General Chat

I am beginning to wonder if our holiday is jinxed.

Ten days ago o.h.'s father (82) was rushed into hospital, turns out his warfarin dose hadn't been adjusted properly and he was taking too much, causing bleeding of the muscles in his stomach. He had to have a blood transfusion and has been under observation since, but apparently should be well enough to go home today.

Last evening, o.h. rang to say he had to stay on at work as a machine had broken down and he needed to stay and help the night chap fix the thing. He rang to say he was on his way about an hour later and then I got a phone call from a policeman telling me o.h. had been knocked off his bike by a car. He said he was ok, and had been checked out by a paramedic but wouldn't go to hospital. The driver had come out of a junction without stopping, knocking o.h. off his bike and then hitting him with the car as he lay on the ground. Seems he didn't stop instantly.

The Police brought o.h. and the bent bike home in a van and rang us later to give us the driver's name and phone number. He isn't being prosecuted for anything as there were no witnesses altho some people came out of their house when they heard the bang and put a blanket round o.h. O.h said he saw the car coming down the hill to his left as he rode along and assumed the bloke would stop, but the driver said he didn't see o.h., despite him having lights on his bike, more than two on the rear, and he was wearing a yellow high vis. jacket with reflective strips on the back, front and sleeves. He was very shaken up and sore so I made him have a soak in a hot bath and then he went to bed. He has a bump on his head and his thumb hurts too, I wondering if he has damaged the scaphoid bone. The driver told the police he would recompense o.h. for damage to the bike and Police said if we have any problems to get back to them if we want the insurance details and aren't given them. I think the driver wants to avoid a claim and would rather just pay up himself.

I had to laugh when the Policeman told me the man's name, he had to spell it for me. O.h. said the driver was a ******** foreigner ( he has a thing about foreigners and immigrants etc ) and this chap's name is unpronounceable! The P.C. said 'it rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?' when I started laughing but that wasn't what amused me, it was the fact that of all people to hit o.h. it had to be a foreigner!

Oh well, hope he isn't too sore when he gets up, I found some Arnica for the bruising but after he had put some on, I realised it was 3 years out of date lol Means I am not able to use the car today or tomorrow as he will need it to go to work, so that's my plans mucked up. Lots still to do before we go away next week, if we manage to get there that is!

Hope there isn't a third thing. Cross your fingers for me that next week at this time I am safely on the coach to the airport and all is well.

Lizx

Oh and now I think he realises why I keep on at him to buy and wear a helmet!

Oh dear, your poor OH, and his father <3


I hope your run of bad luck is shorter than ours!

<3

There's one thing about this catalogue of mishaps - it will make your holiday all the better when it comes, Liz, as I.m sure it will!

Lynda X

Well Lynda, last evening I wondered if we would have a holiday!

O.h. went to work on Friday late morning (11.30 to 5pm shift) and used the car obviously as the bike has a buckled wheel and broken brake. He came home from work and said he wanted me to take him to the hospital as his knee and thumb were swollen and sore. Off we went at 7pm after he had bathed and had a snack - he's diabetic - and the service at A & E was very good. We didn't have to hang around too long before he was assessed by a lovely young nurse, then he had a doctor take a look at him ( I giggled, doctor was very very tanned and had an accent that o.h. always finds difficult to understand) and then he was sent for xrays on said knee and thumb. I overheard the xray chap say, Oh this one's a suspected fractured knee! I had visions of o.h. ending up in plaster and our holiday being cancelled. However, luck was with us and he just has bad bruising and has to rest and use icepacks to reduce swelling. We were out of the hospital by8.30pm so not too bad and a very calm atmosphere in A & E whcih relaxed him a bit, he hates hospitals.

He has decided to go into work as usual today (12 hr shift but he wants the overtime for the holiday) as he will have Sunday and Monday to rest (that's after he has visited his father who is out of hospital and wants some bean plants put in the ground)

I rang the chap who knocked him off his bike and he has a difficult accent to understand too, but was very apologetic and says he will buy him a new bike so as the other one has a buckled wheel and brake damage and the frame may be compromised by the bang, it will be a good outcome. The best bit is that o.h. plans to get a cycle helmet, at last. I have only been trying to persuade him for over 4 years, since he started cycling to work when he needed to lose weight and when his licence was revoked after the bleed on his brain episode in 2007.

Things could have been a lot worse, the driver says he does take care and doesn't know how he missed seeing o.h. but will be even more careful than he usually is, and o.h. realises how close he came to being really bashed about so is going to protect his head at last!

Thanks for pms and concern


Lizx

Glad to hear your OH will be wearing a helmet in future, but it was a helluva way to make him do it! I hope he's feeling better soon.

I'm sure you will both enjoy your holiday :-D

Liz


so glad that all seems to be well ....... and that OH will be wearing a helmet in future!



Enjoy your holiday xxxx

Thanks Scozz and Sylvia.

He still seems quite shocked and his knee and thumb are painful. I am hoping he will feel better soon, we will have to get my son round to get the suitcase from the loft as there isn't a ladder and o.h. usually pulls himself up through the hatch from a stepladder, no way will be be able to do that this week. The holiday should help him recover, he can swim or float on a lilo in the pool and the sun will help too as well as few bevvies lol
Hope he gets a tan quickly as the bruises haven't come out yet so he will look like he's been in the wars on holiday when they finally show up lol

Halfords have bikes on sale this week which is where he got the original one from, so he is going to have a look today and see if there is one that suits and then we can offer the driver a chance to get one and save a bit of cash.

Lizx

Well never a truer word eh?

Our holiday is off!

I was running around (well, driving) late this afternoon doing some last minute errands, with the packing still to be done and knowing o.h. wouldn't do much but take himself off to bed after dinner till it was time to get up for the taxi booked for 4.45am Friday morning, when he called me saying a doctor had just called from the local A & E where we went last Friday to get his injuries xrayed. Seems they go through all the xrays of the last few days to double check, and on o.h.'s they noticed that his thumb was more damaged than first noticed. He has damaged a ligament and there is a chip of bone lurking near it. The thumb has to be strapped up to immobilise it and it will take around 4 weeks to heal! I had to pick up plaster and bandage etc to do the dressing when I got in, I rang the A & E Doc myself and he explained how to do the strapping.

I got home to find o.h. in a very miserable state, his thumb has been giving a lot of pain, worse than his bruised knee and leg and he was quite emotional, still having flashbacks. I took an executive decision and suggested calling off the holiday, we have insurance and he is obviously not fit to travel or enjoy the holiday. We will also now be claiming from the driver's insurance rather than letting him get away with just buying a new bike. O.h. had ordered one from Halfords so he had a replacement for our return from hols and was going to make arrangements for the driver to pay for that one but now we will have to call him and tell him we will be notifying his insurance company direct.

To say I am disappointed is an understatement, I was really looking forward to the sun and seeing all the folk we met last September. I phoned the chap who owns the apartments and he was disappointed we won't be coming, said they had been looking forward to seeing us again, so now we have to work out how we pay him as we were going to pay cash on arrival. He doesn't go through Thos Cook anymore. So much to undo, and all the summer things to be packed away again, suitcase back up in the loft and me stuck with o.h. for weeks with no respite when he goes to work! Hopefully he can reclaim his holiday entitlement as he was at the docs yesterday and they asked if he wanted signing off work, he said no as he was going to be on hols but he won't be able to work with his hand strapped up so will have to be signed off and if that happens during a holiday, you get the entitlement back. It happened like that when he took a week off in Feb. and then got the chest infection or whatever it turned out to be. I suppose we will end up on holiday in Sept again, but I so wanted to see Crete in early summer for a change.

Lizx

Liz

Only just saw this after your email

SO SO sorry about your holiday .Know you were looking forward to it .

Try to keep your chin up . They say the weather is going to be good this weekend so just imagine yourself there with an overcoat and you should be fine !!!

Yesterday left the phone off while I had supper ( call centre hastle ) then forgot to put it back . Sorry

Speak to you soon

love

Kathy

so sorry to hear this, Liz

xxxxx

Sorry to hear this Liz

Love Mary xx

Oh dear....do you think you weren't meant to go??
So sorry this has happened and OH soon feels better.

Keep smiling.....and look forward to,September!

Brenda xx :-)

hi liz,
sorry for your run of bad luck,as you know I can completely understand how you feel.
as you kept saying to me thing's will get better soon,if you focus on your holiday later in the year it will ease your disappointment a little.
I do not envy you having to be nurse maid for the next 4 week's keep your chin up.

sue

Oh, Liz! I've just read your posting about your cancelling your holiday. I'm so sorry, and here's me banging on about my London break!
I believe in fate - it maybe just wasn't meant to be. Please keep focused on your trip in September, when, hopefully, everything will go right.
Love from Lynda xx

OMG Liz I missed this at the start (been busy as you know) what a nightmare for you. I am sure you did the right thing to cancel. Big disappointment but better than OH being ill on hols and both of you miserable.
Will you have to pay the full price for the apartment ? as you won´t have cleaning service in there nor leccy usage, and maybe you can do a deal that you take the apartment out of season for a much cheaper price, if you compensate for this missed week. ??

Thank heaven you have insurance but sue the driver for every penny you can get. That may sound harsh but how did he miss a High Vis Jacket and lights ? It is a shame that OH didn´t go for it at the time but it does sound as though the police believe OH.

I am so sorry about the holiday though because I know how much you was looking forward to it.
I hope FIL is getting better and help is on hand.

Try to keep smiling will pm soon

Thanks all. Lynda, don't feel guilty for talking about your break, it's well deserved and not your fault the accident happened to o.h.

I took him to A & E on Friday afternoon and while he was waiting to be seen, I saw a policeman walking through the waiting room so I asked him if he knew the policeman who dealt with the accident and if he was back from his hols this weekend. He said he knew the chap but not sure about the hols, but asked me why and I explained what had happened. He agreed that the driver should have probably have been charged and he was about to visit someone who had had a similar accident to get statements. He said he would leave a message for the policeman I had asked about and if we didn't hear from him over the weekend to phone in and ask for further attention to be given to the situation.

When we got home there was a missed call on the ansaphone, no message, but later around 10pm I got a call from a W.P.C. who introduced herself and said she was the driver of the policecar attending the accident and wanted to take a statement from o.h. under oath as she had taken one from the car driver. I am not sure if she meant she had been to see him since my conversation with the cop in the hospital or before that, but seems they will be taking this further now and that will help our claim for compensation. She is coming round later today (Saturday) so will see what's going to happen then.

O.h. had his thumb bandaged thickly to support the thumb, it's an Avulsion fracture which is where a small piece of bone tears away from the main bone mass when tendon or ligament is ruptured. Happens to athletes a lot apparently. It should heal in 4 to 6 weeks, omg, not sure I will stay sane with o.h. at home that long from work lol but means he will get a sicknote and be able to reclaim his holiday entitlement from work so we will still have the chance to go away later on.

I took him to see his Dad and StepMum on the way back from hospital and his Dad is still feeling rough, taking various medications to clear the blood from his body which sort of leached from his blood vessels when it was thinned by too much Warfarin. Still not sure why the doctors got the dosage so wrong for so long. StepMum took me to one side and asked how things were, she knows o.h. stresses me out as his Dad does her, they are very hard to live with so she empathises with me, bless her. She is frail herself but was busy getting the evening meal while the old man sat out in the sunshine. O.h made it clear to him that he won't be available to do gardening and errands and such for a few weeks, when he went round last Sunday after the accident he was expected to help sow some plants and the day before we went away, his father rang thinking he was at home and asked if he could take him to the shop to get pet food. He never buys a big stock of cat food, only gets a couple of weeks worth at a time and then wonders why he runs out, silly old boy. I told him then that o.h. wouldn't have time when he got back from work as we had to pack and prepare to go away (that was before the hospital called back, they didn't ring till 6pm) The old boy keeps going on about how good the daughters are at helping, one lives half a mile away and calls in every day on her way back from work to empty the cats' litter trays and do little jobs and the other daughter works at the hospital so calls in a couple of times a week on her way back from work, but for o.h. to visit it's a 6 miles trip and 6 miles home again so a bit different.

Oh well, onwards and upwards, the nurse at the hospital gave o.h. some rubber gloves (surgical ones) to put over the bandage so he can still do the washing up lol

Am trying not to think that I should be in bed in the apartment now and ready for the first day of sunbathing and lovely food cooked for me :>(((


Lizx

Liz...so sorry to read this. Hope OH is soon feeling better and his dad. Blimey you have all been through the mill again. Hope also you get your holiday money back and can re-book another day.

Take care
jude xx

I couldn't believe it when you told me yesterday Liz. I'm so sorry - I know you've been looking forward to this holiday for months. As someone said, it's probably for a reason and let's hope you can get everything sorted out to your satisfaction and will be able to go later in the summer.

Hugs Wend xx <3

Will pm you soon, I promise ;-)

Hi all, and thanks for messages Wend and Jude.

The police came round last evening, the policewoman was at the scene so knew what was going on. She took a statement from o.h. who stressed the point that the car ended up several metres from where it hit o.h., it hadn't stopped immediately which seems strange. I wonder if at first he panicked and thought to drive away? The WPC is sure there will be a case against the driver now as she went over a map of the area with o.h. and once he had explained where he was when the car hit him, she seemed to get it at last. Before I think the police were confused about what happened. She will now visit the driver again and tell him things have become more serious so he will know it has to go through his insurance at least, but she seemed to think there would be compensation due for the disappointment of losing our holiday as well as the injuries o.h. has and damage to his bike and weatherproof leggings etc.

We went to get our Cash cards refunded and were told that because we were No Show due to the Travel agent who I informed on Thursday evening of the cancellation not passing on the info right, we will have to wait until the end of our holiday dates i.e. the date we would have travelled home, to have the paperwork issued to show we didn't travel. What a palaver, it's going to take some time to get refunds and then the accident claims will take time, so not sure when we will be able to go away again, due to finances.

O.h. is angry because he lost quite a lot of money on the cash card refund, by the buying back of euros paying less than they cost him. It was quite a large amount as we were supposed to pay for the apartment on arrival so now he has to go and pay it back into his bank as they don't refund on debit cards etc and claim for the difference in amount. He stomped out of the travel agents saying they were a load of robbers, he can't understand it's not a charge as such, just a difference in exchange rates. He was in a real strop for ages.

I can see life is going to be difficult over the next few weeks, hope he heals quickly so he can get back to work out of my hair!

Wend, don't worry love, will try and call you sometime when he is out of the house so I can have a good old moan lol

Take care
Lizxx