17 May 2011, At The Beginning of My Longest Day.

On 17 May 2011, at about 1.00 AM, the phone rang.

I was not really asleep,  and when I picked up the phone, the duty doctor for the ward told me Arthur's condition had deteriorated, and he was not expected to survive.  I was shocked and asked what was happening. He explained that Arthur's condition had got worse and he needed to tell me about the change. The doctor was concerned about me driving the car, and said I did not have to rush, I could come in the morning as he thought Arthur could survive for a few days, but he didn't know how long it would be. I said I was okay to drive and would be there soon.

The words rang in my mind, 'We do not believe your husband will not survive this hospital stay'.

I put Chelsea, our little female dog, in the car and drove to the hospital. The roads were empty and everything was still. I took the laptop with music loaded into it, and a few other things. Arthur's first wife's little Bible was one of them, along with some blessed water Arthur and I collected about 20 years ago at an Anglican Church in the South East (South Australia) that was supposed have a vision of Christ on the wall, and the Buddha given to him by the last friend he made while in respite at the Care Home in Semaphore.

I parked the car, and left Chelsea to sleep on the seat. It was dark and cold and so quiet.

I was frightened.