First Post: Our Fearless Leader Graham
Hello All,
I've wanted to start a Blog for UFOESP but life just got in the way. With the news of our Fearless Leader Graham breaking his neck on a three week trip to the UK, I've put some things on the side to get this started. I'll post the e-mail I received yesterday with the news:
FL Linda's response:
Dear UFOESPers
This is a letter updating on Graham's condition. He fell and broke his neck and compromised his spine on the 6th of January as he was preparing to leave the UK after his 3 week visit here for the holidays. Things have been pretty difficult as you can imagine. Any loving thoughts you might send to him or Airasa would be most gratefully received.
Airasa's response:
Hello everyone,
I'm sorry I haven't replied to your messages so far, but I want to thank all of you for all of your kind words. I've read all your emails to my dad and it means so much to him to know you care. Thank you for your support, this is all such as shock but things are beginning to settle down a bit.
The story so far...
At the moment my dad is in a high dependency unit at Leeds General Infirmary, please don't send flowers (yet) because he can't have them on his ward. There are six beds in his ward, and three in his bay. He is being looked after by an array of doctors and nurses, most of whom I can't keep straight - he seems much better at remembering their names than I do, although he gets confused that the more senior doctors are called Mister in British hospitals! Today he's been transferred to a special air bed which will undulate underneath him to help prevent bed sores. He's on a kind of ventilator at night called a Bi-PAP, which gives an extra push into his lungs when he takes a breath in, this is to stop any part of his lungs collapsing. He's on oxygen during the day, which at the moment is going in a tube into his nose, rather than having a mask. He's had a chest x-ray because they were concerned about him getting a chest infection, but his chest is clear (phew). He's now got feeling in his thumb (yesterday) and the palm of his hand (today). He still can't feel the rest of his fingers or move his hands and fingers, but we're still seeing this improvement as a good sign. The doctors have said that they think it is unlikely he will regain the use of his legs, but they can't tell about his hands. We're trying to think more positive than that, since everything we have heard from nurses we know and others is that it is too soon to tell and the recovery process will be long and slow.
He's still managing to keep his spirits up, I know your emails are helping with that. Please send cards to our address (26 Towers Way, Leeds, LS6 4PJ, UK) as we don't know how soon he will be moved to the specialist spinal injuries unit at Wakefield (20 miles from us), where he will do the majority of his recovering. We are lucky that we have one of these units so close, as there are only five units in the UK. As he improves he is starting to get a little bored by the hospital routine, the hospital staff are very busy and the other patients in his section aren't able to talk to him. So sending any news or funny stories about what's happening in your lives is very welcome and helps a lot to keep his spirits high. We don't get much news about California or the US here, and no news at all about the American sports he loves (baseball and football) - you all know what a news junky he is, stories about Tony Blair will only go so far to quench his needs.
So far no-one at the hospital as mentioned money yet, healthcare is free at the point of use here, so doctors and nurses don't concern themselves with what things cost. We have spoken to one of our friends who is a senior health service manager and she has told us that all hospitals have a legal duty to give immediate care to all seriously hurt people who come through their doors. But long-term care is a different matter and at some point a hospital manager will notice that he isn't British and try to recoup money from dad's insurance. We aren't sure how it will work as Great Western expect bills to be paid for in advance and then reclaimed. It may be as his bills are being covered by the British taxpayer in general and the LGI in particular, that it will be a relatively simple matter for them to claim directly for what he needs. We have many friends who work in the NHS (not surprising as only the Russian army and Indian railways employ more people), and not one of them has ever heard of a single patient being refused treatment, even illegal immigrants waiting to be deported! So we are not worried about health care costs at the moment and are focusing on the more important job of helping him get better.
Thanks so much for your continued support, love and prayers.
Airasa and Ian
I'll post more as the day and weeks progress on Graham, as well as UFOESP things and Space news. FL Sue
I've wanted to start a Blog for UFOESP but life just got in the way. With the news of our Fearless Leader Graham breaking his neck on a three week trip to the UK, I've put some things on the side to get this started. I'll post the e-mail I received yesterday with the news:
FL Linda's response:
Dear UFOESPers
This is a letter updating on Graham's condition. He fell and broke his neck and compromised his spine on the 6th of January as he was preparing to leave the UK after his 3 week visit here for the holidays. Things have been pretty difficult as you can imagine. Any loving thoughts you might send to him or Airasa would be most gratefully received.
Airasa's response:
Hello everyone,
I'm sorry I haven't replied to your messages so far, but I want to thank all of you for all of your kind words. I've read all your emails to my dad and it means so much to him to know you care. Thank you for your support, this is all such as shock but things are beginning to settle down a bit.
The story so far...
At the moment my dad is in a high dependency unit at Leeds General Infirmary, please don't send flowers (yet) because he can't have them on his ward. There are six beds in his ward, and three in his bay. He is being looked after by an array of doctors and nurses, most of whom I can't keep straight - he seems much better at remembering their names than I do, although he gets confused that the more senior doctors are called Mister in British hospitals! Today he's been transferred to a special air bed which will undulate underneath him to help prevent bed sores. He's on a kind of ventilator at night called a Bi-PAP, which gives an extra push into his lungs when he takes a breath in, this is to stop any part of his lungs collapsing. He's on oxygen during the day, which at the moment is going in a tube into his nose, rather than having a mask. He's had a chest x-ray because they were concerned about him getting a chest infection, but his chest is clear (phew). He's now got feeling in his thumb (yesterday) and the palm of his hand (today). He still can't feel the rest of his fingers or move his hands and fingers, but we're still seeing this improvement as a good sign. The doctors have said that they think it is unlikely he will regain the use of his legs, but they can't tell about his hands. We're trying to think more positive than that, since everything we have heard from nurses we know and others is that it is too soon to tell and the recovery process will be long and slow.
He's still managing to keep his spirits up, I know your emails are helping with that. Please send cards to our address (26 Towers Way, Leeds, LS6 4PJ, UK) as we don't know how soon he will be moved to the specialist spinal injuries unit at Wakefield (20 miles from us), where he will do the majority of his recovering. We are lucky that we have one of these units so close, as there are only five units in the UK. As he improves he is starting to get a little bored by the hospital routine, the hospital staff are very busy and the other patients in his section aren't able to talk to him. So sending any news or funny stories about what's happening in your lives is very welcome and helps a lot to keep his spirits high. We don't get much news about California or the US here, and no news at all about the American sports he loves (baseball and football) - you all know what a news junky he is, stories about Tony Blair will only go so far to quench his needs.
So far no-one at the hospital as mentioned money yet, healthcare is free at the point of use here, so doctors and nurses don't concern themselves with what things cost. We have spoken to one of our friends who is a senior health service manager and she has told us that all hospitals have a legal duty to give immediate care to all seriously hurt people who come through their doors. But long-term care is a different matter and at some point a hospital manager will notice that he isn't British and try to recoup money from dad's insurance. We aren't sure how it will work as Great Western expect bills to be paid for in advance and then reclaimed. It may be as his bills are being covered by the British taxpayer in general and the LGI in particular, that it will be a relatively simple matter for them to claim directly for what he needs. We have many friends who work in the NHS (not surprising as only the Russian army and Indian railways employ more people), and not one of them has ever heard of a single patient being refused treatment, even illegal immigrants waiting to be deported! So we are not worried about health care costs at the moment and are focusing on the more important job of helping him get better.
Thanks so much for your continued support, love and prayers.
Airasa and Ian
I'll post more as the day and weeks progress on Graham, as well as UFOESP things and Space news. FL Sue
posted by Fearless Leader Sue at 8:46 AM
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