Part 1: A series of unfortunate events

Monday, 26 November 2012

It all started as one of my routine business travels. I was supposed to fly from KL to Milan, via London with two of my colleagues. We could have flown there via Amsterdam or Dubai or anywhere else but we picked London this time - there must be a reason for it and it must have been fated. Prior to that I have already had a bit of recurring sciatica pain on my right leg from a long history of lumbar pain and slipped disc (you can read about the whole history here). I have been traveling a lot lately and this must have taken a toll on my not-so-young-anymore body. But then again, what to do; this is part of how I earn my living...

Anyway, despite the pain, I decided that I really have to make this trip. I missed the last one due to the same problem so I thought I just can't skip this twice in a row and as usual, a painkiller a day keeps the sciatica away. So, despite the slight limping and shooting pain every time I need to sit down or get up; I was doing just fine, as usual.

Earlier in the morning, I drove to work instead of taking my bike, as suggested by my wife. After getting stuck for one and a half hours in traffic that morning, I could barely get out of my car when I arrived at the office. In the afternoon, I went to the Twin Towers Medical Centre and got myself a jab of painkiller and felt a bit better. But then again, later that evening after another round of one and a half hours drive in the evening traffic, it got even worse than the morning. Luckily I have an in-house doctor at home who then gave me another jab of painkiller. For good measure, I also popped in an Arcoxia 120mg just before the flight. I'm gonna be okay... or so I thought.

As I was limping to board the aircraft, my colleagues who were traveling with me commented on it but I told them I'd be okay. It was a midnight flight so despite the discomfort, I still manage to skip supper and went straight to sleep. The new A380 seats are in a way better than the 747 or 777. Or so I thought... again... After about 5 hours of sleep I was suddenly woken up by a sharp pain in my right leg. This is not the usual sciatica pain which is more localized and normally when I could get to a certain position the pain would just go away. This time the pain radiated throughout my entire right leg and whether I move or stay the pain is still there!

After battling it quietly for an hour or so (luckily the stewardesses didn't think that I was making lusty faces at them!) I finally decided to call the flight crew and told them about it. They quickly searched for a doctor on board and found a Malaysian lady doctor who lived in London who was travelling back with her daughter. I was so in pain to remember much but I think her name is Dr. Zainab (Dr. Zainab from London; if you ever read this, I don't think I thanked you properly that day - thank you so much for your kindness!). She managed to get hold of the aircraft's medical kit and gave me yet another jab and an oral painkiller. Funny how the steward and my colleague had to hold a blanket to cover the scene of me having to pull my pants down for her to jab my bottom! But anyway, unfortunately it doesn't seem to work this time and I was in excruciating pain throughout the remaining of the 13 hours journey. I told the flight crew that they better have paramedics on standby in Heathrow as I was quite sure I will not be able to continue with the connecting flight to Milan in this condition. I know my leg and back pain and I know that this is definitely not ordinary.

During descend the pain got worse and worse and so unbearable and I was up to a series of muffled screams. Obviously I got exempted from the putting-your-seat-upright procedure...

The moment we touched down I was swarmed with flight crews, ground crew and the first intervention paramedic unit, whom I was made to understand arrived on a bicycle (in winter! God bless her...). By that time, the cleaning crew, technical crew and many others have also started boarding the aircraft. There were so many people! Lying there surrounded by all these strangers, I couldn't think of anything else but crack a joke. I said to them, "I feel like I'm watching "The Airport" TV series..." and they all laughed. Indeed, they said, this is what happened behind the scene after you all left the aircraft. These are the unsung heroes that made our flights safe, clean and comfortable...

In a quick turn of event, I was wheeled into an ambulance (I learnt a new fact: the hydraulic lift for the ambulance unit could not reach the upper deck of the A380, so they had to wheel me down to the lower deck first). For that they had to sit me on a wheelchair in which, if you know sciatica, is yet another round of excruciating pain. Luckily the paramedics introduced me to a new friend, "Ethonox" who was really a friend in need - a couple of puffs from the tank and the pain just slowly slowly slips away... hmmmmmm...!

My two colleagues who went out earlier and were waiting outside expecting for me to come out on a wheelchair realized that I wasn't coming out after all. I texted them from the ambulance saying that the paramedics decided to take me straight to the Hillingdon Hospital nearby so I won't be joining them to Milan after all. I really didn't know what to expect at that time. Between the motion sickness (it wasn't fun travelling while lying down in a fast moving ambulance!) and the soothing Ethonox; many questions were playing in my mind - Would I be coming back to the airport shortly? Could I make the next flight to Milan later? Will I be stranded here for a long time? The irony is that; I wasn't even supposed to be here! It was just a transit...! All I had with me was my carry-on bag and I told the Malaysia Airlines ground personnel to hold on to my checked-in luggage and I will call him next on what to do with it.

Little did I know that this was going to be a series of unfortunate events, one after another but for the most part of it, I should have actually said "fortunate" considering what could have actually happen if I had not board that ambulance that morning...


Next: Part 2: Hillingdon Hospital (Day 1 and 2)