Danni Segal, Slowly recovering The (ir)regular thoughts of Around-Bexhill.co.uk founder, Danni Segal, on life in Bexhill-on-Sea This column reflects the thoughts of Danni Segal, and does not claim to reflect the opinions of around-bexhill.co.uk or any of the shops or businesses listed on this site unless directly stated

Dateline: July 2007

Item: An Explanation Of Absence (Serious Bit)

[Note: this is the second time I have had to write this as my computer crashed just as I finished the first time. To which all I can say is... “AAAAAAAARGH!” It just goes to show it can happen to all of us...]

I have had a number of people contacting me in recent weeks, especially since my last update, about my current state of health. As I am sufficently recovered, I can offer a full explanation as to what has happened. If you are not interested in my various dramatic health problems over recent months should click here to read the silly bit of this page.

Back in September 2006 I started suffering a slight cough, which developed into a chest infection and a severe lack of energy. Four courses of antibiotics and one course of steroids failed to resolve the problem, the result of which is I ended up in A&E at the Conquest with respiratory problems (which is a fancy way of saying I couldn’t breathe). After a few checks, and a “that’s not good” from a doctor (which is something you NEVER want to hear), I was put on the ward.

This was the first time I had been on a ward in my entire adult life. I’d been in for a couple minor procedures as a child, and been to A&E a few times, but I’d never been kept in as an adult. Over the three nights I was kept in the hospital it became apparent that my respiratory system had been attacked by a nasty virus which had stopped part of my lungs functioning resulting in a lack of oxygen in the blood. The treatments I underwent seemed to have the desired effect, and I was able to return home after three days for further rest and recovery, armed as I was with a colourful selection of inhalers.

And so all seemed to be going well to the end of the year. I still had a lack of energy but was told this could take a few months to recover. Christmas and the New Year came and went and everything appeared to be back in order.

As 2007 started, though, it became increasingly clear that not everything was right. I was starting to have memory lapses, and was suffering regular bouts of something approaching depression. Both of these symptoms grew more regular and more severe, and I started finding it more and more difficult to communicate with people. I was struggling to answer the phone, to send emails, and to even leave the house. I just wanted to isolate myself and not speak to anyone. I was starting to struggle to even communicate with my wonderful wife and son. And I was starting to suffer panic attacks that would leave me unable to move.

To add to the problems, the way I was feeling was preventing me working and, as I am self employed, this meant a big hole in my finances which in turn put more pressure on me. Additional problems rearing their heads didn’t really help matters.

By this point some of you may be thinking “Agoraphobia”, and you would be right. Trouble is, when you’re in the middle of something like that it can be very difficult to see what it is. For those who do not know what agoraphobia is, or want to know more about it, please click here.

With the help of my wife, I finally came to realise what was happening to me and sought help. My doctor prescribed tablets to help bring things under control, and arranged for me to see a therapist to try and understand what the root of the problem was. A large part of it seemed to be tied in to my time in hospital and the effects that had had on me.

As I write this now I am finally getting back to whatever passes for normal. I am able again to go out to work, deal with emails, and update web sites. And I am slowly being able to answer and talk on the phone again.

Unfortunately this time period has had consequences. I have fallen severely behind in some of the work I have been doing - this web site included - and am now doing my best to get everything up to date. This includes answering emails and generally dealing with everything that has been on hold for the last couple of  months. Paradoxically, I am not allowed to work too hard at the moment as this may have further negative effects. I am on the road to recovery, but it is still early days and the last thing I want to do is end up going backwards.

And that’s where I am today. My big project right now is to bring this site fully up to date and get it running the way I want it to. As an apology to everyone involved with the site we will be offering additional months on the site at no cost to make up for the recent failings. I will hopefully get to speak to everyone about this over the next few weeks.

Thanks to everyone who has offered their support during this time. I am extremely grateful to have so many friends, and am touched by the feeling of community I have felt. To me, this is part of what has made Bexhill so special to me.

Item: An Explanation Of Absence (Silly Bit)

My family had a holiday booked for June this year on the island of Mull of the coast of Scotland. As the cottage we would be staying at was fairly isolated, I thought it would be an ideal break from reality and would help with my recovery from agoraphobia.

The journey to Heathrow started with me trying to put two suitcases in the car boot and damaging the locking mechanism so the boot could not be re-opened. Fortunately our friends at Bexhill Honda were able to quickly fix the problem so our journey could start.

The flight up to Glasgow was uneventful. Having a 3-year old with us, and with me prone to panic attacks, we elected to leave the plane after everyone else. We were no more then 50 meters from the gate when the alarm sounded and we were evacuated from the airport and onto the tarmac by the planes.When the alarm stopped some 30 minutes later the airport staff were unable to find a door to let us back into the airport. We finally did make it back in (through the 5th door they tried) and got to baggage reclaim, only to find that our luggage was nowhere to be seen. Eventually we tracked it down at the British Airways desk and were on our way.

The holiday itself was wonderful. Mull is a gorgeous place to visit, and I got to relax and recover. So far, so good. Then came the return journey...

We nearly missed our ferry back to the mainland due to a tree falling on the road. Whilst on the ferry we received a text message, dated two days previous, telling us our flight was cancelled. The phone number it suggested we call was the main British Airways number, which we spent over 30 minutes on during which time we were offered insurance, travel guides and lots of other useless stuff but got to speak to no-one about what we were going to do.

Interlude: We stopped at Loch Lomand for a toilet stop. The facilities there are named “Firkin Point”. So now when anyone asks me what the firkin point is, I simply answer “a toilet in Scotland”. Interlude over.

We rushed back to Glasgow Airport to try and make alternate plans. The poor lady on the BA desk had obviously been dealing with a lot of annoyed customers, but to her credit was extremely helpful and friendly to us. No-one knew why our flight had been cancelled, but they were able to get us the last three seats on a flight to Gatwick. When Lisa pointed out we had a 3-year old child with us they managed to arrange for two of the three seats to be together. I was left sitting between two strangers at the back of the plane - remember the agrophobia I mentioned earlier? Well, being stuck at the back of a plane between two strangers is not a great help in dealing with it.

And so we arrived at Gatwick. The only problem now was that our car was parked at Heathrow. BA had promised someone would meet us when we landed to facilitate the transfer, but inevitably nobody knew about it. We eventually located the BA desk - in departures, rather then arrivals which is where we were - who issued us with National Express tickets to get us to Heathrow.

We eventually got to Heathrow and caught the bus back to where our car was parked. We were dropped off at bay 13, only to find our car was not there. The next bus driver saw us looking lost and confirmed we had been dropped in the wrong place - it should have been 23. Lisa and Ryan went off in the bus to collect the car whilst I waited with the luggage. And that was when the thunder started, followed by a torrential downpour which soaked me to the bone. All I could so was laugh insanely.

We eventually made it home and spent the next day recovering from the journey, a journey which had taken longer then it had for Lisa’s parents to DRIVE back from Glasgow. The following day Lisa managed to break a toe, and the day after I pulled a muscle during a violent sneezing attack.

A lot of people have said this couldn’t have happened. All I can say is, if I could make stuff like this up I would be selling more books then JK Rowling!

Until next time,

Danni Segal
founder
around-bexhill.co.uk

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