Last week The Boy, who returned to Austria for his summer (did I mention that?) climbed with two friends Austria's highest mountain. Given that there are a fair few mountains in Austria, I assume this is quite an achievement. I am of course the very proud and delighted father. That's the father who is even more pleased that he made it down in one piece as well. As with all things The Boy gets involved in, he does nothing by half measure, so he's taken to his new hobby of mountaineering with an absolute passion, bordering on an obsession...it's a fine balance. Anyway, I'm pleased that he gets excited and interested in the things he does...he will get more out of them and indeed more out of life.
The next morning he and his two climbing companions were just about to sit down for breakfast when one of them said that his head felt a bit strange. The next thing anyone knew, he came crashing to the ground, smashing his head on the table and having a fit, thrashing around the kitchen floor. The Boy and his friend protected him from any further hard surfaces, and called the emergency services. An ambulance arrived, and the lad was taken to the air ambulance where he was whisked off to hospital. Within two or three days, he was largely recovered...probably an epileptic fit.
So a number of thoughts.
We're all relieved he is OK
The lad wanted to be a mountain guide..I don't know, but the chances of that must be severely diminished
How quickly your life can change..fit as a fiddle one moment...and then...
By all accounts The Boy snapped into 'leadership mode' and did everything he should...how much he and indeed I value all that training his done
It must have been horrific for The Boy...this is one of those things that he'll never forget and I'm sure that mentally it aged him
How fortune it didn't happen up the mountain...the outcome could have been quite different
...and a million more
