Temporary Close Down

Over a week ago a reader, John Medd, commented that there have been too many Jesus And Mary Chain references here recently. Bagging Area is happy to take constructive criticism but time is up on the JAMC ban. In 1991 punk trumpeter Terry Edwards released a cracking e.p. called Terry Edwards Plays The Music Of Jim And William Reid, four trumpet led covers of Mary Chain songs. I posted Never Understand not long after this blog started. This track is Terry's version of The Hardest Walk, where he finds more melody in Jim Reid's vocal lines than anyone knew existed.

Long term readers will know that Mrs Swiss and I are the parents of a disabled child. He has a rare genetic disease, Hurler's Syndrome, one of the MPS set of diseases, which has left him needing two bone marrow transplants before the age of two to keep him alive, various skeletal problems (and major surgery on his back and knees), severe learning difficulties and loads more besides. I.T., twelve now, is having his umpteenth operation on Monday to have a cochlear implant fitted. Born partially deaf in both ears any hearing he had in his left ear was destroyed by meningitis in 2008. The cochlear implant sends digital signals to the brain, a new type of hearing. If the op doesn't work, he's not lost anything really and if it does we may go ahead and do the same in his right ear where he still has some hearing, but copes with severe loss using hearing aids and lip reading. A cochlear implant has to destroy any natural hearing that's left so we can't take the risk of him losing everything by doing the right and the left ears in one go and it not working. They won't switch the implant on for a few weeks, so it's going to be a while before we know whether it's worked or not, and then repeated trips to get the implant sorted and working properly. He'll probably deal with it all fine- he usually bounces back pretty quickly after operations, and while getting used to the implant and a new way of hearing may take some time he'll get to grips with it. It certainly won't stop him talking. It's the rest of us who get battered by these experiences, operations, hospital stays, new proceedures and equipment to get to grips with. Brain surgery obviously carries some risks also.

The Hardest Walk? It might not be the absolute hardest, but the walk from ward to operating theatre with a child who doesn't want to go and is increasingly anxious, hates being anaesthetised and can't fully understand what's happening is far from the easiest walk, and neither is the walk out of the theatre afterwards leaving the anaesthetised boy behind who was kicking and screaming seconds earlier. No matter how many times I've done it, and it's over thirty now, it gets no easier.

So, there won't be much going on round here for a short while. Enjoy Terry Edwards, and see you in a few days.

01 The Hardest Walk.wma