A Blessed Release
A Blessed Release
A Knock on the door and two Police officers walk into his bedroom. 3 in the morning and he’s been aware of some fuss inside the flat and outside on the street for some time. “There’s nobody in here officers, he’s not well”. “OK son just checking”, they leave.
He hadn’t been for some time, started with a black toe, which now involved the whole foot. The infection and pain had driven Eric Shaw quite literally up the wall and he was hallucinating, imagining strange people in the flat. He had been spending most nights recently telling the imaginaries to ‘get out’ and the lad had become accustomed to the nightly ritual.
The boy lays still and wonders if this is the end of the ordeal, but it will only prove to be a temporary respite in this chapter of his little horror life story. Eric is remonstrating with the officers who are trying to calm him down. After a short time the lad decides he should get up and help the situation along. He explains the history to the policemen, by which time his Dad has calmed down probably due to a surge in pain. He rubs his shin and moans constantly, a sight the boy is well used to. The heat from the 2 bar electric fire has proven to give some respite from the pain, well anything might be perceived as relief from such torture.
It’s early spring and David was closing in on his 14th Birthday. After a long and acrimonious separation and divorce, and a long drawn out custody battle he had finally got to live with his Father the summer before. It was not ideal, the flat was dirty, dusty and moth ridden and he had developed a mortal fear of the winged random beasts. Eric worked nights to get more money at British Aerospace, with the only other person in the house being Mrs Johnson the infirmed owner who lived on the bottom floor. The flats were not separated but simply an upstairs and downstairs in a three-bedroom semi. Mrs J was on the downward spiral, she drank heavily and could barely stand. When she opened the room in which she seemed to spend all the time the waft of urine and faeces filled the house.
Eric had three children an older boy and a younger girl, each about 2 years different from David. The girl had initially come to live with Eric but had thankfully left some months before and returned to the relative safety of Mum. The older boy had a few years earlier stopped seeing his Father and was a bit of a lad about the place, his dad simply not fitting in with his life or developing image.
Eric was taken off to hospital and David returned to bed rising again a few hours later for school. In the following days he went off to school everyday, dirty and smelly clothes as usual, Dad had been ill for some weeks and they probably couldn’t get any worse. One male teacher at school knew about the ongoing situation and periodically asked how things were. Almost a week later, and having cared for himself, David was returned to his Mothers not far across town.
In hospital, the leg situation was not improving despite treatment but the mental situation was recovered. It was decided an amputation below knee was the only course of action. Eric had fought so hard for the last 8 years to gain custody and he was still at this time planning and fighting for the future. The social services had promised, or so he thought, a small place where once settled David could rejoin him. He had so many more plans for the future, which seemed at odds with his immediate plight. The amputation was a success and there seemed no ill effects, David visited every night after school and began to buy into the idea of their own little place.
He was a bright child best in the year in Mathematics, was quiet and studious despite his upbringing. He was always dirty and was quite embarrassed at the odour he more than often gave off, particularly so when he had to sit next to girls. Late in the spring/early summer Eric was released from hospital and the two were reunited in the flat on Waterloo Road. Who was to look after who?
The summer would prove very very difficult and quite a growing up experience. The finding of Mrs Johnson dead after several days, the numerous other hospitalisations and amputations, and the inevitable end to it all. The yellow-fingered 40 Park Drive a day man had screwed his vascular system beyond the current level of help afforded.
One morning that September David came down the stairs of his Mothers house to find her on the phone and in tears. Just over 1 year after David had got what he and his father had fought for for so long, his Dad had mercifully died. It perplexed him why his mother was so upset and why he wasn’t, he never tried to resolve in his mind the first but his own of course was blessed release for both.
TBC …..
A Knock on the door and two Police officers walk into his bedroom. 3 in the morning and he’s been aware of some fuss inside the flat and outside on the street for some time. “There’s nobody in here officers, he’s not well”. “OK son just checking”, they leave.
He hadn’t been for some time, started with a black toe, which now involved the whole foot. The infection and pain had driven Eric Shaw quite literally up the wall and he was hallucinating, imagining strange people in the flat. He had been spending most nights recently telling the imaginaries to ‘get out’ and the lad had become accustomed to the nightly ritual.
The boy lays still and wonders if this is the end of the ordeal, but it will only prove to be a temporary respite in this chapter of his little horror life story. Eric is remonstrating with the officers who are trying to calm him down. After a short time the lad decides he should get up and help the situation along. He explains the history to the policemen, by which time his Dad has calmed down probably due to a surge in pain. He rubs his shin and moans constantly, a sight the boy is well used to. The heat from the 2 bar electric fire has proven to give some respite from the pain, well anything might be perceived as relief from such torture.
It’s early spring and David was closing in on his 14th Birthday. After a long and acrimonious separation and divorce, and a long drawn out custody battle he had finally got to live with his Father the summer before. It was not ideal, the flat was dirty, dusty and moth ridden and he had developed a mortal fear of the winged random beasts. Eric worked nights to get more money at British Aerospace, with the only other person in the house being Mrs Johnson the infirmed owner who lived on the bottom floor. The flats were not separated but simply an upstairs and downstairs in a three-bedroom semi. Mrs J was on the downward spiral, she drank heavily and could barely stand. When she opened the room in which she seemed to spend all the time the waft of urine and faeces filled the house.
Eric had three children an older boy and a younger girl, each about 2 years different from David. The girl had initially come to live with Eric but had thankfully left some months before and returned to the relative safety of Mum. The older boy had a few years earlier stopped seeing his Father and was a bit of a lad about the place, his dad simply not fitting in with his life or developing image.
Eric was taken off to hospital and David returned to bed rising again a few hours later for school. In the following days he went off to school everyday, dirty and smelly clothes as usual, Dad had been ill for some weeks and they probably couldn’t get any worse. One male teacher at school knew about the ongoing situation and periodically asked how things were. Almost a week later, and having cared for himself, David was returned to his Mothers not far across town.
In hospital, the leg situation was not improving despite treatment but the mental situation was recovered. It was decided an amputation below knee was the only course of action. Eric had fought so hard for the last 8 years to gain custody and he was still at this time planning and fighting for the future. The social services had promised, or so he thought, a small place where once settled David could rejoin him. He had so many more plans for the future, which seemed at odds with his immediate plight. The amputation was a success and there seemed no ill effects, David visited every night after school and began to buy into the idea of their own little place.
He was a bright child best in the year in Mathematics, was quiet and studious despite his upbringing. He was always dirty and was quite embarrassed at the odour he more than often gave off, particularly so when he had to sit next to girls. Late in the spring/early summer Eric was released from hospital and the two were reunited in the flat on Waterloo Road. Who was to look after who?
The summer would prove very very difficult and quite a growing up experience. The finding of Mrs Johnson dead after several days, the numerous other hospitalisations and amputations, and the inevitable end to it all. The yellow-fingered 40 Park Drive a day man had screwed his vascular system beyond the current level of help afforded.
One morning that September David came down the stairs of his Mothers house to find her on the phone and in tears. Just over 1 year after David had got what he and his father had fought for for so long, his Dad had mercifully died. It perplexed him why his mother was so upset and why he wasn’t, he never tried to resolve in his mind the first but his own of course was blessed release for both.
TBC …..
posted by Camp David at 1:08 PM
0 comments
