The phone call from my husband, Tony, delivered grim news, mixed in with a glimmer of pride.
''I'm bleeding on the brain, so they're sending me down to Dunedin Hospital; we'll be on our way shortly. And ...I was one of the very first people to use the new CT scanner at Dunstan.''
The call came out of the blue. My husband of 28 years, who owns a real estate and valuation business based in Alexandra, is a fit and active 57-year-old.
He plays squash several times a week, helps coach junior players, plays touch rugby year-round, and also belongs to a weekly mountain-biking group.
I'd been in Winton visiting my parents and was due home later that day when I received his call on Friday, May 31.
Tony had been concussed at the end of March, after falling on to rock while riding with his mountain-bike group on the hills around Alexandra.
He was wearing a helmet and took the impact on the side of his face, being knocked out briefly.
Ignoring the urging of his companions to stay put and summon medical help, he dusted himself off, got back on the bike and continued with the ride, later biking home.
Several days later, he visited our doctor complaining of a slight headache, had a follow-up visit and took heed of the medical advice to take things quietly for a while.
Being a reasonably impatient sort, he picked up his squash racquet again a month or so later, resumed playing and competed in a couple of tournaments, winning the B grade section of the Cromwell Squash Club's tournament several weeks ago.
He returned to the doctor just before Queen's Birthday Weekend, after his headaches suddenly took a turn for the worse and he lost co-ordination. Our doctor arranged for him to use the CT scanner recently installed at Dunstan, which was due to become operational the following week.
As a result of the scan, he was diagnosed with subdural haematomas - blood clots between his skull and his brain - and was on his way to Dunedin for a life-saving operation.
Fast forward 10 days, and Tony is back at home, recovering well, and a grateful beneficiary of both the CT scanner at Dunstan and neurosurgical services at Dunedin Hospital.
He had surgery on Saturday, June 1, to remove the blood clots and is now sporting a hairstyle similar to that of his neurosurgeon, Ahmad Taha - less hair on top than around the sides.
''Just like mine,'' Mr Taha quipped.
We are still counting our blessings and find it hard to express how thankful we are for those two services which played a pivotal role in Tony's diagnosis and recovery.
It is humbling to think that both the CT scanner and the retention of neurosurgical services at Dunedin are the consequence of the community rallying to provide, secure and fund health services.
Tony says his downhill descent - excuse the mountain-biking pun - was rapid, so he was grateful to have the scanner, such a valuable diagnostic tool, just down the road from us at Dunstan Hospital.
''So what can you say to the Friends of Dunstan who worked tirelessly for the scanner and the campaigners who rallied to retain the neurosurgical services in Dunedin?'' he says.
''Thank you just doesn't cut it. Knowing that you will be saving lives on an ongoing basis warrants recognition and praise beyond the extraordinary.''
As a reporter, I have covered all facets of the scanner project, from the public meetings to gauge support to the debate over where it should be based, through to the community fundraising appeal for the $250,000 scanner suite fit-out, after the Central Lakes Trust stepped up and donated $1 million for the equipment.
It was a project close to the heart of the wider community and it seemed every week a different group or club was donating proceeds from a vast range of activities. In the week leading up to his diagnosis, Tony, as club treasurer, had given a donation on behalf of the Alexandra Squash Club to the cause.
Likewise, the $3 million fundraising campaign to retain neurosurgery in the South captured the imagination of folk from all over Otago and Southland and reached its target late last year.
Earlier, a public outcry over a threatened loss of the service, spearheaded by the Otago Daily Times, with support from The Southland Times, resulted in a Government-appointed panel deciding Dunedin would keep neurosurgery and sparked the campaign to secure the future viability of the service.
Of course, it is one thing to write about these campaigns with detachment, as a bystander, but quite another to have one's nearest and dearest avail themselves of the services.
From my new perspective, I have heartfelt gratitude for the magic carried out by the medical staff involved in Tony's case and an equal serving of admiration for the scores of volunteers who were instrumental in enabling him to use the scanner at Dunstan and neurosurgery services in Dunedin.
Postscript: Asked by a visitor if he planned to ''retire'' his mountain bike, Tony replied: ''Yeah, right''.
