Stumbling through the dark

#TalktousNiall

Niall blinked at the ceiling, feeling very disorientated. He turned his head to one side and found himself looking at a paramedic who was bent over him, checking his vitals. Niall had been moved to the privacy of the Airport First Aid room where he was able to be cared for out of public view.

"Good, you're back with us" the man said, smiling reassuringly at Niall. "How are you feeling?"

"Absolutely vile" Niall admitted, closing his eyes against the headache that was increasing in intensity. "I'm not sure exactly what happened" he admitted.

"From what we can make out, you had some type of panic attack. I'd like to take you to the hospital to be checked over"

"No, no. Please, I don't need to go. " Niall was quick to refuse the offered hospital visit. He just wanted to get home, dump his bags and sleep. He was due to see Paul Taylor the next day, anyway. As the Paramedic moved away,  Niall sat up and grabbed his phone to send out a text to his bodyguard, Basil, who  had been waiting in a secluded part of the airport car park waiting for Niall to join him so he could transport him home. 

"Sir, I really think...." the paramedic tried again. His patient looked terrible and he was concerned for his wellbeing.

""Look, I'm fine. I'm seeing my own doctor tomorrow anyway. I'm claustrophobic, that's all. The crowd around me just made me panic. Really, I'm fine" Niall tried to sound confident but the paramedic didn't look convinced. Niall was adamant and the paramedic reluctantly accepted that Niall was not going to allow himself to be sent to the nearest hospital for assessment. He gathered up all his equipment and, after wishing Niall all the best, left the room. Moments later, Basil arrived looking worried. He shook his head as he took in Niall's pale face and fragile looking body. When was that boy ever going to talk proper care of himself ? 

Airport staff carefully guided Niall and Basil through staff areas to allow them to leave the airport in complete privacy. Niall was especially glad to be able to avoid any further attention. He was very upset that he hadn't managed to remain under the radar. No doubt the media would be full of todays incident. D*amn! He was so annoyed that he'd beencaught but now the cat was out of the bag. Did he tweet something or try to disappear again?  He didn't know what was best.

Once they reached  his London home, Niall showered then dressed in pajama pants and a large Tshirt. Grabbing himself a bottle of water he collapsed on the couch , next to Basil , who was watching a  celebrity gossip show..He settled back to watch with him..

"This is Melanie Meirs for "Spotlight on the Stars". It appears that OneD hottie, Niall Horan , has finally been spotted.  Niall was seen at Gatwick Airport earlier today. The star apparently suddenly collapsed on his arrival at Gatwick  and the  paramedics were called.They very quickly whisked him away for treatment but there has been no further news of his condition.  Photographs  taken at the time, show Niall looking very thin and frail. This is the first sighting of Niall for some time and speculation has been rife that he has been seriously ill. Fans will remember that Niall was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the end of last year. It is possible that Niall has had a relapse of his illness and his physical appearance seems to support this theory. Social media has gone into meltdown over this latest sighting and #talktousNiall is trending.

Fans will be most anxious to know the truth and 'Spotlight on the Stars' has approached representatives for Niall Horan but  so far they have made no comment. We'll keep you updated as soon as we have news."

Niall switched the TV off .It was still very early but he was exhausted, his stomach hurt and his head was pounding. He felt so vile he told Basil he had  decided to head to the hospital straight away, instead of waiting until tomorrow. Basil took one look at his face and went straight upstairs to collect Niall's bag then escorted the young man to the van.Niall's face was grey with exhaustion and he kept flinching in pain . Basil was glad Niall had suggested he get himself admitted earlier. Something definitely wasn't right and the sooner Niall was under medical care, the happier Basil would be.

Niall was very quickly assessed on arrival at the private hospital where he had so recently been a patient. In less than an hour he had been thoroughly examined then tucked up in bed. He now lay sleepily staring up at the white ceiling as an iV slowly dripped fluids into him and other machines beeped and clicked around him.Medication had reduced his pain levels to a more bearable level and he  was able to doze off,  only waking from time to time as the nurses did their checks. Basil sat in a corner, out of the way, keeping an eye on his charge. Hopefully they had managed to arrive unobserved and nobody at the hospital would pass on any information so Niall could be treated in peace.

Niall had the most sleep he had had for days and woke up feeling slightly less tense. It was only just past 8am when Paul Taylor appeared, accompanied by another doctor. Niall was again examined and it was decided that ,as his stomach was causing him pain. he would have to endure another endoscopy. Niall was immediately prepared and taken down to the Endoscopy Unit where he underwent the all too familiar examination. Niall didn't even remember having it done this time , he was so out of it, and woke up back in his room, asking the nurse when he was having it done. He was surprised when he was told it was all over and done with and that he'd be told the results fairly soon. He was soon back asleep again.

"Mr Horan, Niall" A hand gently shook Niall awake. He rubbed his bleary eyes and tried to focus on who was talking to him. It was the same doctor he'd seen earlier that morning. "How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.

"Sore throat" Niall rasped out "an' my stomach hurts" The doctor passed Niall a sippy cup of cool water and let him have a tiny drink before taking it away.

"Well you'll be happy to know that we know what the problem is, Niall. And you'll be even happier to know that it isn't an issue with the stem cell transplant. You have a very nasty case of Gastritis."

"Gastritis?" Niall queried

"Yes. Your stomach lining is infected.This is due to the very heavy, prolonged vomiting you experienced in the past and also very recently with the Chemotheraphy treatment. Your stomach lining is very badly inflamed . It's why you haven't felt hungry, you've been nauseous, in pain and all the other symptoms you've been experiencing. Now we know the exact cause, we'll treat it"

"How?" was Niall's first question.

"Antibiotics and diet. I'm afraid we are going to keep  you  as an inpatient until we have it controlled and also until your weight has reached an acceptable level. You aren't the best at looking after yourself so we'll do it for you.  However, after today, you are free to get out of bed and move around within reason. You'll be on a strict diet with six or seven very small meals a day at regular intervals. Fluid intake will also be controlled and the nurses will be making sure your medication is taken properly.You'll also have some proper rest during the day.

Now, unless you've any questions?" the doctor raised an eyebrow as he looked at a somewhat crestfallen Niall. The young man shook his head. "Then I'll let you get back to your nap" He shook hands with his young patient and went out, whistling cheerfully. Niall, however, was less than cheerful. He was glad it wasn't as bad as it could have been but he was heartily sick of this place.

"Maybe" said Basil, from his seat in the corner "you'll actually start looking after yourself now. Oh, by the way, here's your phone. You've had non stop texts coming in" He handed the phone to Niall who opened the first text, a genuine smile starting to light up his face. Caoimhe!