The Baynhams

So I'm in week two of returning to my "normality" This was the week I was going to try to re-establish good routines. I was going to get back on the exercise bike each day, even if only for 20 mins. I was going to dust down the menu plan and get back into my regular Aldi shop each Monday. I was going to start planning for Gareth's 10th birthday at the end of this month.

So Monday came and brought with it great expectations. I woke in the morning to a message from my brother who was supposedly flying to Ireland and should have been somewhere above the Arab Emirates by breakfast. He was back in Sydney because he was on the Emirates plane that had an engine explode resulting in 2-3 meter flames lighting up the entire cabin and a hasty retreat back to Sydney. Cue turn on the news to watch the footage on every news channel for the following hour. Knowing he was safe and hoping to get on a new flight should have been the point at which I focused myself back on the straight and narrow, but no, That's when Mr B decided to throw a spanner in the works.

Yes, from 10.30am onwards I was getting messages from him about some mysterious pain he was having and the various ailments Google had suggested it might be. I became slightly more sympathetic when he stumbled in the front door early and looked ashen. I made a phone call to the local GP who said go straight to hospital.

Mr B said "No".

Then we rang the 24hr Health helpline who said go straight to hospital.

Mr B said "No".

I collected the kids from swimming and piano, raced home, made and served tea, packed his overnight bag and then Mrs B said "No more NO, get in the car" And so we did. It was an interesting car journey driving the 30 minutes on winding roads that made Byron go paler and paler on every left bend (but not right bends?) There was the small issue of him semi-passing out twice in the car park as I tried to get him from the car to the ED doors, the staff assuming he was having a heart attack from his doubled-over-clutching-his-side-ashen-grey-face. Over the next few hours it was looking more likely to be a kidney stone.

And so the rest of this week slipped by with me in nurse mode at work and then nurse mode at home too. In the evenings I sat sympathetically next to Mr B on the sofa, ignoring the exercise bike in the corner and drank cups of tea and ate chocolate, then found out both are "bad" foods for kidney stones so lovingly ate both mine AND Byron's portions of the remaining chocolate in the house. I know, I know, I'm a devoted wife. I deserve a medal. Make it a dark chocolate truffle one...!

Normality has been postponed to next week...