Sorry I missed your call... [PAN 2014]

... cough

Hi Hun,
cough ...Sorry I missed your call but I haven't been feeling too well lately... cough....

I have a slight temperature but I am sure it is... cough... nothing to worry about.
My finger tips look a bit... cough... odd though. I am a bit worried cough... about that. Never seen my fingers looking...like this before.

Have also noticed my vision... cough... is blurry.
I am going to take some more Panadol ...sneeze ...and lay down...cough ...for a while. Hopefully, I will sleep it off.
I will call you tomorrow...cough...
Love you...
cough...Steve xxx

That was the last message I received from him. Called everyone I could to get them to check on him to no avail. The entire area was in lock down.

I am his Wife and to this day... I don't know what happened to him.

His last placement was in Hyderabad, India.

This is going to be good.

You have my attention.

It has been over 48 hours and I have not spoken to him. I finally got through to one of his work colleagues over there and he said, that he was at work and was fine. My Husband's phone is still ringing out.

Fifteen minutes or so after that, I received a text message from his phone. I know something has happened to him and they are lying or covering it up because my Husband never texts. He always uses voice mail.

Getting interesting!

I still have not spoken to him. Haven't received another text message either. The Engineering firm he is contracted to at the moment is brushing me off as well.

He had a previous contract with another Engineering firm in Iraq in 2009...that was bad enough. I can't count the amount of nights I did not sleep whilst he was over there.

It may seem irrational...but, after 72 hours of no contact with him... I am considering booking a flight to go there.

Maybe, he is having an affair and lying to me? Maybe he isn't even sick? I can't cope with this so I am going to find out one way or the other.

Best I get on a flight and actually see for myself.

Landed in Mumbai today. The flight was excruciating.... 15 hours without a cigarette!

I am standing outside Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and I have three hours to wait for the connecting flight to Hyderabad. I have 3 hours or so to catch up on 15 hours without a smoke. Sounds terrible doesn't it? I am nervous and smoking helps...at least smoking stops me from hitting the redial on my phone!

I don't want to keep ringing my Husband's phone like an obsessive compulsive... but it has been nearly 5 days since I have heard his voice and it just keeps going to message bank anyway.

I have never been to Mumbai before, so I don't know what People behave like... but wow, People are walking around with masks. It reminds me of the SARS Virus outbreak in 2003 when People were walking around wearing masks.

I am not wearing a mask. How the hell am I supposed to manage having a cigarette?

Mumbai is filled with people struggling to get by and it is very polluted. Don't drink water unless it's bottled and NO LOCAL FRUIT. Best to by packaged and try not to give to the needy, many children are used to get money for their "masters" so don't encourage it.

Strange story, good luck.

Checked in and waiting to board the flight to Hyderabad. Should arrive at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport by 6 pm. I am jet lagged and feel like hell.. I didn't manage to get any sleep on the 15 hour flight from Australia, too anxious.

I have booked into the Novotel at Hyderabad. When I actually get there, I think it is best that I try to eat something, get some sleep and be ready for the two hour trek in the morning to the site.

It has been near 5 days already, so one more night won't make a difference.

a reply to: Thurisaz

I flagged this story earlier and now there's more! I can feel her rising panic and imagine how alone she feels in this strange land, where people are acting strangely. There's an eery suspense building - I love it!

Boarded the flight and waiting for take off and I want to scream. I booked the bus to Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu for tomorrow... in my anxiety I thought it read, departure was at 4 pm, arriving at 6.40 pm...only a two hour bus trip. I have just looked at the booking again and the arrival time is 6.40 am

That is 14 hours on a bus. That is another 14 hours of anxiety. That is another 14 hours of hell.

14 hours.

Everything is starting to feel surreal. Perhaps that is the lack of sleep? I am not sure.

Either way, People were acting weird. It was like they were in slow motion. The other thing that I considered unusual was that I was given a mask on the connecting flight to Hyderabad and I had to wear it. It was surreal looking around the plane at everyone wearing masks. They also had this silence and dread about them. I think it was at that moment my anxiety changed to fear. I have never been on a flight and been required to wear a mask.

Oh...they also were handing out sachets of hand sanitizer!
And what flight doesn't offer refreshments? There was none offered on a two hour flight!

I was relieved to finally arrive in Hyderabad and made my way to the hotel. I wanted to take my mask off as soon as I was out of the airport but when I saw everyone wearing masks in public, I decided to keep mine on.

When I checked into the hotel, I had to give them my passport. I watched them going through it. They were not checking my identity...they were checking each page to see where I had traveled to or from. Obviously my passport checked out and I was allowed to check in!

Needless to say, once in my room, I attacked the mini bar.

Must have passed out soon after that because I woke up at about 7 am this morning and the mini bar is the last thing I remember.

It is now after 9 am and ready to check out of the hotel. I have time to kill until the bus leaves so might as well look around Hyderabad until then.

Well... I lasted about an hour walking around Hyderabad. Got jumped and robbed. I am at the MediCiti Hospital.. I have concussion, a fractured cheek bone, broken nose, three cracked ribs and bruised kidneys. Peeing blood but that apparently is from the bruising to the kidneys and is normal.

I don't remember being taken to the hospital, just have flashes of visuals in between blacking in and out. Thank God I taped my passport around my waist...otherwise I would have had no identification because of the mugging.

I am off my face on pain killers at the moment and I feel like I am dreaming or hallucinating because the Nurse pushed my wheelchair into ICU so I could see my Husband.

When I was brought in, I vaguely remember repeating that I was looking for my Husband. They matched the data from my passport.

He has Viral Encephalitis. They have assured me it is not Ebola. I suppose with all the media stories about Ebola and seeing the public wearing masks...I was fearful of the pandemic. I will recover and my Husband is receiving the best of care so chances are he will recover too.

I am grateful now to those People who mugged and bashed me. It has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
I am not happy though with the Engineering Firm... they lied and said he was at work and was fine when he wasn't. Even lied and sent a text message from his phone.

It is a miracle that I should find my Husband in this big wide world of chaos. I am in pain, still peeing blood but I have never felt happier. Maybe, it is similar to having a baby? The pain is quickly forgotten when you hold your child?

Steve is lucid and he is holding my hand. He is not completely conscious but he knows I am with him.
My face doesn't look the best... I don't even want to look in the mirror yet. Might leave that for another couple of days.