Bump!

Some years ago we had our house extended to make it more suitable for our son Dan who has Angelman Syndrome and Type 1 Diabetes. The works included a downstairs bathroom with plenty of space for Dan and two adults who can help him. Since then we have added a few grab handles, but now he is a teenager we need a re-think.

The local planners insted on a small step down in to the bathroom and this has been a trip hazard ever since.

Yesterday Dan, who weighs 75 Kilos, fell in the hall and crashed head-first into the corner of banister post. After a big hug from his carers, Nina and Bridget, he seemed a bit shaken but otherwise OK. He had an "egg" on his head, of course, and this was treated with good old frozen sweet-corn-in-a-bag, wrapped in a tea towel.

He had lunch as normal but then started to vomit and show discomfort and lethargy; classic signs of concussion. I arrived home from work just in advance of the ambulance which was driven by a paramedic called Faith. She did a good job on Dan and kept us all calm so we agreed to keep monitoring him at home. We only live five minutes away from the hospital and so we kept in touch with the paediatric diabetes team on the phone.

As the afternoon progressed, Dan was not getting any better so we decamped to A&E and later to the children's' unit in Holly Ward. Throughout the whole business, Dan was a total star.

Head injuries are scary enough, but if the victim already suffers from epilepsy and diabetes, it gets really complicated. How do you manage the blood sugar of a person who cant keep any food or drink down?

By nine pm the staff decided that it was time to make a move and either send him home or keep him in. The decision would be based on the result of a CT scan, so one was promptly arranged. No-one really expected it to work because Dan was likely to freak out at first sight of the machinery. Even if he co-operated he wasn't likely to keep still. But he did, first time!

The results arrived quickly and we went home at 10 pm while Dan vomited in the car. However, once home he settled down well. We checked his blood sugar every two hours, and I will never understand how he kept his numbers up.

So, 24 hours later, all seems fine. He missed a day at Plays-cheme today but that's all. Well done Dan!