Two Traumas And A Fantastic Night.

The 27th of April 2023 was supposed to be a journey to look forward to.

We were making the journey to Leeds, and looking forward to seeing Olly Murs in concert on the night of the 28th of April 2023.

We had been excited about this journey for a long time. I am a huge fan of Olly Murs, and the last time I saw him live was in 2019 when he performed at the Bournemouth International Centre

At that time, Olly was on tour with his hits from the You Know I Know album.

It was an amazing night, and for the first time ever, I battled my trauma which induces a fear of crowds just to see him.

I really enjoyed that night, though my husband couldn't come with me due to him working and us not being able to find disability access for him as it was all booked up.

My husband was undoubtedly excited to be seeing him on his Marry Me tour in Leeds on the 28th of April 2023. (See the link to Ollys Website by clicking his name at the top of this page for details)

My husband has disabilities brought on by pain left from a car crash a few years ago, and an operation to remove a tumour during childhood. These disabilities were exacerbated after he battled Covid-19 a few years ago. He has many different disabilities which bring on severe pain, walking disabilities, nightmares, breathing problems, and a weakened immune system.

He was able to drive safely to Leeds as his car has been adapted for disabilities.

We sought medical advice before going to Leeds and we were told my husband would be okay if he used Lidar

He was safe and he managed to get to the hotel where we were staying safely, where he took a long break.

He took the car out before the concert because he wanted to know how to get to Leeds First Direct Arena

He was fine until we took a sharp turn and he panicked because the council had been working to change the routes. However, whilst they were doing this, they were also leaving the new markings on the roads with the old markings and not even putting up road signs to direct drivers.

This left my husband in a state of panic, causing more pain to the point where his neck had locked and he was unable to turn the car. Afterwards, he blacked out and backed into a fence.

My husband is a safe driver, and due to my own car trauma; he is the only one I'd trust with me in a car.

I personally feel that the doctor should have done a face-to-face assessment and that when councils do roadwork which means changing routes, they should signpost that change clearly. It is dangerous to any driver, not just disabled drivers to be driving on roads that are not clearly marked.

We had to leave the car in a private car park afterwards, while my husband sorted himself out as he was not in any fit state to drive after that, so I'd like to say a huge thank you to The Merrion Centre Car park for being supportive of our situation.

Good news! We did get to Olly's concert safely by taxi.

The concert was a massive highlight for me and my husband. The entire show was mind-blowing, and even my husband was left lost for words at the end. Olly was extremely entertaining, and everyone there could see that he was love-struck!

It was the best concert we had ever seen, and what a way to celebrate an upcoming marriage to your girlfriend!

The arena was packed, but the staff were very accommodating and friendly. They even switched our seats to more accessible seats in light of my husband's disabilities, and we got an amazing view of the stage!

We came out beaming!

Until the day after when we came home.

When we stepped inside our house, I suddenly felt dizzy then I had fish n chips from a takeaway for tea as I thought it could be hunger or my severe weather allergy playing up.

I took a warm bath because I usually feel better afterwards; but afterwards, I vomited violently, and put it down to food poisoning.

Not long after my bath, I became drowsy and fell asleep. I couldn't keep food or drink down me, and I started shaking violently.

My husband called an ambulance as he was worried. I am glad he did because the ambulance took my temperature and at that point, it had reached 105. I was also severely dehydrated.

They thought I had caught Covid.

The ambulance helped me by encouraging me to drink; they wanted me to go to the hospital but I was worried about spreading the virus, so they stayed with me while my temperature came down, and I promised them that if things worsened then I would go.

However, my temperature has stayed down. three days later, I feel a little dizzy but apart from that I have no further problems.

I am unsure as to whether I had Covid or food poisoning from the takeaway because I recovered fast. The dizziness might just be my all-year-round weather allergy, as I have been energetic today with no other problems, though I have a mild cough still.

However, my husband is ill with Covid again, though not as bad as he had it last time; he is sleeping quite a bit, has a hacking cough, a temperature that comes and goes, and quite a bit of pain from his ordeal.

Sometimes, certain things can be hit and miss with physical disabilities. My husband's disabilities are unpredictable, however; he has always been a safe driver who hardly ever has an accident. I think the problem was the unexpected road changes.

Councils need to think safety when road-planning. There are plenty of disabled drivers on the road as well as my husband, and road changes affect them too.

However we had a great time at the show, and Olly gave us something positive to take home besides the traumas.

There are lots of judgemental people out there, but my husband has saved countless lives in his time as a nurse.

Always try to see the good when things go wrong.

Before you judge, open the book first.