Last Friday didn’t end quite as hoped. When I’d gotten to work that day, I’d fully expected to leave late, after starting on an Open Directory migration. Instead, at about 15,30 I fainted. Out cold, and getting intimate with a printer on my way down. Naturally, I’d hoped to shrug it off after fifteen or so minutes, down a cup of hot sweet tea and get back to work. 

My employer however, had other ideas. Within four minutes of my newly found affinity for the ground, I had paramedics by my side, and a fantastic little portable machine for telling them that my heart was still beating. Being wheeled out of work on a squeaky chair will forever be one of the most embarrassing moments of my working career to date, right up with addressing a young lady who turned out to in fact, be a young man. 

In the ambulance, they took an ECG, and concluded that my heart was 1) still beating, and 2) not subject to a heart attack. For this privilege, my legs and chest were shaved in odd spots, so as to get the little Skintact pads to stick and get a reading. After that, we took a trip to St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington. While there, two further ECGs were performed, and 15ml of blood drawn for miscellaneous testing via a clumsily applied cannula. Near six hours later, after being given the all clear, I stumbled back to work, picked up my things, and then dragged myself home.

Four days later, I’ve done nothing but sleep most of the day and be irritable. The visit this morning to the doctor revealed a pretty boring diagnoses. Mono, Lyme’s or “something viral”. We’ll find out Friday about the “something viral” and mono, and a little later for Lyme. Now until then will be spent at home, catching up on all the things I’ve meant to do for months, and never quite got around to. The man on AA99 still has a story to finish.