the doctors say you no longer need to be in High Dependency, you have been transferred to a private room in Darwin Private hospital, which is next door to the public hospital. A doctor will be in shortly to speak to you regarding those tests you just had,” the nurse said and she left the room. This room was a pale blue in colour instead of plain white, and the curtains had a nice pattern on them, instead of plain white blinds. In addition, I noticed that I had a television in front of me.

Before I could try and look for the remote, a doctor walked into the room. “Good afternoon, Mr Hamilton. Let me tell you what the tests revealed. The x-ray shows a very fine hairline fracture in your skull on the left side. Your left arm appears to be starting to heal, and you only have severe tissue bruising in your neck. You are very lucky considering that the vehicle rolled five times.

I’ve been told the driver of the vehicle you were in, was taken to Kununurra Hospital with a small fracture of the collarbone and bruising to his head. We will keep you here for at least six days, maybe longer, depending on the hairline fracture,” the doctor said to me. I was shocked to hear about James. Just then the nurse entered the room with a lunch tray.

“Right. Let’s get you sitting up so you can eat. You still have your wee bag connected till you are a little more mobile. Here is the remote control for the television and call button,” the nurse said to me as the doctor left.

“Can I have a phone?” I asked the nurse. “I need to call the cattle station that I was working on.” “What’s the name of the station and where is it?” the nurse asked me.

“It’s called Nicholson Station, just inside WA, south of Kununurra. The boss’s name is Hamish Sanderson,” I replied, and the nurse left the room.

Lunch was roast beef and vegetables, with stewed plums and custard, and a cup of tea, which I was pleased about. I was just starting dessert when the nurse walked in. “Yes, Mr Sanderson, - I am entering his room now - you can speak to him,” she said into the phone, before passing it to me.

“Hello, Boss. The doctor just told me James is hurt too,” I said right away.

“It’s ok. They thought he had broken his collar bone, but it was just severe bruising. That is all he received. He didn’t let on about it till they were mustering the goats to the yards, and a bump caused him some pain. Ben drove him straight home, and Anne my wife drove him to Kununurra straight away,” the boss said to me.

“I am glad he is ok. How is Roey coping without me being around?” I replied. “She is missing you terribly. Sarah and the kids try to keep her occupied as much as possible. I’m told that at night she wines a lot because she misses you,” the boss replied.

“Try letting her sleep in-bed with someone. She has always slept with me, since I have had her,” I suggested.

“Ok, I will arrange that. Now you concentrate on getting better. I put some cash in your trouser pocket in case you needed anything. I spoke to James today. He is getting discharged tomorrow, and Angel Flight is flying him back to the station for us tomorrow afternoon, so no need to worry about him. You just get better,” the boss said.

“Thanks, Boss, I will, and thanks for taking this call. Bye for now,” I responded and ended the call. Pleased that James was ok, I put the phone down and continued to eat, and when full, I lay down, and soon fell asleep.

As the days passed, I slept or watched some television, and when an auxiliary trolley came by and I discovered that I had cash with me, I bought a couple thick novels, a magazine and a local newspaper.

After day five in hospital I was free of the pee bag, and with the help of a physio I carefully climbed out of bed, dressed only in a gown, and took half a dozen steps around the room. That is when I spotted a plastic bag under my bed. “What is in that bag please?” I asked the physio, who sat me down in a chair, before taking a look.

“Some clothes and other stuff by the looks of it,” I was informed.

“Can you help me into the bathroom, so I can take a pee and a shower? I will call a nurse when I am finished,” I asked. After taking a much-needed pee into a toilet instead of a bag, I removed the hospital gown and sat on the shower chair and turned on the shower. I enjoyed the warmth of the water flowing all over my body.

“Are you ok in there, Mr Hamilton?” I heard a nurse say from outside the bathroom.

“Yes, I am fine. I will be out in a few minutes,” I replied, as I reluctantly turned off the shower. I reached for the towel and loosing my balance I fell onto the floor face down.

Hearing a noise the nurse entered. Grabbing the towel she placed it over my backside, and tucked it against my body before starting to roll me onto my back. She adjusted the towel to cover my privates. Once I was back in the chair, she dashed out, returning a few minutes later with two more towels, which she used to dry me off. Fetching my boxer shorts and tee-shirt, she helped me to dress before helping me back into my bed.

The doctor arrived a few minutes later and ran a few small tests before announcing that no damage had been done. He then left with the nurse following him out. When I woke up next time my pillow was damp from sweat. I was feeling very cold and, locating the call button near my hand, I pushed it and held it down. The nurse came rushing in then dashed out again. Soon there were three nurses in the room. A doctor soon appeared, and my whole bed was moved down a passageway and into a lift. Then I lost consciousness.

When I woke up again the room was dark and I had a monitor attached to me which kept beeping. I groaned at the constant sound. “Welcome back. You gave us quite a scare. I will just go and call the doctor,” a female voice said to me.

“Hello, Mr Hamilton. You had a small bleed in your head, probably caused by the small bathroom fall that you had. We have patched it up and we will be monitoring you closely for the next few days. You are in the HDU at Royal Darwin again, and we will keep you here till we know you have started showing signs of recovery,” the doctor informed me. It was then I realised the bad news: I was connected to the pee bag again.

Soon after the doctor left, I fell asleep again, and woke up the next morning as my breakfast was being delivered. It was scrambled eggs, toast and orange juice, which I managed to eat half of before giving up. I pushed the trolley away and I fell asleep again. For the next few days, I slept most of the time. It must have been the drugs in the drip that was connected to my arm that was making me so sleepy all the time.

When I woke up the one morning, I had no idea what day it was. I pressed the call button once, and a few minutes later a male nurse walked in. “Hello, handsome. Would you mind telling me what day and date it is please?” I asked. The nurse blushed a little at my first comment.

“Well, it is Tuesday, the 8^th of October, Mr Hamilton. Would you like anything while I am here?” the nurse replied.

“Have I missed breakfast? I am starving. And where are my books and magazine?” I replied.

“I will get your breakfast. Top draw of your bedside,” the nurse replied with a smile, as he left. When I moved I realised that I no longer had a neck brace on, which I was pleased about. I carefully opened the draw and pulled out the book I was reading.

The male nurse returned with my breakfast tray, and a doctor came in soon after him. I ignored him as he read my charts, and I began to eat my breakfast. “Well now, Mr Hamilton. You have been in hospital for 11 days now. We will move you back to the room at the private hospital after breakfast, and if all goes well we can discharge you in a couple of days.

We did an x-ray of your arm yesterday, and it is healing very well, and the hairline skull fracture is well on the mend. Just let a nurse know if you are having any headaches, dizziness, or blurred vision,” the doctor announced to me, before he left the room.

When I finished breakfast, I began to read my book again, but after half an hour I started to get a headache. So, I put the book down on the table. I turned on the television, but there was nothing on, and my headache wasn’t going away. So, I pressed the call button once. As I closed my eyes, as my headache got worse. “Yes, Mr Hamilton,” the male nurse said when he arrived.

“Major headache. Really hurts,” I replied and by now I had tears flowing down my cheeks from the pain. “Open your eyes please,” he instructed me and he flashed a light into both eyes twice, before dashing out. Returning with another nurse they both studied my charts.

“Ok, increase his pain medication. I will let the doctor know of the change,” the older female nurse said before leaving, and returning in a short while with a dish that she handed to the male nurse. He injected something into the drip, and eventually the pain subsided, and I fell asleep. When I woke up next, it was late afternoon, and I was still in the same room in HDU, so I presumed that I was staying there longer.

“Good. You are awake. How are you feeling now?” a female nurse asked me. “Hungry,” was my only answer. A few minutes later, I received two rounds of sandwiches to get me by till dinner time. After eating, I lay back down and drifted off to sleep again, waking up when I heard a trolley approaching in the hallway. A dinner tray was brought into my room.

The following morning, after breakfast, I was transferred back to the private hospital, and the same room I had before, which I was pleased about. Once I was settled, a nurse entered holding a telephone. “It’s your grandfather calling you,” she announced as she handed it to me. “Hello, Gramps. How are things back home?” I said cheerfully.

“Everything is running smoothly. Jasper and crew are now at Rottnest Island, doing another environment survey on the trimaran. I have been told that you have been having a few setbacks, and that you are still in hospital,” Gramps replied.

“Yes, I had a head bleed the other day, and they had to rush me back to surgery. After breakfast this morning, I was moved from HDU back to a private hospital room. They say a couple more days, then I can be discharged,” I informed Gramps.

“That is wonderful to hear. What will you do when you get out of there?” Gramps asked me. “If the doctors say its ok for me to travel by air, I will charter a plane back to the station to collect my things and the vehicle, and I will drive back home. If I can’t fly, I will have to catch a bus to Kununurra, and get someone to take me down to the station,” I replied, hoping that the second option didn’t happen.

“Well, keep us posted on what you are doing, and get a mobile phone so we can keep in touch,” Gramps said to me crossly. “Ok, Gramps, I will do as soon as I get to a phone shop. Say hello to my brothers for me. Bye for now,” I said and ended the call.

Two days later when the doctor came around, he asked me a lot of questions and looked at my charts before announcing that I could be discharged the following day, which I was thrilled about. “Am I able to travel by air, or am I grounded for a while?” I asked the doctor. “Well, I would say you are grounded, but if I can arrange a care flight for you, we can fly you back to the cattle station,” the doctor said to me with a smile.

The following morning the doctor arrived just as I finished breakfast. He informed me that I was being discharged in half an hour, and that a transport ambulance would take me to the airport where a care flight would be waiting for me. I thanked the doctor for all the hospital care that I had received in the past two weeks.

I told him I hoped not to return in the future. Once I had dressed, and gathered my belongings, a nurse arrived with a wheelchair. She wheeled me out of the ward and out to a waiting ambulance. I thanked her and all the nursing staff for all their dedicated care, before being loaded into the ambulance.

Checking the pocket of my trousers that I was now wearing, I found that I still had over $450 in cash. “Excuse me, officer. I need to get myself a new Apple i-Phone, or a recycled one. I have $450 cash on me to get one before I board the plane, please?” I asked nicely. “Sure. The main Casuarina Shopping Centre is just down the road. We can pop in there to get one for you,” the ambulance officer replied. “And a strawberry milkshake too, please?” I added, which received a laugh from both ambulance officers.

Twenty minutes later I had my milkshake and a recycled I-Phone 5S, which was activated and charging at the front of the ambulance, while I was lying up in the back, strapped into the trolley, drinking my first milkshake in quite some time. I was loving every sip of it, and ended with a huge burp. “Oops. Pardon me,” I said softly, and the officers laughed.