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!