Paul update - Day 18

Day 18 – Sunday 30 November

We arrived just before 12 to find Paul fast asleep; evidently there was a new patient brought into the Ward during the night and he was very restless, so none of the people in the Ward got much sleep.

We generally call into the Bistro in the village to get a takeaway coffee and bacon roll on the way in to the hospital and this morning Danni gave us a huge piece of chocolate cake to bring in for him; his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw it and he really enjoyed it (see picture above!), so many thanks Danni! He managed to get quite a lot of it on the sheets though, so we had to get the nurses to change the bed!

We took him down to the coffee shop after lunch and met Guy, Jan and Gavin who popped in just as we got there; Gavin was going to the station to go back to Durham so they came in to see Paul on the way. Just after they left Stuart’s Mum Carolyn came to see Paul as well; they have been away for the week so she was very pleased with Paul’s progress, and whilst we were still sitting in the coffee shop Natalie Michie, who was in Paul’s year at school spotted him and came over to say hello.

Paul was quite tired by this time so we brought him back up to bed and he had a short nap until Eilidh arrived, and then Richard and his girlfriend Shannon visited.

Paul is now getting used to watching TV again and has just about mastered the remote control, so he started to watch Star Wars after Richard and Shannon had gone, but he fell asleep after about 30 minutes so we let him sleep until tea time. He still seems to have trouble focussing though, so we tried him with his glasses again and this time he said they helped, so I guess this is a sign that his vision is slowly returning to normal. We also had a chat with one of the nurses who said double vision is quite common with injuries such as Paul’s – when he looks out of each eye individually it is OK but when he looks out of both he gets double vision, hence he keeps closing one eye. She suggested an eye patch but they didn’t have one handy, so we improvised with a piece of paper and he seemed to get on quite well with it so we will try and get a proper one tomorrow. She also said that he should frequently change the eye the patch is on so that one of them doesn’t get “lazy”, so we told him and he kept changing it every few minutes!

He also still has great difficulty standing; he needs help to get into the wheelchair and once standing he seems to have trouble moving his right leg; whether this is due to the brain injury or just a general lack of strength I don’t know? It could even be a combination of the two but hopefully with time and physio he will regain full mobility.

Paul update - Day 17

Day 17 – Saturday 29 November

We arrived around midday to find Paul sitting up in bed reading the Q magazine that Amy brought in for him the other day. His face lit up when he saw us and he said “You’ve been ages!” which I guess is a good sign because he is starting to get bored!

Today was quite quiet really with nothing much to report. For some reason Paul seemed to be very tired today but even so, he continues to improve. We took him down to the shop after lunch and he bought a mountain bike magazine but he was too tired to go to the coffee shop, so we came back to the ward.

Mark arrived first and after about an hour Paul dozed off, so we nipped down for a cuppa and when we got back Paul was sat on the edge of the bed chatting to Richard and Janie. Although there are still some things that unfortunately we cannot understand, by and large he is now able to speak quite well most of the time. He is extremely patient with us though and will keep trying to explain what he wants to say, and if we still don’t get it he smiles, looks to the ceiling and sighs “it doesn’t matter!”

The consultant warned us that when Paul came to he would probably hate everyone and everything and would spend all of his time swearing at everybody, but I am pleased to say that he has the patience of a saint and nothing seems to get him cross – he is extremely good humoured and very calm and placid.

After Richard had gone Anna and Gavin arrived around 5 o’clock so Pat and I went into the day room so they could all have a chat. Gavin has come all the way back from Durham again and Paul was very pleased to see him. Last time Gavin came back to see Paul he was still unconscious on the mattresses on the floor so it shows how far he has progressed in such a short time.

He watched a little bit of the rugby on TV but it looks as though he is having trouble seeing out of his left eye; whenever he is looking at the TV or a magazine he tends to close his left eye because he says his vision is blurred; it is not clear whether he has double vision or it is just blurred but we will mention it to the neurosurgeon next week and see what he thinks.

His arm is also healing well; for those that aren’t aware when Paul was unconscious he was continually rubbing his left arm on the sheets and despite trying to cover it up with bandages, tubigrip and everything else we could think of, nothing worked. After a while, he managed to get a friction burn on the back of his left hand and arm and then it got infected – if you look at his left arm in some of the pictures below you can see the result. He has been on a course of antibiotics for the infection and we have been putting cream on it and at long last it is starting to heal.

Paul used to watch Strictly Come Dancing every week so now that he has a television at the end of his bed he watched some of it this evening but not as avidly as he used to; we put the rugby on for him as mentioned above but he wasn’t really interested; before the accident he would definitely have watched it so it might be down to his eyesight causing him problems or his attention span – we will have to see.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to manage with the laptop today so we will have to persevere with trying to work out what he wants to say! He thought it was a good idea though, so we may try again in a few days time.

Paul update - Day 16

Day 16 – Friday 28 November

Paul seems to be making slow but steady progress every day now; his speech is getting better and he is starting to remember things. He is also starting to question where he is and what has happened but to a greater depth than before. He knows he is in hospital, that he crashed the car and that Andrew was with him but he is now starting to ask more about what happened. Fortunately he has no real recollection of the accident so we are not telling him too much at the moment. Things that have impressed us are that he remembers where he lives, that his bedroom is in a mess, the dodgy Primark jacket that the girls made him buy but most impressive is that he remembers our home phone number, his address and postcode and all of our mobile numbers which is remarkable; even more so because we learnt today that the ambulance crew who attended the scene thought his chances of survival were slim. So he has done remarkably well in such a short space of time. One of the nurses on duty today hasn’t been in for a few days and she was amazed at his progress so those of you who have been away should see a huge improvement. Both Pat and I are gaining in confidence that he will make a near full recovery, but realise that this will take time.

We were sat with him this morning when he suddenly announced that he had to be ready by 2 as he was going out. Pat and I glanced at each other and thought hmmm, what do we do here, humour him? So I said where are you going? To the gym he replied and one of the nurses confirmed that he was indeed going to the gym at 2 for physio so we were really chuffed that he had obviously remembered something that he had been told a while before! We therefore got him ready with his shorts and trainers and off he went at 2 in his wheelchair. We spoke to the physio afterwards and he said that Paul had done very well, and that he would have more sessions on Monday. He is generally quite weak having spent a couple of weeks in bed and he still has a general weakness down his right side due to the brain injury, but that should recover in time. The other thing the physio told us is that we shouldn’t let him walk too much over the weekend as he will get used to compensating for his weak side so it is best to let that recover some strength before he tries to walk too far. Hopefully over the weekend we can get him in his wheelchair and take him down to the coffee shop again.

He is still eating like a horse – Ramsay’s cakes are a definite favourite – he didn’t even bother to bite the first one; he just shoved it into his mouth whole and then spent the next 5 minutes chewing it with a big grin on his face! Andrew also brought some pomegranate seeds in for him which he really enjoyed.

Nothing much else to report at the moment, except to say once again thanks for all the messages and comments on the blog. Best comment on his cards so far is from his 14 year old cousin Matthew who said “Next time, try and dodge the tree!”. I asked Paul whether he thought Penny’s idea of using a laptop to communicate when we can’t understand him would work and he said that it was a good idea, so we will give that a whirl tomorrow.

Finally – the cheque hasn’t arrived yet Stuart, did you forget to post it.......??!!

Paul update - Day 15

Day 15 – Thursday 27 November

We picked Mark up this morning and arrived at the hospital just after 12 to find Paul sitting up in a chair eating his lunch – pasta shells in a savoury tomato sauce – yummy! He was managing very well but the nurses were surprised that he was eating at all because apparently they had to take the box of sweets away from him this morning as he was slowly working his way through the entire tin!

He doesn’t look terribly comfortable in the chair so we spoke to the physiotherapist who said that after 2 weeks in bed he is generally quite weak, but especially around his middle and neck and back; we have to take him some trainers in tomorrow and they will get him into the gym to do some exercises to strengthen him up.

After lunch he dozed off again (bit of a pattern emerging here......) and so we nipped down for a cup of tea. When we got back he was sat up chatting to Euan about Scouts, Iceland and all the things that they had done. Paul was smiling and happy so obviously his long term memory is still there. He still has trouble with short term memory – any of you that have read Richard Hammond’s book will know that this is quite common after a head injury - so he keeps asking the same questions and even if you give him the answer he might ask the same question again shortly afterwards. I think the trick is to just answer the question as though he has asked it for the first time; hopefully his short term memory will improve with time.

Later in the afternoon they came and fitted Paul into a wheelchair and just as they finished Jim (who works at the Airport) popped in to see him and then Andrew and Aaron popped in again so he sat in the dayroom for a while and then we managed to get him downstairs to the coffee shop for a drink and a change of scenery which he enjoyed. This tired him out though and when we got back.....yup, he had a nap!

We had to fill in a questionnaire for the speech therapist listing all of his interests and activities so that she has something to chat to him about, so hopefully that should start in the next day or so. His speech is improving every day so with this specialist help hopefully it should return to normal before too long.

A nurse from the Maidencraig Rehabilitation Unit at Woodend also came to speak to us this afternoon as he has been referred there and might be moved as soon as next week. Paul’s neurosurgeon is away until Monday so I guess he will chat to us Monday or Tuesday about the results of the MRI scan that he had yesterday and we will probably find out then when they plan to move him. I think this will be much better for Paul – there are only about 16 people there and there is specialist care to help Paul through the next stage of his recovery. Hopefully parking will be easier as well! I will try and let you all know in advance when he will be moved and what the visiting hours are – as far as we know it is quite flexible and depends largely on what Paul will be doing, so we may not know until the day before what is planned, but we will try and let you all know.

So, another good day but a tiring one for Paul!

PS He has never eaten Dairylea cheese or jacket potato skins in his life, but he does now!

Paul Update - Day 14

Day 14 – Wednesday 26 November

Two weeks on and Paul’s progress has been remarkable. He is now fully awake during the day (but needs an afternoon nap – no change there then!) and is aware of what is going on around him. His speech is improving slowly but we are still having difficulty understanding some of the things he is trying to tell us which is frustrating him. The hard part for us now is accepting the fact that further progress is going to be slow and difficult – he has done so well in the last 4 days since regaining consciousness that I think we half expect him to continue to improve at the same rate, but it is clear that this is not going to be the case. Still, he is doing remarkably well and we are all very proud of his patience, good humour and fighting spirit.

We had a phone call from the hospital at around 10 today to say that he was going to have an MRI scan at 11, and could we get there because they wanted us to sit with him and talk to him to try and keep him calm so that they didn’t have to sedate him. The reason for this is that the scan is done in sections and lasts about 20minutes in total and he has to keep very still for long periods. So we rushed in only to find a huge queue for the car park again, so I dropped Pat off at the door around 10:50 and joined the queue.... I got in about 11:40 – just as the scan was finishing, but I am pleased to report that he was as good as gold and didn’t move a muscle, so we are just waiting for the results now. It must have been a relative of Lewis Hamilton driving him around on the trolley to and from his scan, Pat couldn’t keep up!!

Ramsay baked 5 cup cakes for him yesterday; he had 1 before we left last night and they had all gone this morning – so either the nurses pinched a couple overnight or he had a midnight feast!

Judith (who works with Pat)visited around lunchtime and watched him eat a huge lunch of turkey and cranberry sauce, mashed potato and peas – and after all that he decided to have his afternoon nap just as his other visitors started to arrive! Charles (Catherine’s Dad) came in first but unfortunately Paul was asleep for the entire time that Charles was with him. The nurse then woke him up to do his blood pressure and just after that Andrew, David (Webb), Amy, Arthur, David (Findlay), Suzanne, Mark, Ramsay and Duncan all arrived throughout the afternoon so thanks to all for the goodies you brought in for him (and us!).

At our request, he has been moved into the corner of the ward which is much better because there is more room to put up his cards, the speakers for his music etc. and he can see out of the window.

Apart from the trip for the MRI this morning, Paul hasn’t really left the ward yet so we are hopeful that we will be able to get him into a wheelchair and take him down to the cafe tomorrow for a cup of tea or something, just to give him a change of scenery.

Just before we left for the evening, he suddenly became concerned and asked what he should do if he needed a pee (not the word he used....) during the night, so we managed to set up the buzzer to call the nurse (I told him it was room service!) so judging by the amount he has drunk today, they could have a busy night!

Paul update - Day 13

Day 13 – Tuesday 25 November

Stuart – you owe me a fiver!! Hurrah!!

We arrived about 1 o’clock again today and found Paul sitting in a chair drinking a cup of tea.  They had got him up earlier in the morning and he managed to stand up for a few seconds and then they sat him in the chair. 

He was looking at his mountain bike magazines but it looked as though he was having difficulty focussing – he kept shutting each eye to try and read and was very close to the page, so I gave  him his glasses but that didn’t seem to help much.  It looks as though he might be having trouble with his eyes so we have alerted the nurses to it and hopefully the specialists will check him out tomorrow.  One of the main problems is that he can’t really tell us what he can see, so it might be fine, we just don’t know. He could read some of the words though which is excellent. We bought him some different drinks such as Oasis and Fruit and Barley and his eyes lit up when he saw them, so he had to try each of them in turn!  He then had to fill in his menu card for tomorrow and chose Turkey with cranberry sauce for lunch – I think his appetite is intact!

After an hour or so he started to complain that his neck was aching – he doesn’t yet have that much strength and he kept flopping forward in the chair - so they put him back into bed and almost straight away he dropped off to sleep.  It was about this time that the visitors stated arriving!  First in was John Cook (the vicar) and then Guy (Gavin’s Dad) who brought in a big tin of sweets – many thanks Guy, Paul munched his way through quite a few this evening! We took the opportunity to nip downstairs for a cup of tea and when we got back they had moved Paul into the bed opposite – they needed his bed (which had an oxygen outlet) for a new patient.  They also said that they were hoping to get Paul down for an MRI scan later if possible but that didn’t happen today; the consultant said he would chase it up so hopefully he might have one tomorrow and we will have a better idea of what’s going on.  Andrew and Aaron arrived just after we got back; Andrew bought him pork pies and Aaron bought some more mountain bike magazines so there should be plenty to keep him occupied!

Eilidh, Amy, Anna, Mark, Ramsay, Harriet and Duncan also visited so by the end of the day he was quite tired – he actually said he was knackered.....!

We also spoke to the neurosurgeon today as he is away for a few days; he is very pleased with Paul’s progress and is talking about moving him to Woodend in a week or so – this is a rehabilitation unit so again this is good news.  I asked whether we were likely to get Paul home for Christmas (my personal target for him!) and he said almost certainly yes so we are keeping our fingers crossed - even if it is just for the day.

So, more positive progress, let’s hope it continues.  Apparently we can take him around the hospital in a wheelchair for a bit tomorrow so hopefully the change of surroundings will do him good.

Martyn, Pat and Mark.

Paul Update - Day 12

Day 12 – Monday 24 November

Another big step forward today; Paul was moved out of the high dependency unit into a normal ward – still Ward 40, but the room between the day room and the Ward he was in for the last few days.  I am pleased to report that Paul is improving hour by hour – he is eating well, is trying very hard to speak and managing very well with 2 or 3 words but still struggles to put long sentences together.  I mentioned this to the neurosurgeon today and he is arranging for a speech therapist to assess Paul tomorrow. He can count the number of fingers I am holding up and knows everybody who visits.  His right side (arm and leg) is still very weak but he is determined to use it and is gaining strength every day.  Presumably this is aided by the fact that he is eating so much!  Everyone who visited today was amazed by the progress – especially Ramsay and Harriett who hadn’t seen him since last Thursday; they are going to bake him a cake for tomorrow!  Thanks again to everyone for visiting and for all the cards and messages of support. The next step will be to get him up, which hopefully might happen tomorrow?

Paul's diary

We keep meaning to put updates on here for everyone but normally get back quite late and are normally quite tired,  so I have slightly amended the diary I am keeping for Paul and will try and keep this up to date.  Thanks to all of you for everything you have done for us all;  Paul is very lucky to have such good friends and we are sure that together we will get him back to his old self.  If any of you spot any errors below or can fill in any gaps (I did this from memory!) then please let me know. Also, if the layout is wrong, perhaps Ross could tidy it up for me??

 

Martyn, Pat and Mark.

 

PAUL’S DIARY

 

Wednesday 12^th November:

The day of the accident.  Paul was driving from Keig towards Whitehouse at about half past nine when the car left the road and hit a tree.  Andrew Kneeshaw was with him and fortunately he was OK and called an ambulance.  We were at some friends for dinner but nobody knew our mobile numbers so Andrew phoned Eilidh, who was with Anna; Anna told Mark Brand and he sent Mark a text and Mark phoned us!  We tried to ring the hospital but they didn’t know anything so Mum phoned Andrew’s Mum.  She said that all she knew was that they had had an accident, that Paul was unconscious and was on his way to the ARI.  Mum and I left straight away and got to the hospital shortly after he had arrived.

 

We arrived at casualty probably around 23:15 and the doctor said that Paul had sustained a serious head injury in an accident, that he was unconscious and was shortly going to have a CT scan.  Mark and Ramsay arrived around half past 11.  We went in to see him and he was connected to lots of machinery – a ventilator to help him breathe, an ECG to monitor his heart and a few other bits.  He was nice and peaceful, under sedation and they had given him a mild anaesthetic to stop him moving, as they weren’t sure if he had done any other damage.  He had a neck collar on, and was strapped onto the bed to keep him still.  Andrew was waiting to be seen, so I had a quick word with him to make sure he was OK.  A couple of policeman also came to see us to ask how he was, and they told us what they knew of the accident.

 

Day 1 - Thursday 13^th November:

Paul went for a scan about 0015 and so we went and waited in casualty for him to come back.  The scan took about an hour and the doctor came and told us what they had found.  We were then taken up to the ITU (Intensive Therapy Unit) where they had settled him into bed.  He was still all wired up with tubes in his mouth and in his arms and hands.  But he was still quite peaceful.   We stayed with HIM until about 0330, but we were so tired we decided to go home for a couple of hours.  We dropped Mark off at the flat. We didn’t really sleep very much.  I also had a few calls to make – the dentist, the orthodontist, the garage, the co-op and one or two others, so we didn’t get back until just before 12 o’clock, but Mark had been with him since about 8 o’clock. He was still sedated and anaesthetised, and they were just about to take him for another scan to make sure he hadn’t damaged his neck or back.  Thankfully, everything was OK so they removed the anaesthetic and then about 4 o’clock they removed all the sedatives so that he would try and wake up.  Andrew and his Mum came to see him a couple of times, Eilidh came to see him with her Mum and Andrew and Eilidh came back again later as well. Around 8:30 they took him off the ventilator and removed all the tubes from his mouth but they left the monitor and drips connected. He was flat on his back but thrashing his arms around – his left more than his right, and he was grabbing at things such as the pipes, sheets, mattress etc. We stayed with him until about 11 o’clock, then we dropped Mark off and went home.  There was no real change; he was still unconscious  but getting quite agitated at times.  They gave him regular doses of paracetamol and codeine to relieve the pain which settled him down well.

When we got home, there were lots of messages on the phone asking how he was - Mrs Milne, Mr Comfort, Dr Shanks, and I had lots of messages from James and various others.

 

Day 2 - Friday 14^th November

Mum, Mark and I came back in about 10 o’clock – there wasn’t really much change in.  Still unconscious in ITU and still thrashing around.  Friday afternoon you had about 16 visitors come to see you so Mum, Mark and I had to wait in the waiting room while everyone came in 2 at a time.  There was Anna, Eilidh, Stuart, Amy, Aaron, Andrew, Laura, Gavin, Suzanne, Amy, Holly, Ross,Jennifer (can anyone fill in the missing names??).  They took the monitors off on Friday but he was still on a drip.

 

Day 3 - Saturday 15^th November

Major step forward today – he was moved from ITU to Ward 40 in the high dependency unit. Mum, Mark and I came up in the lift behind him and we settled him into his new surroundings. Still no real change, but he was starting to open his eyes but without focussing on anything. He was still getting distressed at times and they were giving him codeine and paracetamol to keep him calm.

We were worried about him climbing out of bed because he kept grabbing at the bars on the bed and all the wires and things and trying to pull himself up.  He also kept trying to pull the lines out of his leg!

Lots of visitors again!

 

Day 4 - Sunday 16^th November

After a very restless night they decided to move him out of bed and put him on some mattresses on the floor in case he tried to climb out! This was good for us as we were worried that he might fall out of bed and bang his head; and it also meant we could lie on the floor with him and talk to him.  We started to play some music for him –Eilidh made a list of songs that he likes (Rick Astley, Dolly Parton???!!!)  and Mark put together a playlist for him.  Andrew lent him some speakers and we set them up so he could hear the music.  He seemed to like this and reacted differently to different songs.

 

Day 5 - Monday 17^th November

Huge improvement today – we rang the hospital before we left and they said that he had had a restless night.  Mark, Duncan, Mum and I arrived about 11 o’clock and he was very sleepy.  He woke up a couple of times and Fiona from cubs came to see him and he gave her a wave, and Charles (Catherine’s Dad) popped in as well and he gave him a wave.  Still very sleepy though. The vicar from the village also popped in to see him. He was still not very happy about the drip in his arm and kept trying to pull it out, so in the end we had to put big cloth boxing gloves on him to stop him pulling at everything!  

 

Day 6 – Tuesday 18^th November

Another restless night and we couldn’t park the car as the car park was full, so I dropped Mum off and parked in the flat and walked up to the hospital.  Today was bit of an unsettled day for him – they took the line out of his groin as it had been in for so long and that was a bit inflamed, so they cleaned that up a bit and he seemed a bit happier after that.  Only trouble was they needed to get another line in, so they put one in his foot. The nutritionist came to see him because the neurologist had suggested that he should start to be fed; she asked us of he drank milk and we said that he had it in cereal but would not drink a glass of milk out of the fridge, but that he liked fruit juice.  She recommended something called Fortijuice which is a fruit juice based fortified drink – we tried that and he seemed to like it and even managed to sip some from a cup. They had been worried that he might not be able to swallow - but there was no problem!! James, Fiona, and a few others came to see him.  After everyone had gone though, he gave us a big scare.  Mum noticed that he was rubbing his right arm as if he had pins and needles, and when she tickled his right foot he didn’t move.  I then noticed that his heart was racing so I told one of the nurses that he was agitated and that his heart was racing, but they were busy and didn’t come straight away.  I reminded them a little later as his heart was still pounding and eventually they put the monitor on his finger and the nurse said that she didn’t think the readings were right – his heart was racing at 233 beats per minute and his blood pressure had dropped to 85/51.  She felt his pulse, and next thing there were about 10 people around him – doctors, nurses etc.  They were pumping fluid into him, trying to get another line in his foot and eventually they put one into his arm.  They gave him a drug which stops his heart momentarily and then it starts again at the correct rhythm, which thankfully it did.  But they had the defibrillator ready, just in case...

After that, he settled down but he certainly gave Mum and Dad a scare! We didn’t leave until about 1 o’clock in the morning so we were very tired.  And he was!

 

Day 7 – Wednesday 19^th November

They had to give him another injection Wed morning as his heart had started racing again, but that was before we arrived so when we saw him, he was quite settled.  The neurologist came to see him and asked him to raise his arms, which he did, but it was a bit of a struggle with his right arm. He managed to pull his catheter out, which must have been sore because there is a balloon on the end to keep it in his bladder but he managed to pull it all the way out.  Ouch!  They didn’t put it back though, which was probably a good result for him!  As he had the heart problem the night before, we asked Eilidh to text everyone and ask them not to visit today, because we thought he needed a rest so thanks to all of you for letting him have a rest. The nurses said that they might put him back into a bed tomorrow...

 

Day 8 – Thursday 20^th November

Another good day, they put him back into bed and he was generally very calm and awake for long periods.  The cardiologist came and did an ECG to investigate what had happened and an ultrasound to try and find out what caused his heart to race.  I remembered that it had happened in Berlin so we asked Aaron when he came in what had happened and it seems as though it was the same thing.  Stuart’s Dad and James came in to see him during the day and then Andrew, Aaron, Eilidh, Mark, Tom and a couple of others came in later.  I asked him to point to Andrew and Aaron and he knew who was who.  He also kept trying to pull the tubes out of his arm and got quite cross with me when I told him not to! He was quite thirsty and drank half a bottle of juice. I put some music on and when Rick Astley came on he mouthed the words to the song.

 

Day 9 – Friday 21 November

Another good day but he was quite sleepy.  He is very alert when awake and he was trying desperately to talk, but not quite managing.  I told him where he was and that he had had a bump in the car, and that he was getting better, but it was going to take some time – he raised his eyebrows and said “Ooh!” so we think he understood.  Alan Taylor from Scouts popped in to see him, then Amy and Laura.  It was a cold day and when we woke up there was a lot of snow, so we thought we might have to stay in the flat.  There were some nice nurses on today and they were very good with him. He managed to drink a lot of the special strawberry drink they gave him – high nutritional stuff – which he seemed to like.  He also drank a lot of water which was good, but he was trying desperately to do it himself but kept squashing the cup!

His driving licence arrived in the post at home today.... 

The nasty rash on his left arm is improving slowly; we are putting lots of greasy jelly stuff on it to soothe it and it seems to be working.  At long last he has stopped pulling on his IV tube so with a bit of luck we can stop having to put the mitt on because that was annoying him.

 

Day 10 – Saturday 22 November

Best day so far! Mum, Mark and I were a bit late today because I managed to spill coffee all over Mum’s car!  We got to the hospital about 11 o’clock and he was sat up in bed, eyes wide open trying to undo the bandage on his arm.  We read all his cards out to him and he tried to read them as well, so I put his glasses on him to help him read. 

 

We also put all his cards up on the shelf. 

We bought him a beaker with a spout and he drank a lot of water out of it, the nurse suggested we try him with some ice cream which he really enjoyed and he managed to let us know when he wanted to pee – he even pee’d in a bottle for the first time.  He was talking quite a lot – when I asked him who Andrew was he said Andrew Kneeshaw, you recognised Suzanne and all your other friends.  Quite a few visitors – Mum, Me, Mark, Holly, Laura, Andrew, Arthur, Gwyneth, Suzanne and Stuart. After everyone had gone he fell asleep, so Mum and I nipped out for a cup of tea and after we had been back for about 10 minutes he woke up again.  So Mum gave him a raspberry jelly we bought which he enjoyed, and the nurse asked if he would like a tea or coffee and he asked for tea; which he drank!

 

Day 11 – Sunday 23 November

 

Another good day – after a peaceful night’s sleep he was quite awake and alert. The nurses had given him a shower and washed his hair so he looked more like his old self.  He was drinking lots of water and had a couple of yoghurts and he was obviously hungry. The neurosurgeon came to see him and was pleased with his progress and said that he could eat anything he fancied and that we could probably get him up tomorrow.  He had a few visitors – Eilidh, Stuart, Holly, Arthur, Amy, Andrew, Laura, Tom, Chad (from scouts), Stuart’s sister, Alison (Holly’s Mum) and so we nipped out for a cup of tea.  When we got back he had ordered his supper – he ordered fish in parsley sauce and chips, with jelly to follow. He ate most of it – his first real food for 11 days!  Then he had a banana which he managed to peel and eat without help, so things are on the up!  They have also started to give him paracetamol in liquid suspension so now that he is eating and drinking, hopefully the drip can come out of his arm within a day or two.  He was trying to speak but struggling with sentences but single words were quite clear.  This is obviously frustrating for him and us but hopefully it will improve.

 

Update 3

Good news, Paul has been moved out of ITU in to the High Dependancy Unit of Ward 40 (The Special Brain Unit, they call it). This means visiting times are more strict, 2pm until (I think) 5pm, then again in the evening, I'll update after I visit again this afternoon.

Update 2

We're all at the hospital at the moment. I've been in to see Paul.
He's still in ITU, he's probably going to stay there for a few more
days. He's still unconsious, restful most of the time, but he is
thrashing about occasionally. He can hear voices and is opening his
eyes and looking around a bit, but he isn't really aware. His parents
are very happy for people to come in and see him, in fact they want
people to, but we're only allowed in two at a time.

He doesn't look like he's been in a car crash, there aren't external
injuries and he can still move everything, which is good.

That's about all I can tell you right now.

Meet Up

Everyone who wants to go and see Paul today is welcome to join us at 1pm at the main hospital doors by the bus station, I'll try and post a map. We can all meet up there and then visit in twos while the others go for a coffee or something. All questions to Holly please.

Lastest news is that he's still in ITU, that's all I know right now, but I'll update after I've seen him.

x

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Aberdeen+Royal+Infirmary,+Aberdeen,+Aberdeen+City,+United+Kingdom&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=19.353594,39.375&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FfYcaAMdw17f_w&z=16

(We're meeting in the door by the green arrow.)

Update 1

Just so you don't have to go trawling through the comments on the last post, Anna's update:

He's ok.
They've removed all his pipes and and stuff and he's responsive to touch.
He's settled now, curled up in a ball, apparently was very restless earlier.

Mark sent me a text saying it was probably better if we wait till he's been moved to a different ward if were all planning on seeing him in a group

Basically between my flat, Ross' and Amy's we should be able to work out somewhere for everyone to be so we can visit in small groups, that way we all get to see him.

Hoping he has a good night.
xx

For those that don't know, my halls are in Old Aberdeen, about 35-40 minute walk away. Amy is at the Union Street end of King's St, probably about the same. Anna is fractionally closer at about 30 minutes.

Keep in touch everyone, and I echo Anna's sentiments; hope he has a restful night. x

The Situation

I'm not sure how much everyone knows, so I'll just go over everything.

Last night Paul was driving on the Whitehouse to Keig road. He lost control around a corner and crashed in to a tree. There were no other cars involved, Andrew was in the car as well. They were both taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Andrew doesn't have any major injuries.

Currently (1pm, 13th Nov.) Paul is sedated in Intensive Care. He has head injuries, cerebral contusion (bruising of the brain) at least. He has had a CT scan but I haven't heard exactly what the results of that were.

From what I've heard the plan is to try and ease off the sedation sometime today and hope he wakes up on his own.

Right now that's all I know. His parents are with him; Anna and Eilidh were there earlier in the day. Holly and I are going to try and go in later.

I appreciate that it is easier to text people because we all carry our phones all the time, but in order to keep everyone updated it would be good if you could post any developments you hear about here so we don't have to rely on the grape vine so much. Even if you just text me I can post whatever it is.

If you are going in to see Paul or would like to go in at a certain point let us know. Remember that the hospital says only 2 people at a bed at a time (they might stretch to 3) and his family will probably be with him most of the time, so keep groups small, but there's no need to go alone.