Bec – 20 July 2011

They say that when you are traveling you should throw yourself into a country and experience all that your destination has to offer.

Well…I for one have hopefully had my first and last taste of the National Health Service here in London, due to an englishmen literally throwing himself into my face.

Let me return to the start of a very nice summer day here in Fulham. The temperature was a acceptable 18 degrees and the children and I set out for a ride on the double-decker bus whilst Jamie caught up for lunch with an old friend.

Foster and Mylo had set their sights on Hyde Park, and in particular the Princess Diana Memorial Walk.

The bus pulled up at Hyde Park Corner and we happily exited our ride, ready to enter at the front gates of the park. As I walked along the footpath a man out on his lunch time run, heading in the opposite direction, king hit me in the nose and mouth with his arm or shoulder and failed to stop.

I’m not sure just how he couldn’t have noticed what he had done, seeing at least half a dozen others had.

Two lovely englishmen came to my aid before I crumbled but I thought after a few minutes of rest I would be able to continue.

Maybe in hindsight I wasn’t thinking that clearly!!

After making it through the main gates of Hyde Park, I realized i wasn’t okay and knew I had broken my nose, so I approached a “bobby” and the next thing I remember, the kids and I were sitting in a police car in Hyde Park whilst I was treated by an ambulance officer.

Poor Jamie, after just sitting down to lunch, he receives a call from PC (can’t remember his name) from the Hyde Park Branch. Sir, we have your wife and children with us…your wife has been knocked over by a runner and is being treated for a broken nose!!!

A twenty minute trip to the University College Hospital in Euston found me in a emergency waiting area where I was told that I would have to wait at least 5 hours, even though I was a “priority”!!! I’d hate to know how long a ‘non priority’ case has to wait!!!

The thought of 5 hours in this overcrowded room led me to a decision to abandon the prescribed course of action and we simply left the hospital from hell in a London black cab bound for Fulham!

I’m now at home, on the couch, nursing a fat nose, bruised eyes and swollen face.

I’ve learned two things from this experience. The first being that we do NOT have a bad hospital system in Australia…I will never again complain about a 20 minute wait at my local emergency department. The second and probably most crucial thing…. is something that I have always believed, and was reinforced to me today…. “exercise is dangerous”.