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News on Alex Adams' Progress

Alex Adams is a man whose energy and enthusiasm seem to know no bounds - in fact he puts most of our youngsters to shame in terms of his sheer vitality.

So the news that he had taken ill recently, let alone very seriously ill, was greeted with sheer amazement by most of us. But as news spread and we began to become aware of just how serious his situation was, concern grew very quickly, and news of his condition was at the front of everyone's mind.

The 'grapevine' has, as ever, done a great job of keeping everyone informed but in order to ensure that everyone has access to accurate, up-to-date information, Julie Adams has very kindly taken the time to provide us with a detailed explanation of Alex's situation (which is paraphrased below) and has agreed to keep us posted with information about his recovery.

I would like to thank Julie personally for taking the time to forward this detailed information when I'm sure she has so many other things on her mind and to thank all of Alex's family for allowing us to keep everyone informed of his progress through the site.

Alex contracted a form of meningitis and, alarmingly, the bacteria got into his blood stream to cause menigococcal septicimea. This is one of the most dangerous forms of meningitis and has resulted in severe blood poisoning which in turn has caused damage to his major organs.

(Julie pointed out that further information about the illness can be found at the www.meningitis.co.uk website by following the 'About the Dsieases' and 'Meningococcal' links...)

His condition was obviously extremely serious in these early stages and doctors were even concerned initially about his prospects for any form of recovery. To complicate matters further, he developed pneumonia whilst in intensive care.

Despite the very serious nature of the illness and the real concerns of the doctors, Alec's vitality and determination carried him through this very dangerous and worrying initial period.

Whilst he is still in intensive care, he has started to make slow and steady progress. Within the last week, he has been taken off sedation and is now managing to communicate with those around him, although it may take some time before regains his speech. He is undergoing daily dialysis to help rid his body of the toxins caused by the blood poisoning. At this point, he remains dependent on a ventilator but spends some time each day away from the ventilator to gradually build up his ability to function without it.

Thankfully, it is possible to make a full recovery from this illness and now that Alex is over the worst and is making steady progress, there is every possibility that he will do so. There can be some side-effects to the illness and, while these can be quite serious in themselves, in comparison to the terrible reality of what might have been, they pale somewhat by comparison.

I can say from my own experience that everyone related to the Club that I run into has Alex and his family firmly in their thoughts. We are hoping against hope that his recovery is both full and speedy and that he'll be back in amongst us before too long!

*** UPDATE 28th. November ***

We've just received more news from Julie regarding Alex's progress. Unfortunately, he had a tough time over the weekend just passed. He had been losing quite a lot of blood and doctors were concerned about the situation but were unsure as to what had been causing the haemorrhage. On SUnday evening, however, the blood loss suddenly became more acute and doctors decided that Alex would have to undergo surgery.

Despite the fact that he is obviously quite weak after the trauma of the illness over recent weeks, Alex stood up well to the surgery and the surgeon was pleased with the operation. It was discovered that the bleeding, which has been a persistent and worrying problem was being caused by an ulcer which had ruptured. The ulcer was removed during the operation and the hope now is that the elimination of this particular problem will really assist Alex in his recovery.

As Julie said, the hope now is that he's over this major hurdle and that the road to recovery will be straighter from now.

*** UPDATE 28th. December ***

We received some wonderful news in an email from Julie Adams regarding Alex's recent progress. He was moved out of the intensive care unit to go to a ward a little over a week ago and has been doing brilliantly by all accounts ever since. Julie says that he's now chatting to everyone and is fine spirits - bantering them and giving them a bit of stick. They are now hopeful that it won't be too long before he'll be able to see visitors and that they have every reason to hope that he will soon even be allowed home. And hopefully that will be the next news you see here on these pages!

We're all delighted to hear such good news coming out of the Adam's camp - particularly at this time of year and our best wishes are with Alex for a continuing speedy recovery!

*** UPDATE 12th. January ***

Roger was up visiting Alex during the week and got in touch with me to say that he is still showing further great signs of recovery and is really getting back to his usual self, enjoying a bit of banter and 'crack'!

In fact, he asked Roger to spread the word that he would like to see visitors now to help break up the day. (He really must be getting bored if he wants some of us cretins up to see him!).

If you are keen to drop in on him, you need to go to the 'new block' of the Royal Victoria, up to the 7th. floor, then to Ward 7a and you will find him in a room off the main ward to the left. (See below for an update to Alex's location!).

Visitors are welcome from 1.00 but Roger pointed out that Carole and the girls are up to see him every evening from about 5.00 so it's really during the early afternoon period that he appreciates seeing a few friendly faces...

*** UPDATE 22nd. January ***

Alex has now been moved from the Royal Hospital as his recovery continues. Anyone wishing to visit him should now go to the Withers Building at Musgrave Hospital where he can be found in Ward 1a.