It is almost exactly a year to the day (364 days ago), that I was admitted to intensive care, seriously ill. Certainly a Friday night to remember.

I had been proper poorly for ages, having been off work for 5 weeks. I lost count of the amount of times that I met clinicians and consultants in orthopaedic and pain clinics. It felt like I had spent more time with my GP than a close family member. Don’t even get me started on those MRI scans.

I am a big supporter of the NHS, so reflecting on this aspect of my illness upsets me to write about. However, there were many frightening signs, concerning my health, which were missed by clinicians.

I don’t think that I realised myself, just how bad things were. Maybe because every clinician I saw either dismissed my worries, or was unconcerned. Throughout the first half of 2018, I became gradually more and more sick. I put my symptoms down to fatigue and even questioned my mental health.

So unaware of just how bad things were, that I thought the decision to call an ambulance to admit me to A&E was crazy. It was only when the paramedics arrived and administered oxygen, that everyone realised this was serious. I was just happy to be led down and take a ride in a van with blue flashing lights. I remember thinking “Wow, I’m pretty sick. I’m just going to suck on this tube of beautiful gas and rest my eyes for a bit”.

The next thing I know, is it is hours later, I’m in hospital, there is talk of sending me to intensive care and the only person in the world that I really want to see is my wife.

I still didn’t fully realise just how bad things were. You would think that if a stay in intensive care wasn’t enough to scare me into reality, nothing would. That may be true. I don’t think that even one year on, I truly appreciate the severity of the situation.

I am told that the first 24 hours in hospital were crucial. To put it bluntly, it sounds like I could have died. Despite all of this, while I believe everything that I have been told, I still don’t appreciate how close I could have been to the end…

Thankfully things worked out ok. This is thanks, in no small part, to the wonderful hospital staff (proving how amazing the NHS really is), my family and most important of all, my wife. You all saved my life.

I now feel better than I have in over half a decade. Despite a spell in hospital this January, for an unrelated issue, I haven’t had any further health problems. I own a wonderful home, a gorgeous house rabbit and best of all, am married to the most beautiful, funny, kind and caring wife in the world.

Life is good right now and it just goes to show, a lot can happen in 365 – sorry, 364 – days.