Its been a hectic few weeks here. We had a phone call two weeks ago to say the father in law had been rushed into hospital with a suspected heart attack. So as you do we dropped everything and made our way to see him, which considering he lives in Holyhead and we live on the outskirts of London is at best a 4 hour drive and at worst a 8/9 hour slog up the motorway.
As we drove up we didn't really know much as to his condition but it didn't sound too good, he had been under a lot of stress lately as both his son and youngest daughter are both suffering from depression and mental health issues and as it so often happens are taking things out on their parents. The father in law is 82 and now quite frail, he was up until the last couple of years very active often to be found climbing about on his roof trying to fix his tv aerial or digging a new border for his veg growing. But more recently his health has not been great and he has taken to walking with a stick, much to his annoyance and if truth be told embarrassment. The mother in law is in her late 70's too (don't tell her I said that) and has had health issues herself, recently recovering from bowel cancer and several operations and chemotherapy. I guess to outsiders they are quite vulnerable and "old" but when its family you kind of look past their outward appearance and see them as they see themselves, still capable and if not quite full of vital energy then at least still got another 20 years or so left in them.
So it was with trepidation then that we walked into the hospital ward. As we looked for him among the other "old" people on the ward it took us a second look to recognise him. Out of his usual surroundings and lying there with his eyes shut and his mouth open he looked small and feeble.We quietly took our place at the bed side and sat looking at him not really sure what to say until after a few seconds he started to snore, it got louder and louder until it drew tuts from the deaf man across the ward and giggles from us. Eventually it got so loud and we were laughing so much that the nurse made nudging motions towards us to wake him up. As soon as he opened his eyes we could see the razor sharp spark had not diminished one jot, he was back in the room and as bright as he had ever been. It turns out that apart from feeling a bit weak he has suffered no ill effects from his ordeal and was ready for home. He was kept in for a few days for observation but the combination of his snoring , chatting up the nurses and the NHS's desperate need for beds he was sent packing.
After they had settled back home we headed home ourselves, another trek across half the country but as it was in the early hours of the morning traffic was light and we made it home in 5 hours. Two days later we got a call again asking if they could come and stay for a few days as they were having problems from the other members of the family, so it was back up to North Wales this time we let the train take the strain on the way up and drove them back here in their car.
A week later we drove them back up to Holyhead and again took the train back.
Now I love to travel but only if I am going somewhere but all in all with the two trips and all the running them about while they were with us we racked up just short of 2000 miles and 25 hours sat in the car or the train in just over 2 weeks. I worked it out and we could have got to Cyprus, Greenland or Beirut. But as the saying goes "the further you go, the nearer to home you get".
I am glad to say though that both the father in law and mother in law are doing well and are now back on their feet, a little slower and more cautious but in a way that's better.
Now to just sort out the rest of the families problems and I can then concentrate on sorting out the Middle East and Africa.
