Heartiest congratulations to all those of Mike's squad who took part in the Ironman and achieved their objectives, and commiserations to any who found that it was just not their day. Big congratulations in particular to Ben Schurr who was in the accident with Mike, yet mustered the concentration and will power to swim for over an hour, cycle for almost 6 hours at over 30 k an hour (unassisted) and then tell his body that it now had to run a marathon -- which it did in 3.5 hours. Mike will be delighted with your effort Ben.
Now for some unwelcome news. The hospital staff organised a family conference on Friday afternoon. Contrary to our earlier more informal advice, they told us that the MRI scan done on Mike was 'not good'. It confirmed the presence of the sort of diffuse brain damage that would be expected from the rapid deceleration of the brain in the skull caused by a head-on crash. On thinking about it, this is of course consistent with Mike's slow recovery. He is still unconscious 13 days after the crash - yes, his eyes sometimes open and he sometimes responds to commands, but he is not yet swallowing consistently, and he doesn't respond consistently, nor does he seem to generally follow what is happening around him. Due to the diffuse nature of the brain damage, the hospital staff do not know what sort of long-term disabilities he might suffer.
The hospital staff say that they do not make predictions in individual cases because they have been proven to be wrong time and time again. This is confirmed by the many anecdotes relayed by friends and well-wishers of people they have known who have recovered amazingly from serious head injuries. We have decided that we must plan for likely scenarios, but still hope that Mike will perform way above the norm for someone with his injuries. We agree with Mike's friends that if anyone can do it, he can do it.
The hospital staff advise that the quality of care in Wellington would be as good as in Auckland. Since Mike's close family is concentrated in Wellington it makes sense to shift him down there, possibly in the next week or two. We hope to get the chance for you to visit him before this, if the hospital agrees.
Posted by Mike's Dad.
.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Kay says
I took a very deep breath and I am sure Mike will have a good progress surprise for us this week for his birthday.
Thoughts are with you all.
Lee, Bryce, TJ and Phil,
Greetings from Plimmerton.
Just a short note to let you know that we are thinking of you every day. Mike is very much in our thoughts.
Dave and Irena
Thinking of you all.My wishes I've been sending don't seem to have been getting through to you as I must be doing something wrong with this blogger set. A big triathalon outside of our window at Southport this morning makes us think of Michael.Our thoughts are with you.best wishes.
Lynn and Alan Gerrard,
Main beach Australia
Edward Thomas and his mum Sarah are thinking of you and hope the transfer down to Wellington goes well
Hi, Lee and Bryce,
Jack has just given us this blog site. He has been keeping us very well informed on progress. We are thinking of you every day and hope for a quick return to more positive reports. Hoping to see you down here soon. Barbara and Colum
Hi Wilkinson family,
You sound like you are doing such a fantastic job in supporting and assisting Mike in his recovery.
As you mentioned- I have also heard head injury stories where the prognosis was not so good and yet the odds were still beaten. Some with a full recovery.
If anyone can do it, Mike can.
I hope Mike's move to Welly goes well and am sure we all understand if visits are not appropriate between now and his departure.
Whatever helps the healing process.
Louisa
Lee and Bryce
Our thoughts are very much with you and your family.
Andrew and Robin
Khandallah
Post a Comment