How Mike is doing (Saturday, 26 Feb)

Anyway, as you can see, it's taken us a while after the accident to get this blog started. So I'll give everyone an update on his progress, and we can post more history as we get more sorted. I've split this into good news and not so good, read whichever section you prefer first.


Good News

Mike's now breathing on his own and swallowing his own saliva, so he's been moved out of intensive care into the neurology ward.

There are apparently four factors that increase the chances of recovering from a head injury:

• High general intelligence before the accident
• Strong social skills
• High level of physical fitness
• Strong family support

And Mike has ticks for all four. He's so fit that his pulse rate was so slow when the ambulance staff got to them that they were seriously worried until Ben told them that about 40 bpm is about normal for someone training for the Ironman. Over the 2 1/2 days I've been back from the UK we've been by far the biggest group in the waiting room, with family and friends waiting for him. And no one who's been to Canterbury University, NZ, can be stupid. (Bit of bias there, I admit).

All Mike's limbs are moving, which means that his spinal cord has not been damaged. His pupils are responding to light and are even.

Not so Good News

Mike's still very unconscious, he is not responding to voice, though he does a bit to pain, and maybe to changes in light. There's no signs yet that his movements are controlled by his brain, e.g. when the staff are doing something to him a hand doesn't come up to try to brush them away.

Will keep you updated.