Today Mike started in on more intensive rehab. First stop was speech language therapy. Mike's right side weakness affects the right side of his face, mouth muscles and even his tongue, so there is a lot of hard basic work to be done to get more clarity of speech. Next stop was physio and the realisation of the difficulty of really basic exercises, such as very light lat pulldowns. One problem is that after about three reps of these really light exercises, Mike is utterly exhausted. However, Mike being Mike, he was thrilled to be exercising again and more challenged than perturbed about the long journey to fitness.
We had a chat about all the resting Mike's having to do, or what Mike calls 'waiting'. One of the nurses is from Chile, so Mike's getting him to teach him some Spanish. I think learning even a little of another language should help forge those new neural pathways he needs. Plus presumably it will cheer him up about everyone else heading overseas.
We're still having to really carefully manage Mike's visitors. Partly it's because of basic eternal tiredness and also to conserve his energy for the rehab work.
Regards
Lee
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8 comments:
Thanks for the positive update.
You will need your Japanese language Mike for one of the parcels I popped into the mail to you yesterday. Kim Heggarty has made a little book of her life in Japan for you - and has been practising her japanese script!
Sorry the postcards have stopped - we've both arrived back form Japan with a nasty bug and surprisingly for us have been confined to bed for a couple of days. Can understand a little of your frustrations! Liz and Matt are now in Naples - Matt's grandmother's home town. However the only living rellie he still has there has been in gaol for the last 20 years for mafioso crimes!
Everyone here sends their love
Mary, John, Ali and Cath
Really great the way you folk have kept up the blog. The odd miss here and there is no longer a nail biting event as we are all encouraged by Mike's progress. The big thank you is to say how much we have all appreciated the blog and being able to stay in touch with you all this way. We really appreciate the fact that in the early days it must have often been really hard work at the end of another long day.
regards to all and we are still with you.
K & J
Hi there, just to let you know that Amanda came home from Japan in February for 10 days to attend a friends wedding. Amanda and I had a day in Auckland - retail therapy - and we took time out to visit Happy at work. We visited Happy on the 10th February. We had a great catch up and had coffee in the cafe below Happy's office. This might add a piece to the puzzle, prior accident. Hope this helps. Keep up the great work. Regards Marg
Hey Mike
Good to hear that the recovery is going slow and steady - I guess that's the best tactic.
It sounds like you need to be refreshed on the six weeks prior to the accident.
Can you remember New Year? One night in Ohope with Sam and Sarah and then 3 nights at Papamoa with a gaggle of girls and New Years eve at the Pap Tav. You and Ben spent most of the time training but you managed to squeeze in a bit of drinking.
In January you came and watched the cannonballs play a game of touch in a tournament at Cox's Bay and I guess that you spent the rest of your time training and working.
Hope that helps. Keep up the good work.
Dave
Hey Mike,
Paul and I have been buzzing since seeing you. It was so great to hear your voice and see that your still the same old Mike. I've been bragging to my colleagues about how well you are doing..They've all bee astonished with you recent improvements..and I let them know that you'll be writing a book about it all soon,
Lots of Love Kim and Paul
Hey Mike
You are doing amazingly well. Was great to see the pic, as we haven't seen you in ages. By the looks of things you have been through a weight lose program that you would have been the last person to need.
Keep it up. Thinking of you.
Nix
Hey, thanks for the updates... it is so good to be able to read how well Mike is doing.
Brendon and I are just putting together some photos of the Ironman Training camp we ran that Mike was at in Taupo in February - I'll be passing them on to Nick to give to you guys. I think he's putting together a story of the weekend to go with it.
Once again, GREAT to hear Mike is doing far better than we had dared to hope.
Chelsea and Brendon
Mike you're a champion. You totally inspire me. As i sit here at work crushing numbers on my calculator, i often think of you and how you are going. It is such a pleasure to log on each day and follow your progress. Your a total inspiration and a reminder to us all that anything is possible.!!! I just wanted you to know that i totally admire you and you are just doing awesome.
On another note : I just received a email from louisa she is hiking around loas as we speak. Of course she sends her love to you.
Kind regards
Vicki (friend of louisas that also did ironman)
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