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.....