Paul update - Day 49

Day 49 - Wednesday 31 December

So, we made it to the last day of 2008, a year we won't be sorry to see the back of!

Paul was due to have occupational therapy this morning so we went to Tescos on the way in and arrived around the time his session should have been ending, only to find that the OT lady was off sick so he could have come home earlier! Nonetheless, we picked him up and came home via Eilidh's as he wanted to see Henry (the dog!). We gave Anna a call as well as he wanted to see the puppies but unfortunately nobody was in, so perhaps we can do that over the weekend.

We also popped in to see our GP as he was keen to see Paul; he very kindly came to the ARI to see Paul a couple of days after the accident so he was very pleased to see how far he has come on since then, and he had a long chat with Paul.

Paul is having a nap at the moment in preparation for tonight, so we hope to see some of you later. For those we don't see, best wishes for a happy 2009.

Paul update - Day 48

Day 48 - Tuesday 30 December

Paul only had physio today and had a joint session with Kevin. One of the exercises he did is designed to strengthen his back and stomach muscles and involves a large ball (he described it as being like a space hopper without the horns the other day); apparently he lay on his back on the ball and uses his legs to roll it forwards and backwards – sounds complicated to me! They also used parallel bars to improve balance and strength. He is also now allowed to walk further without support and now only needs somebody nearby just in case!

Andrew visited early afternoon and Laura flew in from Florida today, so Holly picked her up from the Airport and brought her straight to Maidencraig. It is about 4 weeks since Laura last saw Paul – he had just regained consciousness last time she saw him – so she was very pleased to see his progress for herself. Stuart also visited so Pat and I left them to it for a while until supper time when Stuart had to leave, after which we played a few games of Uno and watched television.

Paul only has OT planned for the morning – (he still hasn’t done his homework!)- so we can pick him up around 1100 to bring him home. He wants to go and see Anna’s puppies and Eilidh’s dog Henry, so we will probably do that on the way home if we can and then Paul can have a rest before we go to Katharine’s to see in the New Year. He doesn’t have to be back at Maidencraig until Sunday again, so if any of you want to visit we would love to see you, but as mentioned yesterday please give us a buzz first to make sure we are in.

In case I don’t manage to post tomorrow, best wishes to you all for a Happy 2009 and thanks again for all you help and support.

Paul update - Day 47

Day 47 - Monday 29 December

Unfortunately, life has temporarily reverted back to what has been “normal” for the past few weeks. Just the two of us at home in the morning (although Mark is at home at the moment, but he is working at the garage so leaves early), get up, something to eat and then off to Maidencraig.

Paul had physio this morning and he walked all the way to the gym in the main hospital with no support which is a fair distance. During physio he did more exercises on a thing which he says is a bit like a space hopper (for those old enough to remember!) to improve his balance and also more exercises on the steps designed to strengthen his hip. It won’t be long before he doesn’t need the wheelchair so this is another major step forward.

Pat also noted that Paul wasn’t squinting nearly as much as he did before so we asked him about his double vision and he said it had improved a lot; he first noticed the improvement this morning when he played the X-Box and thought how much better he could see what he was doing.

He still hasn’t done his homework though (hmmm, that rings a vague bell for some reason...); he was given some writing exercises to do over Christmas but didn’t get round to doing them so we keep nagging him to do it (hmmm, that rings a vague bell for some reason...) so it seems as though some things haven’t changed!! He says he will do them over the New Year... Stuart – do you want to win your fiver back, I feel a wager coming on!?

When we were in the WRVS having the now traditional cup of tea some near neighbours of ours (The Gillans) came in and said hello to Paul, apparently Mrs Gillans’ Dad is in Woodend and they were visiting him.

Paul has been moaning about us fussing over him, especially when we make sure that he doesn’t walk anywhere without one of us going with him but today he got a stark reminder of why we do it. A chap got up from a nearby table in the WRVS this afternoon and we are not sure what happened but we think he slipped and went down like a sack of spuds, banging his head on the floor quite hard. Luckily there were doctors present who were with him in seconds but after that Paul said it made him realise what could happen – whether it stops him moaning or not though only time will tell!!

It was confirmed today that he can come home for New Year and as far as we know we will be picking him up Wednesday and dropping him back Sunday, so please don’t come to visit him at Maidencraig as he won’t be there! You are welcome to visit at home though, but just give us a quick buzz to make sure we are in – we aren’t planning to go far but we may pop into the village. So we hope to see some of you over the next few days.

Paul update - Day 46

Day 46 - Sunday 28 December

That probably has to be the shortest 4 days I can remember - it only seems like yesterday that we were picking Paul up from Maidencraig to bring him home for Christmas and yet already we have taken him back. All being well though, he should be back on Wednesday for New Year.

We didn't do a great deal today; Paul got up fairly late and after having something to eat he had a few visitors - Holly, Eilidh, Gavin and Stuart - which took his mind off the fact that he had to go back!

The last 4 days have been brilliant - Paul said himself that he doesn't feel any different to how he felt before his accident which in a way I suppose is good for him, but sometimes makes it quite difficult for us because he doesn't really realise what has happened to him and the limitations he currently has, he just thinks he can do whatever he did before.

He is still improving every day though, so with the physio and occupational therapy planned over the next few weeks his abilities should improve and he should be able to do more and more. Fingers crossed......

Paul update - Day 45

Day 45 – Saturday 27 December

As suspected, a lazy day. The “hamster” was very tired last night so he slept in until about 1030 this morning and has spent most of the day catching up on some of the things recorded on Sky+ and some of the DVDs he got for Christmas. We are watching Russell Howard as I write! Oh, and he had quite a lot to eat.........!!

Al has got it absolutely right - in some ways 12 November seems like only yesterday (probably because of the vivid memories) but in other ways it seems like a lifetime ago. The progress that Paul has made has been truly outstanding and we are absolutely convinced that this has been helped enormously by the way you have all supported him – we are truly lucky to have such good friends and to live in such a friendly community. Had we still been “darn sarf”, even though we had some very close friends, I don’t think we would have had anything like the support we have had here. So many thanks once again!

Unfortunately Paul has to go back to Maidencraig tomorrow which none of us are looking forward to, but all being well he will be home again Wednesday for New Year. Despite the tremendous progress, there are still many things that Paul struggles to do and at times we get a stark reminder of the extent of his injury, but as 2008 draws to a close we are looking forward to his continued progress into 2009...

Paul update - Day 44 - Boxing Day

Not a great deal to report today except to say many thanks to everyone who popped round, Paul thoroughly enjoyed seeing everyone and says thanks to everyone for all the cards and presents.

We don't plan to do much later this evening or tomorrow - just veg out in front of the tele probably so once again thanks to all and hope to see you soon. Paul has to be back at Maidencraig Sunday evening but we are hopeful that he can come home again for New Year - with any luck Wednesday to Sunday again. Love from the Jeffery's. xx

Paul update - Day 43 - Christmas Day

Don't really need words today - since 12 November this was the only Christmas present we all wanted! Merry Christmas everybody from Martyn, Pat, Mark and Paul. xx

Paul update - Day 42

Day 42 – Wednesday 24 December – Christmas Eve!

Not a great deal to report today except that they were unable to swap Paul’s physio today, so we didn’t pick him up until after 1430.  He still wanted to see the car, so we called in on the way and didn’t get home until around 1700.

Paul is pleased to be home and had a couple of baguettes as soon as we walked in and then had a big plate of spag bol for tea – no problem with his appetite then!

He has then spent until now reading the Blog and all the comments – he is up to day 32 but got quite tired, so he is now parked up in front of the television watching some of the things that have been recorded on Sky+.

He is not really up to writing anything on the PC yet but he might manage something over the next couple of days, but he is asking me to pass on his thanks to you all for visiting, leaving messages on the blog, sending texts, cards and gifts and all the other support you have given.

Just to confirm you are all invited to visit on Boxing afternoon anytime after 1400 – Pat will attempt a running buffet and nibbles so we hope to see you then.  Please can you pass this on to anyone who might not read this?  Thanks.

So once again, many thanks to you all and best wishes from all of us for a Happy Christmas. 

 

Paul update - Day 41

Day 41 – Tuesday 23 December

Quite a quiet day today but in many ways this was good for Paul because he seemed quite tired. Nonetheless, he was on good form, very jolly and looking forward to coming home for Christmas.

He had physio this morning and they are now making him walk for greater distances – for those that have been to Maidencraig he is now walking virtually unaided the length of the building from his room to the main door. He has not yet walked outside but I guess this will start in the New Year. We still notice small but positive improvements every day and are still amazed at how calm and placid he is about the situation – nothing seems to upset him and we are both extremely proud of him and how well he is dealing with everything. And of course we are equally proud of Mark who is also now coping very well, continuing with his studies and has graciously given up his bedroom for Paul over Christmas!

We have to ring the hospital tomorrow morning because he had physio arranged for 14:00, but they are going to try and swap him with one of the other guys whose physio session is at 09:00; if this can be done we should be able to pick him up around 10:30 or thereabouts.

He keeps asking to see the car, which has now been moved to Aberdeen, and although we are not sure whether it is a good idea or not he is adamant that he wants to see it so we might call in on the way home. I guess if it reminds him of the seriousness of the accident and will make him think twice in future (if he ever drives again) it will be worth it.

Thanks again for all the comments – please keep them coming (Stuart, I am shocked – suffering from a hangover – disgraceful!) – and apologies to everyone reading this but we haven’t managed to send any Christmas cards; there just doesn’t seem to have been the time to do anything like that this year! We only got the tree Saturday and Andrew kindly dropped one round for us as well so we will be trying to get them decorated tomorrow and get all the other decs up. We managed to get to Costco and Tesco this morning so hopefully we haven’t forgotten anything.....

As Paul will be home tomorrow I will try and get him to post something on here himself, but in the meantime thanks again to all of you for the support, messages and everything else you have done for us all – we are truly grateful and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – I don’t think we will be sorry to wave goodbye to 2008.......!

I will try and put a post up every day over the next few days, but can’t guarantee it; if anyone else wants to post anything – please feel free!

No pictures today I’m afraid, so the best I can do is sunset over Maidencraig taken yesterday!

Paul update - Day 40

Day 40 – Monday 22 December

We got to Maidencraig earlier than usual today because we had the case conference with the Senior Registrar, Occupational Therapist and Physiotherapist at 11:30. Basically the meeting started with a summary of Paul’s injury and confirmation of how well he is doing and how quickly he is progressing both physically and mentally. They reiterated that the briefing they had been given about Paul before he arrived suggested that he would be a long term patient but he really has exceeded everyone’s expectations with his progress. The Registrar said that there was nothing to suggest that he would not make a very good recovery, but he did say that it may take a couple of years for Paul to return to near normal.

Basically the trauma to his brain is such that a number of his brain cells will have been damaged to the extent that they will not recover, but due to his age and general state of fitness other brain cells will take on the function of the "dead" ones and this is what takes the time. They plan to have him assessed by a neuropsychologist in the New Year and this will confirm what capabilities Paul will have. So basically this is all good news and we continue to thank our lucky stars – it could have been so much worse.

They confirmed that Paul will be home for Christmas so anyone who wants to see him (or us!) will be welcome to pop round on Boxing afternoon after about 14:00 – give us a ring if you need directions. We pick him up Wednesday and he doesn’t have to be back until Sunday and he can also come home for New Year as well which is brilliant.

Once he is back after New Year, the occupational therapy sessions will involve trips into town and the like to see how he copes with all the different situations – in many ways he has been in the protective environment of the hospital since the accident so when you consider the multitude of things that go on in the outside world they need to ensure that he can handle all the different situations and make appropriate decisions.

The best news of the day though was that they are now talking about a possible total discharge from hospital at the end of January – we have another meeting scheduled for 19 January and as long as everything has gone according to plan they see no reason why he shouldn’t come home for good!

He had lots of visitors throughout the afternoon today which was very good for him – he said just before we left this evening how good it was for everyone to visit him and how much he enjoyed it so thanks again. Apologies if I miss anyone, but there was Holly, Alison (Holly’s Mum), Robyn, Holly’s niece (sorry – we didn’t catch her name!) Katharine, Laura (Katharine’s Mum), Jenna, Stuart, Gavin, Chris (Alderton), Eilidh and Anna. Katharine bought Paul some very fancy Christmas playing cards so we eplayed a few card games which Paul enjoyed.

Shortly before we left we heard some carol singers and went into the corridor to find a choir singing Christmas carols which all the patients seemed to enjoy.

So to sum up the day it is all good news and we can now slowly start to think about the future!

Hope to see some of you Boxing Day.

Paul update - Day 39

Day 39 – Sunday 21 December

For roundabout the last 36 hours life in the Jeffery household has returned to some semblance of normality. There were lights left on all over the house, there was no hot water because Paul stayed in the shower until it ran cold, there was nowhere to sit in the lounge because Pat was asleep on one of the settees and Paul was asleep on the other, we had to watch cr*p on the television such as Kerrang, the bird had company and somewhere to sit again (see picture), Mark was home for the weekend so the four of us sat down for a proper home cooked dinner, I ended up washing up (but Pat has pointed out that she did the cooking...) and there was no room on the Sky+ again. And it was brilliant!

Sadly, all too soon it came to an end and we had to take Paul back to Maidencraig; it seemed only 5 minutes before that we had picked him up to bring him home but we all enjoyed it and we are all looking forward to when he comes home for Christmas. We didn’t do a great deal today; Paul wanted to go the Bistro for a bacon and egg roll for breakfast so we did that, then we went to Aboyne to get a Christmas tree and then came home. Andrew popped round to see Paul and after he had gone Paul had a nap before dinner and then it was back to Maidencraig.

He is still progressing really well and improves on a daily basis. Apart from his speech, his walking and the fact that everything he does is a little slower and more deliberate than before (because he has to think what he is doing) then you wouldn’t really know anything was wrong. Hopefully, given the progress he has made so far, he should eventually make a near full recovery.

We have a case conference tomorrow with the doctors so we should find out their prognosis for the future, but based on this weekend we are getting more and more confident.

We still plan is to have an “open house” on Boxing afternoon for anyone who wants to pop round and see him, but obviously can’t confirm until we know that he is definitely coming home – watch this space!

Paul update - Day 38

Day 38 – Saturday 20 December

Just a brief update today as Paul is home and we are settling down to watch “The Dark Knight”! I thought he would want to watch the final of Strictly Come Dancing but he wants to watch the 6 previous episodes we recorded on Sky+ for him before he sees the final. Hmm, this could take some time.......

We picked Paul up around 10:30 this morning and he was keen and ready to leave. On the way home we stopped at the garage because Kenny and Anne wanted to see him and they were visibly relieved to see how well he was. We also bumped into Louis (Ryan’s brother) in the garage so Paul had a brief chat with him as well.

Paul was pleased to get home and seeing him lounging on the settee again was quite spooky – it was almost as if everything was normal but sadly there are a few months to go before we get to that stage.

He had a bit of a nap and then Eilidh, Gavin, Stuart, Holly and Gavin’s Mum Jan popped round to see him and they watched television and chatted all afternoon which was great.

We are not planning to do too much tomorrow, we will probably put up the Xmas decs and have a lazy day – we have to get Paul back by about 20:00 and don’t want him to be too tired.

Finally, for those that have visited Paul in Maidencraig and have met Kevin – the lad in the bed opposite – there is an article about him in today’s Piper.

I hope to post tomorrow, but can’t guarantee – it just depends how we do for time!

Having been publically chastised for not posting any pictures of Stuart, I hope the attached make up for it!

Paul update - Day 37

Day 37 – Friday 19 December

We passed the tests – he can come home for the weekend!

Somebody from Occupational Health visited the house today to have a look around and deliver some things that will help Paul when he comes home. This includes a bath seat, a special toilet seat and also a stool to perch on in front of the sink when he does his teeth etc. She didn’t envisage any problems and so we came in to Maidencraig for our second run through with Paul and we covered getting in and out of the car, the bath and another go on the steps and he did really well – so much so that he doesn’t really need the kit they have delivered and they were quite content for him to come home for the weekend.

The plan is that we will pick him up tomorrow morning (Sat) around 10:30 and bring him back around 20:00 on Sunday which is brilliant – so please note that he won’t be at Maidencraig but if you want to visit Saturday afternoon that will be fine – we would prefer if you could limit it to between around 1400 and 1800 so that he will have had lunch and can watch the final of Strictly Come Dancing – no, I’m not joking! Also, we don’t want to overtire him and take him back knackered in case they don’t let him home again!

This also means that it is virtually guaranteed that he can come home for Christmas and also again over New Year which both we and he are looking forward to. The physio said that the next goal will be more practise with outside mobility – dealing with kerbs, road safety (hmm, bit late...) and the like and once this has all been covered I guess he will be spending more and more time at home.

Stuart visited again this afternoon and then Andrew arrived, unfortunately just before Paul went for supper so he didn’t stay for long as he had to pick his Mum up from town. After supper we played a couple of games of UNO and watched television and then Andrew and his Mum returned and Mark, Ramsay and Duncan arrived and later Eilidh and Stevie came in and stayed until the end of visiting. Eilidh thought he had improved immensely since Monday and she thought that his voice was almost back to normal. Paul was very much on form again, joining in with everything and laughing and joking with everyone and he is slowly getting back to his old self. His main problem at the moment is that he can’t seem to tell a joke that Kevin told him without creasing up with fits of giggles – which is brilliant to see!

The other chap that was in Paul’s room (Ian) was discharged today, and although he used to spend most of his time on the day room, he was company for Paul in the morning and so there is just Paul and Kevin in the ward now.

Paul says many thanks to you all for his text messages, which he enjoys reading, and he apologises that he hasn’t got round to replying to many yet, but he still finds it a bit of a struggle. Please keep sending them, and he says he will get round to replying eventually!

So we are all geared up for Paul’s first visit home which is the first step to being discharged so we are well on the road to recovery.

Paul update - Day 36

Day 36 – Thursday 18 December

Paul’s physio session today was scheduled for 14:30 and as we had arrived at Woodend fairly early (you can only spend so long at Tesco’s....) the physio took the opportunity to run through a few things with us and Paul.  He practised walking up and down the physio room and she showed us where to stand and how to support him, or rather where to stand to catch him if necessary as he doesn’t really need support. 

His walking has improved immensely, even over the last couple of days, especially considering that as far as we know he hasn’t had that much practise, and whilst his walking still doesn’t look totally natural it is not far off so with a few more days practise I reckon he will be walking unaided. 

They also have some steps in the main physio room so the physio asked Paul if he was up to having a try. He said he was and I think the physio expected him to make his way over to the steps and wait for her to explain what to do, instead of which he just walked straight up and straight down!  She then explained that he should do it one step at a time, how to balance, lead with the good leg going up and with the weaker one coming down, but he just really wanted to get on with it.  So he coped with the steps extremely well apart from one moment when his knee gave way, but even then he managed to regain his balance even though we were there to catch him, but it gave us a bit of a heart stopping moment!

The other thing we covered was a few exercises that he needs to do in bed to strengthen his trunk so all we need to cover tomorrow is getting in and out of the car and in and out of the bath so, almost certainly, he will be home this weekend – we envisage bringing him home Saturday and returning him Sunday – but this will be finally confirmed tomorrow.  If he does come home, just to confirm you are welcome to come and see him Saturday afternoon but I will confirm the times in tomorrow’s blog.

Stuart and Carolyn visited this afternoon and we spent quite a while with them in the WRVS and Paul was on good form, joining in with the conversations and laughing and joking.

Kevin (the lad opposite) has gone home for the weekend so Paul was on his own in the ward but we played a few games of UNO after supper and watched Top Gear, and after all the physio Paul was quite tired.

So, things are really looking up, Paul is making remarkable progress; one of the nurses admitted to us today that the brief they had been given about Paul before he arrived was that he had received an extremely seriously head injury and was in a bad way, so the nurses and physios really can’t believe how well he is doing.  If progress continues at this rate, we anticipate that in the New Year he should be coming home fairly regularly. Which will be an enormous relief......

 

Paul update - Day 35

Day 35 – Wednesday 17 December

Good news........perhaps!

Having asked yesterday whether we could bring Paul home this weekend and being told categorically that Christmas would be the earliest, and only then because it is Christmas, we arrived today to be told that he can now probably come home after all!  I think what is happening is that the physios and the doctors are not liaising and one is saying one thing without the others knowledge. 

To be fair though, the physios are rightly concerned about the facilities we have at home and whether we are able to cope with transferring Paul in and out of the car, in and out of the house, toilet, shower etc and they need to ensure that everything is safe.  They will supply and fit various bits of kit in the house but they will be unable to do anything before this weekend and hence the conflicting stories.  I therefore took some pictures of the house, the step at the front door, the bathrooms etc. and showed the physios today and they seemed quite content.  Pat, Paul and I are having a session with them on Friday to show us how to do the various things that we will need to do and provided we "pass" he can come home this weekend – possibly just for the day or maybe even overnight to return to Woodend on Sunday.

Therefore, anyone who might be thinking of visiting on Saturday – I see from the comments Holly that you are planning to - please check the blog Friday evening or give either Pat or I a ring ,or send any of us, including Paul, a text on the mobiles and we will let you know where he will be.  If he is at home, you are more than welcome to pop round.

As you might guess from the above, Paul now has a mobile phone again – he has a replacement sim and Mark's old phone so you should be able to text him again as of now.  He still has the same number but that might change if Santa Claus has listened to his request for an i‑phone!  The only problem we have is that I only had a limited number of contact details to put into his phone so if you do send a text to him, please can you put your name at the bottom so he knows who it is from.  For example I know for sure that he will have lost your number Rosie as it was only in the phone that has been lost – we think it is in the hospital laundry system somewhere but it hasn't turned up yet.

Paul had quite a busy day today – he had physio, occupational and speech therapy as well as a couple of visits from the doctors for blood tests; we found out the other day that he was still having a daily injection to prevent blood clots but they have now been stopped as well so as far as we know, he is now on no medication whatsoever, other than the cream that still has to be rubbed into his arm.

We arrived just after lunch, and then Amy, Jennifer and a little later Suzy arrived and we went for the daily visit to the WRVS cafe. We had to leave Paul with them as we had an appointment with somebody from a head trauma support group and then an appointment with the physio and occupational therapist to discuss the weekend.

Stuart and his Dad then arrived having driven up from St Andrews straight to Woodend to see Paul and I think it safe to say that Stuart was both relieved and delighted to see the progress Paul has made – last time he visited was the day before Paul regained consciousness...

By the end of the day Paul was quite tired so he settled down to watch the TV.  A couple of days ago we took in his duvet so he now has a piece of home with him and seems quite content.

So, just to confirm, Paul might be able to come home on Saturday either for the day or overnight into Sunday, but we will not know until Friday.  I will try and update the blog Friday evening when we get back (I can't get on-line at Woodend) or if anyone visits and can update the Blog before I can please feel free to post a comment on the blog.  Alternatively give us a call!

This is all good news, especially when you think back to this time 5 weeks ago today when Pat and I were driving to the ARI not knowing what to expect....!

 

Paul update - Day 34

Day 34 – Tuesday 16 December

Help – my ears hurt.....

Just a brief Blog today as we left Paul early yesterday to go to see Status Quo and we didn’t get back until late.

Paul was fine and is now just about able to walk unaided, although he does still try and go too fast (bit of a trend emerging here...) and is still a bit unstable. We had a long chat with the physio about getting Paul home for Christmas; it still looks good although they said yesterday that we would have to get him back to Woodend on Boxing Day, but I have asked if we can extend this to the 27^th (as we were originally told) as we were planning to have an open house on Boxing afternoon for those that want to see him. If we have to get him back that day, it will be a bit of a rush and probably very tiring for him. They were going to discuss it further with the Consultant and let us know, but she said that he is progressing so quickly it shouldn’t be a problem.

I did ask if we could get him home this weekend for a trial run but they thought that was a bit soon – in truth they said that getting him home for Christmas is probably about a week or two sooner than they would normally have planned, but as it’s Christmas....

We have a meeting scheduled with the Consultant and therapists next Monday morning so we should find out then how they think he is doing and what the future holds.

Amy spent the afternoon with us and just as we were about to leave Andrew arrived, so we left him with Paul; I am not sure if anyone else visited but thanks if you did.

The normal Blog updating service should resume this evening!

Paul update - Day 33

Day 33 – Monday 15 December

We managed to get a bit of Christmas shopping done this morning so we arrived a little later than usual and found Paul asleep after a hard morning at physio and occupational therapy.

Paul had a new physio therapist this morning and she thought he was doing very well. He no longer needs a walking frame so all he has now is his wheelchair which he walks to and from unaided as long as somebody is there to support him if needed – he is not yet ready to go solo.  He walks very well considering, but tends to try and walk too quickly and doesn’t have full control of his right leg yet, so we are worried that he is going to fall over.  Trying to slow him down though is not the easiest thing to do......!

His occupational therapy this morning was all about balance, co-ordination and concentration. He played a couple of games of Connect 4 and also did some exercises such as putting hoops on sticks at arm’s length to check his balance and overall he did very well.

We took him for our now regular cup of tea (and bars of chocolate!) around 3 and Eilidh arrived whilst we were there, so we spent the afternoon chatting and looking at the picture compilation that Suzanne put together for him.  This is really brilliant but both Pat and I find it quite difficult to watch as it shows Paul how he was – laughing and joking and without a care in the World; we just hope that one day he will be like that again.

We played a few games of card pairs again which Paul enjoyed and then Andrew arrived a little later on and brought Paul in a Mountain Bike DVD – we were quite impressed that he recognised a lot of the people featured in it and knew some of the places; some of which I think he has ridden.  He also walked to the bathroom unaided and although I went with him, he really didn’t need me so he continues to amaze us with his progress.

Pat and I are off to see Status Quo tomorrow (we booked it about 11 months ago – honest) and we will have to leave about 18:30 so if anyone wants to visit, this will be a good time as otherwise he will be on his own.  This also means that I might not be able to upload tomorrow’s blog until Wednesday morning and will probably be shouting as we will be temporarily deaf.....

 

Paul update - Day 32

Day 32 – Sunday 14 December

Another quiet Sunday. Mark spent most of the afternoon with us but had to leave early because he is off to Dublin for a couple of days. Whilst we were dropping him back at the flat, Amy popped in and brought Paul a chocolate Advent Calendar which I have put on the wall beside his bed. With everything that was going on at the end of November we forgot to get one for the boys (normally a tradition!) and by the time we got round to trying to get them everywhere had sold out, so she did well to find one. Paul has got 14 days of chocolate to catch up on.....I am sure he will manage.

We spent most of the day chatting or watching television / playing the X-Box. Kevin, the lad opposite, had shown Paul his yearbook earlier in the week so Paul asked us to bring his in and he spent quite a while going through it and reminiscing. He has a very good memory of everything and everyone that is in it, he wanted to show me some specific pictures and he knew exactly where to look so his long term memory seems fine, but he still struggles with short term.

He has more physio and occupational therapy tomorrow and hopefully we should have a meeting with the consultant over the next few days when we should get more information about how Paul is doing and what the long term prognosis is. He is still doing remarkably well, but there is still quite a long way to go.

Paul update - Day 31

Day 31 – Saturday 13 December 2008

I really can’t believe it is Saturday already and only 12 days to Christmas. I suppose we ought to think about doing some Christmas shopping....

As it is the weekend, once again there is not much to report. Kevin, the lad opposite Paul has gone home for the weekend and the other chap in the ward tends to spend most of his time in the day room, so we arrived to find Paul on his own, watching Casino Royale, surrounded by the debris of another empty box of chocolate muffins.

He had managed to get himself to the loo unaided this morning, although he got a ticking off from the nurses as he is not meant to, but he had buzzed and nobody had come so he was desperate!

We took his X-Box in for him today which pleased him, so he played a couple of games on it and then Eilidh and Anna arrived for a visit. As there was a problem with his second television, we took the opportunity of returning it to Tesco’s and swapped it for a branded one (LG) rather than Tesco’s own brand (Technika) which have proved to be unreliable. Hopefully the new one should be fine.

Eilidh and Anna left when he went for supper and Andrew and Aaron arrived after supper and stayed until visiting was over.

Looks like I can sort the mobile phone out for him – he wants an i-Phone for Christmas so we might be able to buy one of those for him and keep his contract and number going, but I need to ring back Monday to confirm. A replacement sim should be on its way and I have an old phone he can use for now, so hopefully by early next week he will be able to get back in touch with you all.

Just as we were getting ready to leave one of the nurses came in with a convector heater and said that the heating had failed in the whole hospital – apparently a pipe has burst and although they had called the engineers out, they weren’t sure how long it would take to fix so they were putting heaters in every room. Hopefully he won’t get too cold tonight!

So, not a great deal to report except that there are small but positive improvements every day and we are counting the days until we can get him home for Christmas.

Phone update!

Just to let you all know I have just phoned o2 (22:53 Friday) and they have now blocked Paul’s mobile phone sim. I have to ring Customer Services tomorrow to order a new sim so please note if you try and ring / text him it will not get through. Apparently the new sim will retain the old number but unfortunately he will have lost all his contacts, so we might need some help in getting everybody’s numbers in his new phone!

I will let you know when he has his new phone so that you can start getting in touch again.

Thanks.

Paul update - Day 30

Day 30 – Friday 12 December

First of all, in case you thought I had lost a day, Pat’s Mum spotted that I had mis-numbered the earlier posts and had skipped from Day 25 to Day 27 so I have gone back and renumbered them correctly. Oops!

Quite a quiet day today, we had to bring Paul in a hot curry pie today to remind him of school (!) so he had that after he had curry for lunch! He had more physio this morning and managed to walk without the aid of his walking frame which is another major milestone. Whilst he can walk, it is very slow and deliberate and obviously takes quite a lot of effort, but hopefully this should improve with time. Nonetheless, it is quite distressing for us to watch.

He also had his hearing tested this morning as he had mentioned a problem with his right ear – those of you who saw him in the early days will recall that he had given his right ear a whack and it bled for a few days, so the problem he has now is simply that it is a bit gummed up so just needs hoovering out or a blast with the jet wash. I think they are taking the easy way out though and putting drops in it.

Arthur and Charles visited this afternoon and we went for a cup of tea at the WRVS but got kicked out because it was their Xmas party this evening, so we brought the tea back and sat in the day room. We got back to the ward about 16:15 and then Anna and Jamie arrived, and then it was time for supper, which was some pasta thingy followed by Blueberry muffin and custard – “...but you don’t like custard!” Mum said – “I do now” he replied!

After supper, Suzanne arrived and we looked at some of the pictures that she had compiled on her laptop for Paul – these were from school, Duke of Edinburgh, parties and the like so it was good to look back.

Unfortunately we discovered this evening that Paul has mislaid his mobile phone – he thinks he might have left it on the bed when he went for lunch and when he got back the bed had been changed, so whether it is currently running through the laundry or not we don’t know. If you have sent Paul a text and haven’t had a reply, that is why! I will have to ring o2 tomorrow and cancel it so I am not sure if he will get a new number or not, but I will let you know.

Paul update - Day 29

Day 29 – Thursday 11 December:

We arrived a little later than normal today because Paul had physio booked for 1330 but we arrived to find an empty room and some of Paul’s furniture missing! I suppose all good things must come to an end and so today Paul was moved out of his single room and into a ward down the end.

It is a shame that he no longer has the privacy of his own room but he is now sharing with the lad who is a similar age to Paul and one other chap, so in some ways it is good that he now has company and his single room was needed by somebody who is quite poorly so whilst it was disappointing to see him move, it is for all the right reasons and also shows that he is progressing very well.

We spoke to his physio today and she said that his balance has improved immensely over the last few days and whereas before he had his legs a long way apart for balance when he was standing, he is now able to balance with his legs closer together. This has also improved his walking and she reckoned he wouldn’t need the walking frame much longer – already he is trying to short cut getting in and out of bed without it!

We played a few games of Uno, went to the WRVS cafe for a cup of tea and then Amy and Arthur arrived to visit. As he has much less space now we left them to it for a while and then it was time for supper. This was the first time that Arthur had seen Paul since he arrived at Maidencraig and he was gobsmacked by his progress.

There was a problem with the television we bought for Paul last week so when he had supper we nipped off to Tesco at Bridge of Don to change it and when we got back, Andrew, his Mum and Dad and Mark were there and Paul was munching his way through a Chicken Tikka pizza – and this was after he had had his supper. A little later Eilidh and her brother Neil arrived and Paul was laughing quite a lot and joining in so each of these moments when he is almost back to his old self are extremely precious and a huge relief to all of us.

Only 2 weeks today until Christmas and it is looking more and more hopeful that he will be able to come home for a few days.

Just to remind those visiting then, Paul is no longer in room 1 but is now down the far end of the corridor in the last room on the left. There doesn’t appear to be any restriction on visiting but it is fairly cramped in the corner where he is so I guess we should try to stick to 3 or 4 at a time unless told otherwise. Hopefully within a couple of days he will be more mobile and sitting in the dayroom.

PS – I am not too sure why the font and line spacing keeps changing on the Blog – it’s not me, honest...

Paul update - Day 28

Day 28 – Wednesday 10 December:

Not a great deal to report today, except that we are noticing small but positive improvements every day. Paul’s speech is improving and his balance now seems quite good. The nurses have said that they too are noticing that he is improving, especially if they have been off for a couple of days so things are definitely heading in the right direction. Also, the prism lens fitted yesterday seems to have helped his vision a little as he doesn’t seem to close one eye nearly as often as he did before.

Paul did more on the exercise bike this morning and had a session of occupational therapy where he made a cup of tea for himself; this included filling the kettle, plugging it in etc and whilst to us this might not seem particularly challenging, when you think back just a couple of weeks this is remarkable. We are immensely proud of how well he is coping, how good natured he is and how rapidly he is progressing.

Suzanne, Andrew, Mark and Ramsay visited today before supper and brought him more food – Mark made him some cup cakes and Andrew brought him a pack of strawberries; apparently it was too early to get him a pizza! Bill Roadnight (from the Transport Museum) also popped in again to see Paul as he regularly visits his neighbour who is also a patient at Maidencraig.

After supper, Eilidh and Stevie visited and stayed until visiting time ended.

We left him a pack of 12 chocolate muffins last night and found a pack of 12 chocolate muffin wrappers this morning, so he is still managing to eat!

So, remarkable progress and it was only 4 weeks ago today that the accident happened......

Paul update - Day 27

Day 27 – Tuesday 9 December

Today was spent at the ARI but the timing of the appointments meant there was a lot of hanging around. Paul’s first appointment was at 1000 so the ambulance picked him up at about 0930 and since only one of us could go in the ambulance with him, I drove up in the car.

His first appointment was with the cardiologist who did an echocardiogram to try and get to the bottom of the heart problem he suffered whilst in the hospital. We were relieved to hear that his heart is structurally normal and his racing heart beat is down to the “wiring” which is basically what they had originally said, but this has confirmed it. Apparently this is quite common in teenagers and might right itself or, if not, can be treated.

The other appointment was not until 1400 and was with the ophthalmologist to investigate his double vision. It turned out that the ophthalmologist that saw Paul lives in Alford and we vaguely know him – small world! Basically he said that the problem Paul has is common with head trauma: he has damaged the nerve which supplies one of the muscles controlling his left eye, so one of his eyes is higher than the other - hence the double vision. The ophthalmologist spotted it straight away as Paul was subconsciously tilting his head to try and correct it. Also, normally the brain fuses the 2 images together but Paul is also struggling to do this so he has a bit of a double whammy in that he has double vision both side by side and up and down, so it was quite difficult for him to explain exactly what he was seeing. He has been given a prism lens to stick on to his normal glasses and this temporarily corrects the problem; once he has recovered he will no longer need it but it could take a few months for his vision to return to normal.

If anyone is interested, he has damaged his Trochlear nerve which, apparently, is the fourth cranial nerve. (Eh?) The ophthalmologist says he has “stunned” the nerve and it should recover in much the same way as your leg recovers when somebody gives you a dead leg, so he doesn’t believe the damage is permanent. A Google search brings up some interesting articles but his is one definition:

Trochlear nerve: The trochlear nerve controls the superior oblique muscle of the eye, one of the extraocular muscles, the muscles that move the eye. Paralysis of the trochlear nerve results in rotation of the eyeball upward and outward (and, therefore, double vision). The trochlear nerve is the fourth cranial nerve. (The twelve cranial nerves emerge from or enter the skull as opposed to the spinal nerves which emerge from the vertebral column).The trochlear nerve is the only cranial nerve that arises from the back of the brain stem. It follows the longest course within the skull of any of the cranial nerves.”

This appointment finished about 1500 but the Ambulance didn’t arrive until after 1700 so we had more hanging around and were quite late back in the end. He had missed supper but one of the nurses managed to find him something so after he had eaten, he was very tired and settled down to watch Race to Dakar on DVD before falling asleep.

It was good for him to get out and about in the fresh air today and sitting in his wheel chair has probably helped build his stomach muscles and make his body stronger, but it was a long and tiring day for him (and us!).

Thanks again to everyone who is sending him texts; he enjoys reading them but it is taking him a while to reply so please be patient!

Paul update - Day 26

Day 26 – Monday 8 December

Paul had physio again this morning and for the first time some of the exercises he did were on an exercise bike. This purpose of this was to measure the power in his legs and they were pleased to note that he developed equal power in both legs; he also reached the level that they would not have expected until after three or four sessions which presumably shows that his previous escapades on his mountain bike and general good level of fitness before the accident has helped – all those sessions in the gym obviously paid off!

He still has trouble walking but the exercises this morning presumably shows that it is simply that the messages are not getting from his brain to his legs properly yet and not any other type of problem so hopefully, once the brain swelling has reduced, he should regain full mobility.

He is quite pleased to get his phone back and has spent some time sending and receiving texts so thanks to everyone for getting in contact with him; keep them coming but note that it may take him a little while to respond.

He also started to read the mountain bike magazines that Andrew and Aaron brought in for him before, but after a short while he complained that his eyes were aching so he gave up on that and listened to Mark’s iPod instead. He has an appointment with the ophthalmologist at the ARI tomorrow so with any luck we will able to get to the bottom of his double vision problem and see what can be done to alleviate it. Hopefully all of these minor issues will clear with time but it will be nice to know what if anything we can do to help nature along.

So just to remind you Paul has a couple of appointments at the ARI tomorrow and will be there for most of the day, so it will probably be advisable not to visit as we are not sure what time we will get back and when he does, presumably he will be quite tired. Should all be back to normal on Wednesday though.

One other bit of good news we got today was that we can almost certainly have Paul home for Christmas. The final decision has not been made but they think we can probably bring him home Christmas Eve and take him back on or around the 27^th. Also, in the New Year, he can probably come home for weekends.

There were quite a few visitors today: Andrew, David (Webb), Donald, Kim and Mo (from work). Paul was on good form, laughing and joking with everyone and generally enjoying himself. At times like this it is sometimes difficult to remember the extent of his injury and it is only when he tries to walk or gets tired and his speech deteriorates that we are brought back done to earth with a bump. However, less than 4 weeks have elapsed since the accident and we continue to thank our lucky stars that he has progressed so far; I re-read some of the early days of the blog again this morning which was quite upsetting, but already it seems like a lifetime ago.......

Paul update - Day 25

Day 25 – Sunday 7 December

Another relatively quiet weekend day.

As there is no physio or anything at weekends there is very little for Paul to do so we tried to get in a little earlier today. Paul and Pat played a couple of games of pairs; a number of pairs of cards are put face down on the table and each player has to look at 2 cards in turn and try to find a pair. If the 2 they pick are not a pair they are put back face down. This is quite a simple game, but is good for exercising Paul’s memory as he has to try and remember where the cards are.

The nurses recommend that Paul sits in his wheelchair for a couple of hours every day so we took him over to the WRVS cafe for an hour or so and then Andrew, Eilidh and Amy arrived. Pat and I left them to it and then it was time for supper again!

One or two of you have asked for the address of where Paul is, which is as follows:

Maidencraig Rehabilitation Unit
Woodend Hospital
Aberdeen
AB15 6LS
Tel: 01224 556216

The other thing that has happened is that yesterday Paul asked for his phone which we took in this morning; he read his text messages OK and started to send the odd text so all being well you should be able to send him text messages if you want to. With his double vision he got quite tired looking at the phone and it was obviously a bit of a strain, so I guess he won’t be it using that much but I am sure he would welcome the odd text but it may take a little while for him to reply.

Final thing to note is that Paul has a couple of appointments at the ARI on TUESDAY 9 DECEMBER so he won’t be at Maidencraig during the day. The first appointment is at 1000 (X-Ray) and then he has an appointment with the ophthalmologist at 1400 for his double vision. It is therefore quite likely that he won’t be back until quite late and will probably be quite tired so it might be better to avoid visiting that day if possible.

Not really much else to report today except that once again Paul seemed relatively quiet and subdued today, but I guess that might be because he is tired?

Paul update - Day 24

Day 24 – Saturday 6 December

As mentioned yesterday, Mark and I left just after 6 to go to the Haughton for Mike’s 25 year dinner leaving Pat with Paul. After we had left, Eilidh, Neil (Eilidh’s brother), Andrew and Tom came in to visit and as promised, Andrew brought him a kebab! They stayed with him until the end of visiting and by the time they left he had managed to eat most of the kebab.

The weekends at Maidencraig are similar to the ARI in that there is no physio or any other activities going on so we arrived to find Paul watching Star Wars. One of the nurses spoke to us and said that Paul needs to do some exercises to improve his short term memory and suggested some simple memory card games that would help. We didn’t have any normal playing cards with us so we played a couple of games of Uno and then started to watch Kung Fu Panda!

Paul dozed off after a while and then Ben (Ward) and David (Murdoch) popped in to see him. Pat and I left them to it for a while and when we got back Bill Roadnight (from the Museum) and Eilidh and Anna arrived. We sat chatting until it was supper time and Eilidh and Anna left, so Mark, Pat and I went for ANOTHER cup of tea (and a plate of chips to help get rid of the taste of the tea!) Supper tonight was Turkey casserole followed by semolina (double yuk!) but apparently he ate it??!! Mind you, once he got back to the room he had his now usual fare of chocolate, cake, strawberries, chocolate, biscuits, chocolate.....

We took in the Aberdeen version of Monopoly but didn’t get around to playing it today, so we might have a go tomorrow.

One of the nurses pointed us at a couple of web sites about brain injuries so if you want more information you should find it here:

www.neuroskills.com or www.headway.org.uk

Paul update - Day 23

Day 23 – Friday 5 December

Not much to report today; we arrived at our usual time to find Paul asleep following a busy morning of occupational health and physiotherapy. We let him sleep for a while but he still had his specs on so I tried very carefully to remove them without disturbing him, but he woke up. This is one major change we have noticed with Paul – it no longer takes the detonation of a thermo nuclear device beside his bedside to wake him, he now wakes quite readily, is wide awake virtually straight away and is not grumpy; let’s hope this remains! He had managed to shave himself this morning but used his wet razor rather than his electric one and had managed quite well with only a couple of minor nicks!

We chatted for a while about what he had done that morning and then Anna and Amy arrived so we left them for a while to chat without us; they left around 1530 and then Liz (from work) arrived armed with a bag of cakes and drinks, and then Carolyn and Alan (Stu’s Mum and Dad) arrived armed with some J2Os for Paul – that should all keep him going until tomorrow!

He is now talking quite well and we are noticing small but positive improvements every day. We were discussing the days before the accident and his recollection is getting better; he can now remember the day of the accident and remembered that we had to get part of the engine management system on his car replaced on the day of the accident (which I have just paid for!) and then he told us that he wanted to see what the car looked like. We asked him if he was sure and he said yes so we showed him the pictures, but we were not sure at the time whether he registered that it was his car and that he had been driving it. It was very difficult to know whether to show him or not but I guess if it helps him to understand why he is in the situation he now finds himself then it is OK? He said later that he didn’t think the car looked as bad as he expected so that shows that it probably had sunk in and he asked to see the pictures again. His short term memory is still not very good though so it will be interesting to see if he remembers tomorrow; unless he asks we don’t intend to let him see them again.

Supper tonight was Chicken Tikka Masala and chocolate mousse – and this was after cakes, tea, chocolate etc. during the afternoon.

I left a little early today with Mark as we were going to a dinner to celebrate Mike Ward’s 25 years as curator of the Transport Museum so I am not sure what else he had to eat after I had left or who else came to visit.

So, in summary, another good day with slow but steady improvement.

Paul update - Day 22

Day 22 – Thursday 4 December

Bit of a harrowing morning today – we were up early as Pat had a dental appointment in Aboyne so we took the opportunity to drive up to Huntly to collect the few personal possessions that Paul had left in the car; a few CDs, glasses case and the like so this was the first time I had seen the car. It only reinforced how lucky Paul has been.....

He was quite tired when we arrived today but he was sitting up in bed watching the Simpsons Movie again as he wasn’t able to get up and change the DVD! I bought a few more in for him so he sat and watched a few minutes of Tinselworm – the new Bill Bailey DVD; Paul had been to Glasgow with Stuart and his Dad to see the show a few weeks ago so he was quite pleased that I had managed to get the DVD. No sooner had it started though when they came in to take him off for more physio. He is getting steadier on his feet already and gaining in confidence so I reckon that within a few days he might be able to get in and out of his wheelchair unaided and become a little more independent – there’ll be no stopping him then!

His speech is also improving, his voice is getting louder and he is now able to string sentences together quite well but often forgets words. As far as we know he hasn’t had any speech therapy yet, so once that starts it should improve even more.

When he got back from physio we took him to the WRVS cafe for a cup of tea and his face lit up when he saw the Ginsters chicken & mushroom slices on the shelf (yuk!) and even more so when he saw a box full of Pepperamis! So he munched his way through those (the chicken slice and one pepperami, not the box of pepperamis....) and a cup of tea (his appetite is definitely unaffected!) and then Amy joined us. Shortly afterwards Stuart’s Mum Carolyn popped in briefly to see him on the way into town and after we had finished our tea we went back to his room and played a couple of games of Uno. He managed very well so be warned that if you visit you may get roped in for a game! This will be good for Paul as he needs to concentrate on what he is doing and holding the cards helps his co-ordination and dexterity so there are lots of benefits. He won 2 out of the 3 games we played so he obviously hasn’t lost the knack of playing!

And then it was supper time – as usual we had to go away so guess what – we went and had a cup of tea! (I’m getting fed up of tea!). His supper tonight was Stovies, beetroot and oatcakes with jelly and ice cream for pudding. Enough, you would think, to feed a horse but no...

When we got back we found him sitting at the sink in his room brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed and he asked us to wash his hair, which was quite tricky in the sink and we all ended up getting quite wet!

No sooner had he got into bed (with a clean T shirt on) when he announced he was hungry. He then munched his way through 2 M&S jellies – half of which ended up on his clean T shirt - the Tuna and Sweet corn sandwich that we bought for lunch but didn’t eat, the last cake that Naseem made for him yesterday (there were 6 last night!) and a bottle of apple juice!

Andrew and Scott then arrived and brought him some grapes and apple turnovers, but even he couldn’t manage them at the time but I guess they might be gone by the morning!

He seemed a bit subdued today, but I guess he was tired with all the physio, so we spent the rest of the evening watching Bill Bailey and then left him to go to sleep.

Oh, and he had a chocolate donut before we left....

Paul update - Day 21

Day 21 – Wednesday 3 December

Three weeks on and everyone is amazed at how well Paul is doing. One of the occupational therapists said today that Paul had gone to Maidencraig far earlier than they would have expected following the severity of his injury, and this evening one of the nurses said that after 10 days in a coma and having been conscious for just over 10 days Paul has made remarkable progress. His speech is improving every day and the physio he is getting is already starting to help.

As he is in a private room on his own, Paul is allowed a television and although the hospital provided one, it was relatively old and could only receive terrestrial stations. Also, it had no remote control and as it was over the far side of the room and Paul is not able to get up on his own, he could not change the channels or volume. We therefore called in at Tesco on the way in and got a small TV with built in Freeview and a DVD player which he was very pleased with – he was starting to get bored so he can now watch Dave / Top Gear and some DVDs as well – he has The Simpsons Movie, Wall E and QI to watch and Andrew has lent him a few, so with the physio and stuff he does in the morning and the TV / DVD he should have plenty to keep him occupied.

When we arrived at Maidencraig the occupational health nurse and doctor were with him so we went into the day room and met Suzanne. Shortly afterwards Euan arrived and Paul was on good form, chatting, laughing, joking and reminiscing with everyone.

He had been for physio during the morning and they had concentrated on his arms and legs so with this consistent attention he will continue to gain strength. They have also given him some more special cream for his arm and this is working really well and looks a whole lot better.

We spoke to the doctor this afternoon and he said that over the next couple of weeks they will continue to assess Paul to determine the extent of the damage that has been caused. Once they have made their assessment they will then have a formal discussion with us to let us know what sort of rehabilitation he requires, for how long and what the long term picture looks like.

Andrew and Donald arrived around 3 and spent most of the afternoon with us, and they left with Suzanne just as Paul was getting ready for supper.

I know we keep saying it, but he truly has made remarkable progress so we are gaining confidence that he will make a good recovery and we will do whatever it takes to help him along. The support that we have received from everyone has been truly amazing and I am convinced that having so many friends visiting has contributed significantly to his progress so thanks again to you all. Thanks too for the comments on the Blog – keep them up - especially Stuart who always manages to make us smile!

We are still hopeful that we will get him home for Christmas even if only for the day so if we do, we will probably have open house rather than take him out and about so we will let you know nearer the time how things are going. If he is still at Maidencraig, we can bring in Christmas dinner for him but hopefully he will be home!

We left him munching a pink iced cup cake that Suzanne bought in for him, watching the Simpsons Movie and looking quite at home!!

With any luck the adverse weather forecast for tomorrow won’t be too bad and we will be able to get in and see him.....

Paul update - Day 20

Day 20 – Tuesday 2 December

The ARI rang this morning to confirm that Paul was moving to the Maidencraig Rehabilitation Unit at Woodend today, but they could not get an ambulance so he would be transported in a hospital minibus.  As a result, they wanted one of us to accompany Paul so we went to the hospital around 11 and sat with him until after lunch. He left the ARI around 2 and Pat went in the minibus with him and I took the car. 

This was the first time Paul had been out since the accident and he chose one of the coldest days of the year so I think he felt the cold – especially after the heat in the hospital!  He was very uneasy in the back of the minibus because although his wheelchair was secured, it still moved around a little and he wasn’t too happy.  Nonetheless, they arrived safely and he was put into a nice bright single room; this will be his new home for the time being so it will be a pleasant change from the hustle and bustle of the ARI.

The Unit seems very relaxed and very friendly; Paul was introduced to a lad of around 19 who has a similar but possibly more serious head injury so it will be good for both of them to have someone of a similar age and in a similar situation to chat with.

The next couple of hours was taken up with the process of admission – Paul managed to answer all of the questions such as his name, date of birth, address etc. without help which was brilliant – and then the physios and occupational health nurses came to assess him.  I think they were all impressed at the progress he has made but it was quite a shock for us to see exactly how difficult he found standing and taking a couple of steps from the bed to the wheelchair; he couldn’t really move his right leg very much at all and was very unsteady on his feet. I think that seeing him and chatting to him in bed for the last 10 days or so has given us a false sense of how the injury has affected him; we are still confident that he will be able to learn to walk again but as I have said before, it will take a long time. 

Charles popped in to visit during the afternoon and was pleased to see his progress.

Rather than have meals in bed, they encourage the patients to sit at the dinner table in the day room so Paul was taken off for dinner at 5 which I think both he and us found quite difficult; we had to lose ourselves for an hour but it is good for him to integrate with the other patients so I guess this will be a regular occurrence.

After all this excitement though Paul was extremely tired and dozed off soon after dinner.  Unfortunately Eilidh, Anna, Andrew and Aaron arrived just after Paul had gone to sleep and he remained fast asleep for the majority of the time they were there. Although he half opened his eyes, he was absolutely shattered so we all left him to sleep for the night. Sorry guys!

Visiting: Maidencraig is a separate Unit within Woodend hospital off the Lang Stracht; the building is virtually opposite the main entrance to the hospital and Paul is currently in Room 1 – the first room on the left as you walk in.  Parking seems to be slightly easier than at the ARI – having said that there weren’t many spaces when we arrived but I didn’t have to wait for 45 minutes to get in – and it is free.  Visiting times are 1400-1700 and 1800-2000. He has supper between 1700 and 1800 so we will probably go to the staff canteen (in the Nurses home) where we can get some food and tea / coffee so if you arrive between 1700 and 1800 that is probably where we will be.  As he is in a room on his own, they don’t seem to worry about the number of people at his bedside as long as we are not too rowdy and don’t disturb anyone!

So, the next stage of his recovery is underway but if today is anything to go by, he has some hard tiring work ahead of him!