30th March: Not so fast Mr Bond

So there we all were. Late morning. All tidied up, ready for business class bed travel over to Cavit. But wait. The medics want Mike to be seen by the ENT specialist before he goes. Hmm goes the specialist, haaa goes the specialist....this should have happened, that should have happened, why hasn't such and such been done. The upshot of the hmming and haaaing is that Mike is still in the medical ward. The specialist decided the cuff around the ‘trachy’ should be deflated and Mike would need to be monitored for twenty four hours.

I’m not sure why all this was so stressful, but it was. So time for some fresh legs - Bryce. Hmmm says Doctor (Econ) B.D. Wilkinson..."The patient is just very bored, frustrated and desperately wanting some physical exercise." Treatment: (1) : Read him the business news section of The Independent for extended periods. Now for any normal person this treatment plan would make them writhe with boredom, but the two other family economists insist it was just what Mike needed. Unfortunately no independent witnesses have come forward to verify their theory.
(2) : Let the bloke pursue his own exercise program. The upshot was that Mike turned himself onto his front while holding his head off the pillow in order to protect his trachy. Roll over Beethoven. Then with a massive effort, he got enough strength into his weak right arm to push his front off the mattress while pulling his knees under his hips. In no time he had lifted himself into a vertical position, head swaying but determinedly controlled by the neck. Wow! It was simultaneously scaryingly unstable and utterly impressive. His determination and willpower were amazing. He did it several times and failed many more times. Moreover, his stamina was 'off the scale', he kept at it for perhaps 90 minutes. By then Bryce felt like a sleep himself.

So this is all looking like great progress, if we can just manage the safety angle.
Again, many thanks for all your comments. Mike would be astounded at the support from everyone out there. We've been telling him about each one and saving the whole things for him as it grows. Now that he is so much more alert we will gradually take them all in to read to him.

Lee