‘This is Dr Blah-Blah from the hospital. Your mother’s condition has deteriorated considerably. Are you able to come to see her?’ I felt the ground lurch beneath my feet. I had been there only a couple of hours earlier. How bad could she be? ‘Are you saying that I should come and see her?’ My heart was racing. ‘I can’t say that.’ ‘All right,’ I said, swallowing hard, trying to stay calm. ‘If she was your mother, would you come?’ ‘Yes, yes, I would.’ My world collapsed.
