Tim - Update

Okay, so it looks like I will have time after all to keep you all informed about what is happening.

It all started on Wednesday night when I met up with Tim at the Duke of Wellington pub and then we went on to Rupert Street where we me Richard, who is Tim's ex, for Richard's birthday. A good laugh was had by all, but, as Tim had already had a couple of drinks with work colleagues by the time he joined me, and probably given the heat of the day too, he was starting to look drunk (with Tim you always see it in his eyes first). He had forgotten his key to get into his flat but had arranged for his flatmate to leave one under the bin outside.
Richard and I went on to Barcode for another drink before he headed on to Vauxhall. I stayed in Barcode for one more and then left. I wanted something to eat, but wasn't in the mood for queuing so subsequently went hungry.
As I was waiting for a bus, which was as elusive as an eatery without a queue, I got a phone call from Richard who was distraught. He said that Tim was in hospital after falling while trying to get into his flat.
Apparently Tim hadn't found the key and had climbed up 2 storey's and fallen when the guttering gave way. The neighbours had heard a thud and found him immediately luckily. He had fractured his left leg and the right side of his face and skull.
He was in a real state and so I went to a cash point and then hailed a cab to take me to King's College Hospital where Tim had been taken. The cab ride seemed to take ages.
When I got there I paid the driver and jumped out of the cab as Richard was standing outside crying. I feared the worst. Nothing had changed though since he had phoned me initially.
We waited in the hospital for a couple of hours while Tim was being assessed and scanned. We saw Tim go past on the bed back from his scan and he didn't look good, though who would in those circumstances?
Richard didn't want to go in to see Tim and I needed to make sure that someone would phone Richard should anything change, so I went in and spoke to someone. Tim's leg was already in plaster (the least of his worries), but his face was battered, with a black eye and a tube appeared to be going into his skull. I also thought that his septum was split and some of his teeth smashed, but couldn't be sure with all the dried blood and bruising.
Richard and I left at around 4:30 and walked back to his flat, he lives about a 10 minute walk away. Richard was still in a state and I found myself unable to express any emotion, I don't know if I was in shock or just being strong for Richard's sake.
As Richard was in no condition to do it, I phoned Tim's brother, James, and advised him of what had happened. I had a short nap, probably about 40 minutes, and then waited around until I could phone Tim's work to advise them. I spoke to Will Cohen, who I remember Tim had mentioned frequently and he said to keep him informed as they all cared about Tim. He seemed genuinely shocked too.
I then waited around for Richard to emerge from his room, I think he managed to get some sleep, and get ready so we could go back to the hospital. We did this at about 11:30. Tim looked better, but Richard was shocked again when he saw the right side of Tim's face, which bore all the marks. One of Tim's work colleagues arrived just as we did too, which was really touching. He looked like he was holding back tears as he left.
We hung around again until just before 13:00, there wasn't much we could do. As we popped in to see him just before we were leaving they advised us that they were prepping him to go into surgery to remove the blood clot on his brain and were told that the operation could take a few hours.
I decided at this point that Richard was "together" enough to be alone, and he said that he could get another friend of his, Mark, around. I needed to get home and changed as I had been in the same clothes, unwashed for 24 hours almost on one of the hottest days of the year.

At home I had a shower, packed a bag of stuff I might need when I went back to the hospital (most of which I didn't in the end), and managed to have a sleep for about an hour. I also phoned my sister to get an honest idea of what to expect. Lynn is a nurse, and has been since leaving college (so 20 years roughly), and she doesn't hold back. I knew that she would tell me the truth on Tim's chances. When I told her about the clot she said that that was bad and asked if I was preparing for the worst, which I guess I have been anyway. This just confirmed what I thought.
I also sent a message, via Facebook, to Niall to ask him to call me as I didn't know if anyone would have told him yet. It is a very awkward situation, of Tim's making, as he hadn't told Richard that he was seeing Niall, to protect Richard's feelings (unnecessarily if you ask me). I don't have Niall's phone number and he hadn't accepted my "friends invitation" on Facebook. I didn't want to tell him via a message what had happened, I wanted to tell him in person, but as yet he still hasn't phoned.

I hadn't meant to sleep so long as, now that I was making my way back to King's College Hospital, it was rush hour and most of the tube journey was hellish with the heat and the idiots who never wait for the next train even when they see a carriage is packed. At one point the driver tried to close the doors three times and couldn't as more and more people were holding the doors trying to cram themselves in. In the end he gave up and we sat there fuming for 15 minutes.

When I eventually got to the hospital Tim's dad, Terry, was there, he'd travelled from Wales. So I chatted with him and cleared up a few details for him. I think this was when he finally realised that Tim was gay, as he said to me "there are aspects of Tim's life that I knew nothing about!" I think he may have been told about Richard being Tim's ex-partner by the nurses. Tim was also out of surgery by the time I got there and looked more comfortable this time (it is hard to explain, "comfortable" is the wrong word but "better" didn't seem to cover it). He had also had half of his head shaved, which I thought he would be livid about. I considered taking a picture for his Gaydar profile when he recovers. If.
The surgery had involved taking out the blood clot, which they had managed, and also a portion of his skull to relieve pressure on the brain. The "skull-flap" will only be put back if his brain recovers quickly otherwise they will put a titanium plate in its place.

Richard was outside the ward when Terry and I came out for a break. His flat mate Kieran and Tim's brother James were with him. I was shocked by how similar Tim and James are, considering they are only half-brothers. It's not that they look identical, but in terms of mannerisms, dress sense and piercings etc. Kieran and James went in to see Tim, Richard couldn't face it this time.
The neurosurgeon had advised that it can take 2 days to come out of the sedation, which they are reducing slowly to see how Tim responds. So there seemed little point in everyone hanging around the hospital indefinitely, especially this early. Everyone agreed to leave.
Terry is staying in Tower Hill, because it is an area of London he sort-of knows, so I travelled back with him. Everyone else went back to Richard's, where James is staying.

I pottered around for an hour or so before laying down on my bed last night and dozing off around 21:30. Lynn phoned back at 23:00 to see what had happened and how I was. Other than that I slept the better part of 12 hours. I needed it.
I've had no updates yet today, which as far as I'm concerned is a good thing. I'm not expecting him to rouse yet, so any news this early would probably only be bad.

I called my date off for tonight. Gareth, for that is who it was with, was very understanding and is also a friend of Tim's (in fact he introduced us). I don't know why I was so secretive about his identity in the first place, especially considering how I have mentioned that I liked him before anyway.
As for London Pride tomorrow, I don't think any of us will be bothering. I have even told Francis that I may not be going to Torquay in 2 weeks, depending on what happens. We shall see.

Thanks for "listening."