Fletchers on the Farm by Kelvin Fletcher & Liz Fletcher

Author:Kelvin Fletcher & Liz Fletcher [Fletcher, Kelvin & Fletcher, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2022-09-13T18:16:42+00:00

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I got to Crowther’s bedside as soon as I could. I couldn’t believe he was in hospital. The heart attack had come out of the blue, as far as all his friends were concerned. Crowther was one of the fittest people I knew. He was always in the gym. It was terrible to see him in that hospital bed looking so ill.

‘Mate, what have you done to yourself?’ I asked him.

The cardiologist fitted Crowther with a stent to keep blood flowing to his heart and sent him home a few days later with strict instructions to improve his lifestyle. That included minimising the stress in his life. To my mind, there’s no doubt that the stress of the court case to get custody of his son contributed to what happened.

We were all behind Crowther, ready to help him do whatever it took to get back on his feet again. ‘You’ve got to rest up,’ I told him. ‘This is your wake-up call. You’ve got to take better care of yourself so you can be here for your son.’

Crowther assured me that he wasn’t going to mess around. He knew he’d been lucky. The minute he was back at home, he set about doing everything the doctors suggested. He changed his diet and lost weight. He was back at the gym. He was going to make the most of his second chance.

In January, Crowther joined me and a few friends to celebrate my birthday at a restaurant in Oldham. It was a low-key night – not like the ones we’d had back in the day before Crowther got ill – but it was still great. Crowther was on good form. He looked amazing. He told me he felt lucky to be alive.

I remember him laughing about his weekly NHS physio sessions at the hospital, where he joined five other heart patients for a workout. At thirty-nine, Crowther was the youngest person there by forty years!

‘They’re all stronger than me, mate,’ he joked.

Still, he told me he was going to stick at it. He would do whatever it took to make sure he was around for his boy. No one was prouder of Crowther than I was that night.

Back at our respective homes after the meal, Crowther and I sent a few texts about how much fun we’d had, and how much we were looking forward to next time. He didn’t respond to my last message. I guessed he must have fallen asleep.

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