Monday Update from Linda and Graham
Dear all,
I have just come from the hospital where Graham managed to dictate the following e-mail to you all. I hope it will be posted to the Blog as well, but I have no control over that. Therefore, it is important also that you let us know of anyone else who would like to be added to this list so that people get the updates directly. I have added Nicole and Troy to this per their requests.
I must say he was looking well, though stuck in bed. He was able to be up in the evening yesterday for 'dinner and a film' with Airasa and Ian, so that must have been a real treat. It is hard for most of us to imagine what it is like, being so helpless and unable to do much of anything. I am so proud of the way he is progressing both physically and mentally, and I know that your cards, letters, phone calls, and gifts have been instrumental in helping him to maintain his composure and improve his quality of life. Thank you all for your continuing support.
Spring finally seems to be on the way here and it is lovely to see the flowers bursting forth on the way to the hospital. He has been moved to the bed opposite on the ward now and so will have new bits of the ceiling to stare at while he is still confined to the bed a lot.
Now over to Graham:
Dear friends, family, comrades, and other loved ones,
The word has gotten to me that you are verily crying for an update from me about what is going on here in Merry Old Wakefield; or, more particularly, my situation in Pinderfields.
Next week there will be a case conference on my case, at which a whole bunch of people will be discussing with me the therapy I have received and the therapy I might receive, and I think generally what to do with me, so I will keep this particular update as concise as I can.
Before last week, I had two solid weeks of both physiotherapy and occupational therapy, plus some quite helpful meetings with the staff psychologist. It’s really difficult to describe what exactly my exercises are in either therapy, so I will summarize by saying that the physio sessions are devoted to developing muscle strength in my arms, particularly my triceps, in order, among other things, to be able to wheel my chair and therefore be independently mobile. The occupational sessions are devoted to working with my hands with the goal of my being able to do more things for myself, like eating and using a computer.
Starting March 6th , I suffered a relapse having to do with a hard spot on, as the English would say, my left bum, which meant that I was essentially bedridden most of the time until today. I know this is a little confusing, but my consultant, while instituting a program to find out what the problem was, also instituted a program that I could be up a half an hour on Monday the 7th and as long as the skin in this particular area of my behind was OK, I could add a half an hour each day, which I have done. In other words, Monday a half hour, Tuesday an hour, Wednesday an hour and a half and so on to today, when I have been up four hours.
For reasons I won’t bog us down in, I only managed to get in one session of occupational therapy, which involved my trying to eat a regular meal with much assistance from my OT person, Kerry. This involves putting a special strap on my hand and a modified spoon in the strap and my trying to maneuver the food from the plate to my mouth. Friday the 11th I managed to do a full session of physio, which was challenging, because my arms had become surprisingly weak without the continued work that had begun the previous two weeks.
Today the 14th I had a full session of physio and a full session of OT as well as sitting up for my lunch. However, the OT session ended quite emotionally for me as it involved trying to get used to baby steps with the computer. Suddenly it reminded me of my job in the ‘village’ and how I had lost all my abilities in my hands. If the OT session hadn’t been so close to closing, I’m afraid I would have lost it completely; as it was, I just managed to mostly choke back tears.
I hope today marks the beginning of another upswing in my progress. Whatever the case, I will keep you honestly posted on how things are going.
May the force be with you,
Graham.
PS No, there are no monkeys running errands on the ward! As much as I appreciate the many generous offers for books on tape and an iPod, I must decline. It’s too noisy on the ward to listen to the spoken word, without losing half of it. The iPod is just too complicated at the moment.
I have just come from the hospital where Graham managed to dictate the following e-mail to you all. I hope it will be posted to the Blog as well, but I have no control over that. Therefore, it is important also that you let us know of anyone else who would like to be added to this list so that people get the updates directly. I have added Nicole and Troy to this per their requests.
I must say he was looking well, though stuck in bed. He was able to be up in the evening yesterday for 'dinner and a film' with Airasa and Ian, so that must have been a real treat. It is hard for most of us to imagine what it is like, being so helpless and unable to do much of anything. I am so proud of the way he is progressing both physically and mentally, and I know that your cards, letters, phone calls, and gifts have been instrumental in helping him to maintain his composure and improve his quality of life. Thank you all for your continuing support.
Spring finally seems to be on the way here and it is lovely to see the flowers bursting forth on the way to the hospital. He has been moved to the bed opposite on the ward now and so will have new bits of the ceiling to stare at while he is still confined to the bed a lot.
Now over to Graham:
Dear friends, family, comrades, and other loved ones,
The word has gotten to me that you are verily crying for an update from me about what is going on here in Merry Old Wakefield; or, more particularly, my situation in Pinderfields.
Next week there will be a case conference on my case, at which a whole bunch of people will be discussing with me the therapy I have received and the therapy I might receive, and I think generally what to do with me, so I will keep this particular update as concise as I can.
Before last week, I had two solid weeks of both physiotherapy and occupational therapy, plus some quite helpful meetings with the staff psychologist. It’s really difficult to describe what exactly my exercises are in either therapy, so I will summarize by saying that the physio sessions are devoted to developing muscle strength in my arms, particularly my triceps, in order, among other things, to be able to wheel my chair and therefore be independently mobile. The occupational sessions are devoted to working with my hands with the goal of my being able to do more things for myself, like eating and using a computer.
Starting March 6th , I suffered a relapse having to do with a hard spot on, as the English would say, my left bum, which meant that I was essentially bedridden most of the time until today. I know this is a little confusing, but my consultant, while instituting a program to find out what the problem was, also instituted a program that I could be up a half an hour on Monday the 7th and as long as the skin in this particular area of my behind was OK, I could add a half an hour each day, which I have done. In other words, Monday a half hour, Tuesday an hour, Wednesday an hour and a half and so on to today, when I have been up four hours.
For reasons I won’t bog us down in, I only managed to get in one session of occupational therapy, which involved my trying to eat a regular meal with much assistance from my OT person, Kerry. This involves putting a special strap on my hand and a modified spoon in the strap and my trying to maneuver the food from the plate to my mouth. Friday the 11th I managed to do a full session of physio, which was challenging, because my arms had become surprisingly weak without the continued work that had begun the previous two weeks.
Today the 14th I had a full session of physio and a full session of OT as well as sitting up for my lunch. However, the OT session ended quite emotionally for me as it involved trying to get used to baby steps with the computer. Suddenly it reminded me of my job in the ‘village’ and how I had lost all my abilities in my hands. If the OT session hadn’t been so close to closing, I’m afraid I would have lost it completely; as it was, I just managed to mostly choke back tears.
I hope today marks the beginning of another upswing in my progress. Whatever the case, I will keep you honestly posted on how things are going.
May the force be with you,
Graham.
PS No, there are no monkeys running errands on the ward! As much as I appreciate the many generous offers for books on tape and an iPod, I must decline. It’s too noisy on the ward to listen to the spoken word, without losing half of it. The iPod is just too complicated at the moment.
posted by Fearless Leader Sue at 9:11 AM
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