By Joe Colquhoun

Just a casual Friday night.

So here we are, Jemma, Julie (Mum) Peter (Stepdad) and myself sat in a blindingly bright hospital room filled with the sticky smell of illness and growing impatience. I’ve always hated hospitals, but I guess that’s no surprise, who likes them? Hospitals are never good news, unless you’re having a child, luckily I’ve not yet had that pleasure.

I shouldn’t complain though, I’m not the one lying in bed desperately waiting for more pain medication, or the man sat alone behind the curtain quietly moaning to himself. Peter also bought me a cheese and tomato panini from Costa, frankly things are looking up.

A kid who must’ve been around 18 called Jordan was sat hunched over, handcuffed in the waiting room. He was dressed in a two piece black Adidas tracksuit and had a slit in his left eyebrow. I was standing in front of the automatic doors preventing them from fully closing. I’m pretty sure Jordan could have made a break for it but he didn’t look in the mood, neither did the three officers surrounding him. Such a shame, we made eye contact, he seemed nice enough, I was rooting for him.

I guess I should give a little background as to how we all ended up here, I should also shout out everyone who came to the rescue and put their busy Friday evenings on hold for Jemma. I know she’d like to say thank you to everyone involved and so do I.

“Hey Joe, have you seen Zoe anywhere, Jemma’s dislocated her knee in the girls bathroom” – Alex B.

First hero of the evening, I’d never heard such a calm and collected tone. For a moment I genuinely thought it was a joke. Thank god though, her ability to avoid freaking me the fuck out meant I could actually be useful, who knows how long Jem would have lead there before help had arrived. Thank you Alex 🙂

Two minutes later Zoe and I were in the bathroom awkwardly jammed up against the soaking wet floor trying to calm Jemma down, wiping away blood and tears, using our coats to prop her head up. Alex T who apparently trains Mo Farah in his spare time returned three minutes later red in the face carrying a bag full of codeine and pain killers. I’m still not sure how he managed it but damn does my man move fast.

Maddy arrived shortly after, her seemingly random conversation and awkward bedside manners lightened everyone’s mood immediately, including Jemma, who for the first time managed to crack a smile. The infamous Marc also stayed for what seemed like an eternity. When everyone had fallen silent in the bathroom, Marc was the one who told us stories of bad men and bank robberies. For a second we were somewhere else and for that we’re all grateful, especially Jem.

Before I finish this slightly janky, nonsensical scab I want to say thank you to the emergency services. Neil (Nigel) Imogen and Stella were incredible. It truly amazes me how compassionate and patient these guys were. They were constantly listening and genuinely seemed to care for Jemma despite knowing her for all of 30 seconds. Their kindness, humour and copious amounts of laughing gas were invaluable. Thank you so much to them and their tireless effort to help people in need every single day.

P.S – Jemma’s knee has just popped back in we think. She’s gone for an X-ray anyway to make sure but I think our trooper is gonna be just fine. Have a good weekend everyone and know that when shit hits that fan at SCA, you’ll have a team behind you ready to do anything to help out.