August 14th 2006

Sitting at Paddington station, freezing cold, waiting for my train had to be the worst hour of my life. I was constantly checking my mobile phone for any news in between countless cups of strong coffee. When we did eventually get onto the train we were seated across from a woman who used her mobile phone constantly from London to Plymouth, by the time I got off I was ready to throttle her! My partner picked me up from Plymouth station and we travelled up to Derriford, by the time we got to the hospital I could feel myself trembling as I knew what was ahead of us. We managed to find my parents in the neuro intensive care department and Mum said we were allowed in two at a time so Mum and myself would go first. The ward had around 8 beds and Steven was at the end of the ward next to the nurses station, I can remember walking through and Mum suddenly saying "Here he is" I could not believe that this was my brother and actually said "No it's not," he looked like an old man as his head had swollen and had been shaved, I felt my legs buckle underneath me and just kept saying "No, no no" He was on life support and had a mass of wires everywhere, we stayed for about 20 minutes and then let my Dad and my partner go in. A little later that afternoon the surgeon who had removed the blood clots from Steven's brain talked to us and explained the severity of his injuries which did not just involve his brain but also involved spinal fractures and neck fractures. This was devastating and we were told that someone should stay in Plymouth that night as his chances of pulling through were put at less than 1% and we really needed a miracle. My parents managed to book into a nearby hotel and we travelled the 70 miles home to tend to Mum's house/animals etc as well as the endless telephone calls. I can remember going into my brother's bedroom as soon as I got in and sitting on the floor weeping looking around at all his belongings, his clothes in his wardrobe smelt of him, and our dog who always slept in the bed with him was wandering around aimlessly whining and scratching at the bed. I didn't sleep at all that night and felt mentally exhausted when we got up the next morning to travel back up to Plymouth with my Dad's car so they could be mobile.