I Took a Family Friend to A&E – and he went from peaky to barely responsive on the way.

He has always been a man of a truly outsized personality. Sharp and not prone to sentiment – and not one to say no to a further glass. At family parties, he’s the one chatting about the latest scandal to involve a member of parliament, or amusing us with accounts of the notorious womanizing of assorted players from the local club over the past 40 years.

Frequently, we would share Christmas morning with him and his family, before going our separate ways. However, one holiday season, some ten years back, when he was scheduled to meet family abroad, he tumbled down the staircase, holding a drink in one hand, a suitcase gripped in the other, and sustained broken ribs. Medical staff had treated him and advised against air travel. Consequently, he ended up back with us, trying to cope, but looking increasingly peaky.

The Day Progressed

The hours went by, however, the humorous tales were absent in their typical fashion. He maintained that he felt alright but his appearance suggested otherwise. He endeavored to climb the stairs for a nap but couldn’t; he tried, carefully, to eat Christmas lunch, and did not manage.

Thus, prior to me managing to put on a festive hat, my mum and I decided to drive him to the emergency room.

The idea of calling for an ambulance crossed our minds, but what would the wait time be on Christmas Day?

A Deteriorating Condition

Upon our arrival, he had moved from being unwell to almost unconscious. People in the waiting room aided us help him reach a treatment area, where the generic smell of hospital food and wind was noticeable.

The atmosphere, however, was unique. People were making brave attempts at festive gaiety in every direction, even with the pervasive sterile and miserable mood; decorations dangled from IV poles and dishes of festive dessert sat uneaten on tables next to the beds.

Cheerful nurses, who certainly would have chosen to be at home, were moving busily and using that lovely local expression so unique to the area: “duck”.

A Quiet Journey Back

After our time at the hospital concluded, we headed home to chilled holiday sides and holiday television. We viewed something silly on television, probably Agatha Christie, and took part in a more foolish pastime, such as a local version of the board game.

By then it was quite late, and snowing, and I remember experiencing a letdown – did we lose the holiday?

Healing and Reflection

Although our friend eventually recovered, he had in fact suffered a punctured lung and later developed a serious circulatory condition. And, although that holiday is not my most cherished memory, it has become part of family legend as “the Christmas I saved a life”.

If that is completely accurate, or contains some artistic license, I couldn’t possibly comment, but the story’s yearly repetition certainly hasn’t hurt my ego. True to his favorite phrase: “don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story”.