Hi everyone,
Lee again after quite a silence. Mike reckoned there were no new PBs. I felt it is all one great PB, so here's my interpretation of last week's progress:
Each event was small in itself but each builds into a lot more independence and interaction. I think the major difference is that Mike has so much more energy now. He can last longer in activity and it doesn't seem to take so long to rebuild his energy. That enables him to work at things a bit longer. Also, as he does manage a new challenge, it seems to build his confidence that he can cope with the next one.
One bit of progress was that Mike got a new wheelchair - one that he can wheel himself and that is easier for us to manage too. He doesn't have enough energy to wheel very far, but it is a great feeling of independence. With it, the walking frame and the trolley he can organise his day to suit himself without having to wait for anyone else.
Now that Mike is up for longer, he needs more clothes so Bryce and I wheeled him into Lambton Quay. We bought some more clothes and even met some friends of Mike's in the shop. Of course Bryce so loves shopping it was a real thrill for him!
Yesterday Mike and I wheeled our way into the World Press Photo exhibition. It was very crowded but we discovered that everyone makes way for us to be able to see the photos. The only time I've parted the crowds before was when I was with a nun friend who wears the full nun regalia. We'd recommend the exhibition,if it comes your way - the photos I mean, not the nuns.
All the domestic activity has a good effect on Mike's skills. Its like second time around of training up your kids! I've been putting him to work washing dishes and peeling vegetables. Tracy started a new job last week. She and Andrew moved out of our apartment and into a place within walking distance. Phil, Bryce and I were helping them move into their flat and Mike got caught up in that too. It all requires a lot of work from Mike, to prop himself up against things, manoeuvre around furniture, and to develop small scale movements such as usng a vegetable peeler.
Plus of course last weekend required the crucial cultural skills connected with watching the All Black Lions Test. Mike lasted the whole game with just a half time rest.
Plus Bryce has even got Mike working on that blasted addictive Sudoku maths puzzle stuff.
On a smaller scale, Mike can now eat unsupervised, so we're expecting further weight gains. He can also shower when he wants to. Sounds trivial but it means he doesn't need to wait until the nurses are free to keep an eye on him. His swimming is progressing. Mostly the hydrotherapy focuses on trunk flexibility and walking action, but in his short attempts at freestyle, his legs are sinking less. Plus on Sunday night he discovered that he can still do press ups! He did two easily. I had a go and struggled with one. The walking is going okay and Mike is now walking with one crutch with someone to help. The physio expects that in another three weeks he will be able to walk entirely on his own. Mike's non-physical project this week is to carry out a bit of work/economics analysis and he is really looking forward to getting into that.
Cavit are now talking about Mike coming home to live within the next couple of months, so things are falling into place. Now Tracy and Andrew have moved out we will be able to set up the spare bedroom for Mike to be there for a while. I presume he will continue to go out to Cavit for therapy some days and gradually start to integrate into ordinary life.
You can see that Mike's life each day makes further progress towards normal living. The amazing thing is how normal it is becoming when we were facing disaster such a short time ago.
Back to Mike again next time.
Lee
Monday, June 27, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
Home Is Where The Head Injured Patient Is
Wednesday’s run of good luck continued and on Friday (17th June) one of the Cavit staff came and asked me if I would like to spend a night at home that weekend. It was much to my family’s and my surprise because none of us expected that opportunity to arise until I could get around better.
The next morning my Mum and Dad came and picked me up and we started the quick journey home to Mum and Dad’s place in Thorndon. It was nearly 4 months since the accident occurred and around 6 months since I’d last been home but it was fine. A few issues presented themselves like sloping access, but once I was aware of them they weren’t a problem.
The main issue of moving around inside was a flight of stairs to the living area on the second level. But these didn’t slow me down too much and apparently I got better with them as time went on.
Quite a few relatives turned up on Sunday for a visit, but that was fine. Whenever I got tired I just popped downstairs to a bedroom for a rest.
Later on I went down to the Wellington waterfront with Mum, Dad and a family friend. It was the first time I’d been in a wheelchair in a crowded place. People’s reactions to me were quite different to what they would have been normally. It was as if they wanted to look but thought that they shouldn’t. I myself would probably have reacted that way before the accident, but will force myself to react normally now.
Then it was back to Cavit on Sunday night for another week’s therapy. May there be many more visits home.
Mike
The next morning my Mum and Dad came and picked me up and we started the quick journey home to Mum and Dad’s place in Thorndon. It was nearly 4 months since the accident occurred and around 6 months since I’d last been home but it was fine. A few issues presented themselves like sloping access, but once I was aware of them they weren’t a problem.
The main issue of moving around inside was a flight of stairs to the living area on the second level. But these didn’t slow me down too much and apparently I got better with them as time went on.
Quite a few relatives turned up on Sunday for a visit, but that was fine. Whenever I got tired I just popped downstairs to a bedroom for a rest.
Later on I went down to the Wellington waterfront with Mum, Dad and a family friend. It was the first time I’d been in a wheelchair in a crowded place. People’s reactions to me were quite different to what they would have been normally. It was as if they wanted to look but thought that they shouldn’t. I myself would probably have reacted that way before the accident, but will force myself to react normally now.
Then it was back to Cavit on Sunday night for another week’s therapy. May there be many more visits home.
Mike
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Fat Bastard
(For those of you are unsure about the title Fat Bastard was a heavily overweight yet amusing character played by a presumably padded Mike Myers in a couple of recent movies.)
Wednesday (15 June) represented a particularly good day for me. Firstly, I had enough weight to be taken off drinking a protein drink called Fortisip. I was somewhere around 65 kg before the accident and at my lightest measurement I came in at 52 kg. That represents a weight loss of around 20%. If I figured out some way of converting this head injury into something that could be taken I could make a lot of money.
On Tuesday I weighed in at 62 kg. While this represents a big weight gain I tried on a pair of my old trousers over the weekend. The trousers used to fit comfortably. Now, I wouldn’t say they were falling off me, but there is substantially more room than there was before.
I am close enough to my previous weight and my ideal weight that they decided to take me off Fortisip. While I didn’t think Fortisip tasted bad, depending on which flavour you had, the high protein content disrupted my skin and gave me more red rashes and more pimples than normal.
Secondly, and in keeping with the weight thing, I got a trolley on Wednesday. While this represents a minor step in the scheme of things it allows me to cook breakfast for myself and is the first time I’ve been independent in this.
Right. Happy eating.
Kind regards,
Mike
Wednesday (15 June) represented a particularly good day for me. Firstly, I had enough weight to be taken off drinking a protein drink called Fortisip. I was somewhere around 65 kg before the accident and at my lightest measurement I came in at 52 kg. That represents a weight loss of around 20%. If I figured out some way of converting this head injury into something that could be taken I could make a lot of money.
On Tuesday I weighed in at 62 kg. While this represents a big weight gain I tried on a pair of my old trousers over the weekend. The trousers used to fit comfortably. Now, I wouldn’t say they were falling off me, but there is substantially more room than there was before.
I am close enough to my previous weight and my ideal weight that they decided to take me off Fortisip. While I didn’t think Fortisip tasted bad, depending on which flavour you had, the high protein content disrupted my skin and gave me more red rashes and more pimples than normal.
Secondly, and in keeping with the weight thing, I got a trolley on Wednesday. While this represents a minor step in the scheme of things it allows me to cook breakfast for myself and is the first time I’ve been independent in this.
Right. Happy eating.
Kind regards,
Mike
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
15th June: Mike and the success factors
Hi again. Lee again.
Those of you who were there at the beginning of Mike's long saga will remember the factors we were told that would give Mike a better chance of comingn out of the accident ok. The factors were high intelligence; good interpersonal skills; strong family support; good physical fitness and a previous optimistic attitude to life. This week I have clearly been seeing two in action -previous physical fitness and interpersonal skills.
I was watching Mike's progress at Physio today and talking with his physio. Mike accident has affected him greatly physically, but he is making such good progress. I can see that he understands muscle groups and what muscles are where. The physio can explain what she needs him to do and Mike knows what is involved, even if the muscle messages are weak. He also really concentrates on what is required. I am sure it is because this physical focus is familiar territory to him.
On Monday Mike started having breakfast in the day room and attending the half hour current events session afterwards. For various reasons this time of day brings much more interaction. Up till now Mike has related a lot to people visiting and not much to other patients. In that three days I have seen him really increase his involvement in the group and show much more awareness of the other patients needs and difficulties. Presumably this is like an old behviour that is warming up too. Some of it must be due to increased exposure to the other patients, some due to his improved energy and some the old Mike reappearing.
It is very interesting to see some of those factors mentioned right near the start actually coming into play in microcosm.
Regards
Lee
Those of you who were there at the beginning of Mike's long saga will remember the factors we were told that would give Mike a better chance of comingn out of the accident ok. The factors were high intelligence; good interpersonal skills; strong family support; good physical fitness and a previous optimistic attitude to life. This week I have clearly been seeing two in action -previous physical fitness and interpersonal skills.
I was watching Mike's progress at Physio today and talking with his physio. Mike accident has affected him greatly physically, but he is making such good progress. I can see that he understands muscle groups and what muscles are where. The physio can explain what she needs him to do and Mike knows what is involved, even if the muscle messages are weak. He also really concentrates on what is required. I am sure it is because this physical focus is familiar territory to him.
On Monday Mike started having breakfast in the day room and attending the half hour current events session afterwards. For various reasons this time of day brings much more interaction. Up till now Mike has related a lot to people visiting and not much to other patients. In that three days I have seen him really increase his involvement in the group and show much more awareness of the other patients needs and difficulties. Presumably this is like an old behviour that is warming up too. Some of it must be due to increased exposure to the other patients, some due to his improved energy and some the old Mike reappearing.
It is very interesting to see some of those factors mentioned right near the start actually coming into play in microcosm.
Regards
Lee
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
June14: He's big, he's bad and he's still an economist
Hi there Everyone
It was a real progress today. Mike was asked to talk briefly about the write-off of Third World Debt to the morning orientation session at the Rehab Unit. what a request. Little did they know the threat of being subjected to hours of economics. Little did they know all the literature Bryce immediately down-loaded as a contribution. I was amazed. BUT that old economics brain was still there chugging away. Sometimes there was a bit of a wait for the next idea, but the interconnections, the mindset, the familiar old increasing complexity ..still all there. I would have burst into tears, except that people might have thought it was in sorrow at still being stuck with an economist after all that shaking around of the grey matter. Those of you who saw Mike comatose in Auckland Hospital will understand how exciting the progress is, even if it does all lead to more economics.
Other progress. Mike is now having breakfast out in the day room and is able to sit in a chair. This brings him into more social interaction with the other people at Cavitt. He and I think his energy levels are improving. He can last longer in activities and it does not take as long for him to recharge his batteries.
We got a general report today on Mike's Occupational Therapy testing and he had done better than either of us had expected. It looks like most of his abilities are still there, just the time taken to do thing is a bit slow at present. Some of the exercises we think he would have done about the same level pre-accident. One was the sort of skill required to rummage around in a handbag and find things like a mobile phone or a comb. Just as well it's not a blokey activity.
It was a real progress today. Mike was asked to talk briefly about the write-off of Third World Debt to the morning orientation session at the Rehab Unit. what a request. Little did they know the threat of being subjected to hours of economics. Little did they know all the literature Bryce immediately down-loaded as a contribution. I was amazed. BUT that old economics brain was still there chugging away. Sometimes there was a bit of a wait for the next idea, but the interconnections, the mindset, the familiar old increasing complexity ..still all there. I would have burst into tears, except that people might have thought it was in sorrow at still being stuck with an economist after all that shaking around of the grey matter. Those of you who saw Mike comatose in Auckland Hospital will understand how exciting the progress is, even if it does all lead to more economics.
Other progress. Mike is now having breakfast out in the day room and is able to sit in a chair. This brings him into more social interaction with the other people at Cavitt. He and I think his energy levels are improving. He can last longer in activities and it does not take as long for him to recharge his batteries.
We got a general report today on Mike's Occupational Therapy testing and he had done better than either of us had expected. It looks like most of his abilities are still there, just the time taken to do thing is a bit slow at present. Some of the exercises we think he would have done about the same level pre-accident. One was the sort of skill required to rummage around in a handbag and find things like a mobile phone or a comb. Just as well it's not a blokey activity.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
9th June: Inching towards independence
Hi. Lee here again. Bryce and Andrew are tacking their way ever closer to setting Mike up with a computer and then there will be no holding him back. At the moment, Mike is off line and in the meantime there's just me.
Mike has shifted rooms, in with two other guys. This means that there's someone sicker than him, which I guess is progress. For those of you who visit, he's now in a room on the other side of the unit, down the end nearest Pilmuir Street. He's decided to sack me as his personal secretary and take over running his social life. Which is great.
Mike's new room is closer to the toilet, so he is able to walk there with a walking frame and just a nurse to watch his walking. And this morning he ate his breakfast sitting up on the side of his bed, which makes eating a lot easier. Each of these developments seem small but involve a lot of work on muscle control and strength.
The latest O2Max magazine has an inspirational article in it about a young woman who was badly hurt in a road accident and has trained her way back into being one of NZ's top surf lifesavers. This was great reading for MIke, especially when he realised she'd had a brain injury as well as extensive other injuries. I guess we all are inspired by such stories but we just never think that life will make sucha demand on someone close to us. The day in day out requiremnent for determination, patience and courage is very difficult to communicate.
On that profound note,good night!
Lee
Mike has shifted rooms, in with two other guys. This means that there's someone sicker than him, which I guess is progress. For those of you who visit, he's now in a room on the other side of the unit, down the end nearest Pilmuir Street. He's decided to sack me as his personal secretary and take over running his social life. Which is great.
Mike's new room is closer to the toilet, so he is able to walk there with a walking frame and just a nurse to watch his walking. And this morning he ate his breakfast sitting up on the side of his bed, which makes eating a lot easier. Each of these developments seem small but involve a lot of work on muscle control and strength.
The latest O2Max magazine has an inspirational article in it about a young woman who was badly hurt in a road accident and has trained her way back into being one of NZ's top surf lifesavers. This was great reading for MIke, especially when he realised she'd had a brain injury as well as extensive other injuries. I guess we all are inspired by such stories but we just never think that life will make sucha demand on someone close to us. The day in day out requiremnent for determination, patience and courage is very difficult to communicate.
On that profound note,good night!
Lee
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Can't beat Wellington on a cold day
Hi Everyone,
Yesterday Bryce and I took Mike for another car ride. A bit further afield this time and he coped really well. We came into Wellington, bought an icecream and a coffee and sat looking at the new beach at Oriental Bay,feeling that all things considered Life was pretty good. There's a great icecream place on the Bay there called soemthing like Cafe Eis. We also did a smal tour around Phil's new place of work and the location of his new flat - all those changes had happened while Mike was out to it. After that, Mike was pretty tired, so we went home. The apartment was tantalisingly visible, but until he can walk a visit home is not really feasible.
Mike's cycling friend Nicky was down from Auckland and it was great for us all to see her. Nicky's visit reminded Mike of his great circle of friends back there and I think her visit gave him new determination about races etc. When I tentatively suggested aiming for a 10km walk as a starting goal (thinking, hey I could do that too!) I got scorn poured upon it.
Meanwhile it's back to walking practice for Mike and a torso that does not yet obey mental commands yet. But there's definitely progress everyday.
Lee
Mike's
Yesterday Bryce and I took Mike for another car ride. A bit further afield this time and he coped really well. We came into Wellington, bought an icecream and a coffee and sat looking at the new beach at Oriental Bay,feeling that all things considered Life was pretty good. There's a great icecream place on the Bay there called soemthing like Cafe Eis. We also did a smal tour around Phil's new place of work and the location of his new flat - all those changes had happened while Mike was out to it. After that, Mike was pretty tired, so we went home. The apartment was tantalisingly visible, but until he can walk a visit home is not really feasible.
Mike's cycling friend Nicky was down from Auckland and it was great for us all to see her. Nicky's visit reminded Mike of his great circle of friends back there and I think her visit gave him new determination about races etc. When I tentatively suggested aiming for a 10km walk as a starting goal (thinking, hey I could do that too!) I got scorn poured upon it.
Meanwhile it's back to walking practice for Mike and a torso that does not yet obey mental commands yet. But there's definitely progress everyday.
Lee
Mike's
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Back to my element
Hi guys,
Friday (3rd June) ended two difficult yet successful days of Physiotherapy. On both days my Physio, Sue, was pleased with how things went.
On Thursday, I successfully negotiated some stairs. Going down stairs can ordinarily make recovering patients dizzy. They made my Dad dizzy during his recovery after he decided to throw himself off a bridge during a mountain biking trip when I was 13 resulting in a broken pelvis amongst other injuries. Fortunately, there was no dizziness for me and I managed to get 16 in before I tired.
On Friday, much to Haydn's (my former swimming coach) presumed pleasure I had my first swim. The swim can make patients throw up, but that wasn't an issue for me. It was good to be in the water again. After a number of seasons of water polo in secondary school and swimming training prior to my decision to get into triathlon (plus the fact my brother and I were known as water babies growing up) made swimming easily my best triathlon discipline. The only problem this time was that due to a lack of trunk strength my bottom half wouldn't float like it used to so I had trouble kicking when I tried a few strokes. Still the tiredness didn't kick in as much as it could have and the walking (the real reason we came swimming) went well.
All in all, it was a rewarding couple of days.
Kind regards,
Mike
P.S. David Haines, I don't mean to talk up the Hutt but you owe me a flat white [check what he promised]. Janus café has two couches.
Friday (3rd June) ended two difficult yet successful days of Physiotherapy. On both days my Physio, Sue, was pleased with how things went.
On Thursday, I successfully negotiated some stairs. Going down stairs can ordinarily make recovering patients dizzy. They made my Dad dizzy during his recovery after he decided to throw himself off a bridge during a mountain biking trip when I was 13 resulting in a broken pelvis amongst other injuries. Fortunately, there was no dizziness for me and I managed to get 16 in before I tired.
On Friday, much to Haydn's (my former swimming coach) presumed pleasure I had my first swim. The swim can make patients throw up, but that wasn't an issue for me. It was good to be in the water again. After a number of seasons of water polo in secondary school and swimming training prior to my decision to get into triathlon (plus the fact my brother and I were known as water babies growing up) made swimming easily my best triathlon discipline. The only problem this time was that due to a lack of trunk strength my bottom half wouldn't float like it used to so I had trouble kicking when I tried a few strokes. Still the tiredness didn't kick in as much as it could have and the walking (the real reason we came swimming) went well.
All in all, it was a rewarding couple of days.
Kind regards,
Mike
P.S. David Haines, I don't mean to talk up the Hutt but you owe me a flat white [check what he promised]. Janus café has two couches.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
1st June: Bryce and the search for OBJECTIVE MEASURES
Greetings everyone
For a change tonight there is a different aspect of PBs to report. Bryce has been beavering away trying to work out an objective measure for Mike to use to assess his fatigue. Those of you who know Bryce well will understand the importance of such measures to him. Despite heaps of scorn poured on by me, his ever-admiring wife, I have to admit that he has come up with quite a neat idea, at least for someone like Mike.
The system relates to mental arithmetic that Bryce and his class mates did at Primary School. Yes I know you have to wonder about someone who remembers anything from that long ago, let alone specific mental arithmetic, but we're talking Wilkinsons here and it was Christchurch where there'd be stuff all else to do. The system involves giving Mike a number between 1-100, then two numbers to add and subtract. (The adding number is higher than the subtracting number, just to make it easier.) Then Mike adds and subtracts the same numbers for a minute - how many can he do in a minute. Then he keeps track of how he performs during different degrees of tiredness and can track fastest performance and slowest. So tonight I arrive, I think Mike seems fatigued but he says he isn't bad. He volunteers to do THE TEST and lo, he was very tired. Lowest score so far. Interestingly, I could see half way through the minute that suddenly the fatigue kicked in and his rate dropped fast. (You will notice that there is no mention of Yours Truly subjecting herself to the test!) In essence the message from that test meant: 'Go home Mum'
Progress with the walking today. Mike got so that he can bring his leg right through the stride, rather than just bring it up to the other leg. When you think about it that advance takes nerve and, if successful, quite a lot of balance. Mike had both.
Regards and happy mental arithmetic
Lee
For a change tonight there is a different aspect of PBs to report. Bryce has been beavering away trying to work out an objective measure for Mike to use to assess his fatigue. Those of you who know Bryce well will understand the importance of such measures to him. Despite heaps of scorn poured on by me, his ever-admiring wife, I have to admit that he has come up with quite a neat idea, at least for someone like Mike.
The system relates to mental arithmetic that Bryce and his class mates did at Primary School. Yes I know you have to wonder about someone who remembers anything from that long ago, let alone specific mental arithmetic, but we're talking Wilkinsons here and it was Christchurch where there'd be stuff all else to do. The system involves giving Mike a number between 1-100, then two numbers to add and subtract. (The adding number is higher than the subtracting number, just to make it easier.) Then Mike adds and subtracts the same numbers for a minute - how many can he do in a minute. Then he keeps track of how he performs during different degrees of tiredness and can track fastest performance and slowest. So tonight I arrive, I think Mike seems fatigued but he says he isn't bad. He volunteers to do THE TEST and lo, he was very tired. Lowest score so far. Interestingly, I could see half way through the minute that suddenly the fatigue kicked in and his rate dropped fast. (You will notice that there is no mention of Yours Truly subjecting herself to the test!) In essence the message from that test meant: 'Go home Mum'
Progress with the walking today. Mike got so that he can bring his leg right through the stride, rather than just bring it up to the other leg. When you think about it that advance takes nerve and, if successful, quite a lot of balance. Mike had both.
Regards and happy mental arithmetic
Lee
Monday, May 30, 2005
May 30th: Back to the olds
Great to get all your positive comments for Mike. I can see that the Hutt Valley has a bit of an image crisis! It sure felt a wonderful place to us as we drove Mike around for the first time. The small things in life take on such a new meaning. We were armed with clean up gear because brain injured people often get car sick, but not Mike.
Each day Mike gets a little bit better co-ordinated and a tiny bit stronger. It is hard to describe unless you see it close up and notice the micro changes. Where even a week ago he was so shaky I had to get help to transfer him from the wheelchair to his bed, now he is good enough to manage with only me. But they think it will still be six weeks till he is really freely walking on his own.
The fatigue is an on-going issue and we're all still learning about it. Even just Mike lying in bed listening to music or reading tires him. Even having us read to him is not restful enough - he doesn't lose energy, but he doesn't gain it either. So its quite a challenge, particularly for a guy who all his life has been either full on or sound asleep! Any suggestions for ways to rest are welcome! I've been teaching him yoga breathing. I plan to seek out someone to teach him meditation when he has more stamina, but it would have to be someone really willing to adapt their technique to brain injury.
One good thing from his goals though - by July apparently Mike will be doing his own washing and they will have taught him to cook. At that point, we will all move into Cavit with him and he can look after us.
Mike is really enjoying his visitors. Thank you so much to the regulars and the casuals. Just call me if you're planning to visit so I can keep things co-ordinated.
Lee
Each day Mike gets a little bit better co-ordinated and a tiny bit stronger. It is hard to describe unless you see it close up and notice the micro changes. Where even a week ago he was so shaky I had to get help to transfer him from the wheelchair to his bed, now he is good enough to manage with only me. But they think it will still be six weeks till he is really freely walking on his own.
The fatigue is an on-going issue and we're all still learning about it. Even just Mike lying in bed listening to music or reading tires him. Even having us read to him is not restful enough - he doesn't lose energy, but he doesn't gain it either. So its quite a challenge, particularly for a guy who all his life has been either full on or sound asleep! Any suggestions for ways to rest are welcome! I've been teaching him yoga breathing. I plan to seek out someone to teach him meditation when he has more stamina, but it would have to be someone really willing to adapt their technique to brain injury.
One good thing from his goals though - by July apparently Mike will be doing his own washing and they will have taught him to cook. At that point, we will all move into Cavit with him and he can look after us.
Mike is really enjoying his visitors. Thank you so much to the regulars and the casuals. Just call me if you're planning to visit so I can keep things co-ordinated.
Lee
Sunday, May 29, 2005
3rd Post - 1st Drive
Hi guys,
Saturday 28th May was a milestone day or, in my Dad's words, a PB. I had my first car ride with Mum and Dad. The ride through the Hutt (from the hospital) was (fortunately) uneventful.
There was some nervousness as it is common for head injury patients to get nausea. Fortunately, I was not inflicted with that problem. All I had was some dizziness and it was gone by the time we got home. Unfortunately, the ride wore me out and I was stuffed afterwards.
For those of you who know the Hutt, we went up to the Wainui hill lookout and the Petone foreshore for a coke (I had to get some caffeine in there somewhere). We also checked out two houses that I grew up in (neither had changed much).
The ride, along with my first weight measurement over 60 kilos the day before, felt like more of a return to normality,
Kind regards,
Mike
Saturday 28th May was a milestone day or, in my Dad's words, a PB. I had my first car ride with Mum and Dad. The ride through the Hutt (from the hospital) was (fortunately) uneventful.
There was some nervousness as it is common for head injury patients to get nausea. Fortunately, I was not inflicted with that problem. All I had was some dizziness and it was gone by the time we got home. Unfortunately, the ride wore me out and I was stuffed afterwards.
For those of you who know the Hutt, we went up to the Wainui hill lookout and the Petone foreshore for a coke (I had to get some caffeine in there somewhere). We also checked out two houses that I grew up in (neither had changed much).
The ride, along with my first weight measurement over 60 kilos the day before, felt like more of a return to normality,
Kind regards,
Mike
Thursday, May 26, 2005
A Day In My Life At CAVIT
Firstly, I have some news. On Tuesday, I had my first walk with a cane. Admittedly I was supported by my Physio Sue, but it was (literally) a step in the right direction. We had another family meeting with the Cavit staff. It was weird to sit there while everyone talked about you. As I said before though, things are headed in the right direction, so the meeting went well.
A day in my life at CAVIT centres around therapy. I get up around 7.30 and generally have a shower first. Mum normally makes me breakfast after that.
Then we move into therapy for the day. Given my circumstances, I spend more time in Physiotherapy than Speech or Occupational Therapy. Normally, I have two sessions of Physiotherapy and one of either Speech or Occupational Therapy. Usually, one of the Physiotherapy sessions is on Sue's machine and the other is practicing walking somewhere. The name of the game is to get my muscles to listen to commands from the brain. While there are only a few main muscles for walking there are a lot of muscles through our trunks involved in balance. These represent the central focus of my Physiotherapy.
Stuck in there somewhere are lunch and dinner. After dinner I have a bit more control over my time and can wear myself down reading or working on my next blog post.
A day in my life at CAVIT centres around therapy. I get up around 7.30 and generally have a shower first. Mum normally makes me breakfast after that.
Then we move into therapy for the day. Given my circumstances, I spend more time in Physiotherapy than Speech or Occupational Therapy. Normally, I have two sessions of Physiotherapy and one of either Speech or Occupational Therapy. Usually, one of the Physiotherapy sessions is on Sue's machine and the other is practicing walking somewhere. The name of the game is to get my muscles to listen to commands from the brain. While there are only a few main muscles for walking there are a lot of muscles through our trunks involved in balance. These represent the central focus of my Physiotherapy.
Stuck in there somewhere are lunch and dinner. After dinner I have a bit more control over my time and can wear myself down reading or working on my next blog post.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
2nd Family Consultation
Cavit's experts reported to Mike and his family today on his progress in the last 8 weeks, and on what lies ahead. The bottom line is that they expect him to be able to live again in due course as an independent adult and to hold down paid employment. I think the literature on brain injuries describes such outcomes as a 'good recovery'. This is amazing in the light of the severity of his injury -- eg 54 days in a state of post-trauma amnesia when 6 hours is regarded as serious. The cognitive testing shows up a few things that need working on, but it would be a miracle if it were otherwise and none of them can be expected to be intractable. Perhaps the best news of all is that they report that he has a high level of awareness of things that need to be worked on. Apparently it is common for people with these injuries to fail to perceive areas where things are not yet what they were. Obviously it is much harder to put something right when you do not know that it is wrong.
The immediate target is to see him walking solo in the next 6 weeks. He gets into the swimming pool for the first time this Friday, now that the site of his P.E.G is sufficiently healed. That should increase his range of therapeutic activities. There is no doubt that Mike is keen to see what he is capable of in the water, given his difficulties with walking.
In the light of all this, fatigue management appears to be the biggest issue Mike faces for the foreseeable future. The physio reports that whereas a few weeks ago he could handle a few minutes physio max, now he can handle 20 minutes. Then he must rest.
One conclusion to come out of this is the desirability of scheduling visits to Mike so that he has rest periods between visits. To achieve this he almost needs an appointment book so that he knows the time at which you will be visiting so that he can rest up before you arrive. So please contact his social secretary (Lee) and book in a time for visiting, and try to arrive on that time if you can so that Mike can plan his energy levels accordingly. This is not the normal casual Kiwi way, we know, but this fatigue problem is not normal either.
Finally, Mike was naturally chuffed by all the responses to his blog.
The positive energy you are all giving him undoubtedly boosts his impressively positive spirit.
Yours appreciatively
Bryce
The immediate target is to see him walking solo in the next 6 weeks. He gets into the swimming pool for the first time this Friday, now that the site of his P.E.G is sufficiently healed. That should increase his range of therapeutic activities. There is no doubt that Mike is keen to see what he is capable of in the water, given his difficulties with walking.
In the light of all this, fatigue management appears to be the biggest issue Mike faces for the foreseeable future. The physio reports that whereas a few weeks ago he could handle a few minutes physio max, now he can handle 20 minutes. Then he must rest.
One conclusion to come out of this is the desirability of scheduling visits to Mike so that he has rest periods between visits. To achieve this he almost needs an appointment book so that he knows the time at which you will be visiting so that he can rest up before you arrive. So please contact his social secretary (Lee) and book in a time for visiting, and try to arrive on that time if you can so that Mike can plan his energy levels accordingly. This is not the normal casual Kiwi way, we know, but this fatigue problem is not normal either.
Finally, Mike was naturally chuffed by all the responses to his blog.
The positive energy you are all giving him undoubtedly boosts his impressively positive spirit.
Yours appreciatively
Bryce
Monday, May 23, 2005
23rd May: Back to me
Hi Everyone,
Lee here again. It was just great to see the buzz Mike got from your comments on his posting. (I hope I got the terminology right because I get told off if I use the wrong word for it all.) Many thanks.
We took MIke out for breakfast on Sunday morning - PEB Personal Eating Best? He got himself through a big breakfast with remarkable speed and it all felt so wonderfully normal.
The therapists have taken pity on Mike's one finger typing and did some work on getting back his touch typing today, so he may be able to up the speed soon. His walking is coming along well. If he can just get stable enoujgh to practise on his own I am sure he'll go ahead really rapidly. Mike's now got his sights aimed at getting in the swimming pool. We suspect he has a bit of a shock coming in terms of what he can manage, but it will be another step along the way.
I mentioned a day or two ago that our next family meeting is on Wednesday. It is a good feeling to think back to where Mike was at for the last one - only recently back from the medical ward, still in post traumatic amnesia and simply not well enough to take part in the meeting. This time he will be able to be his own voice, with us just there ar back up.
Lee here again. It was just great to see the buzz Mike got from your comments on his posting. (I hope I got the terminology right because I get told off if I use the wrong word for it all.) Many thanks.
We took MIke out for breakfast on Sunday morning - PEB Personal Eating Best? He got himself through a big breakfast with remarkable speed and it all felt so wonderfully normal.
The therapists have taken pity on Mike's one finger typing and did some work on getting back his touch typing today, so he may be able to up the speed soon. His walking is coming along well. If he can just get stable enoujgh to practise on his own I am sure he'll go ahead really rapidly. Mike's now got his sights aimed at getting in the swimming pool. We suspect he has a bit of a shock coming in terms of what he can manage, but it will be another step along the way.
I mentioned a day or two ago that our next family meeting is on Wednesday. It is a good feeling to think back to where Mike was at for the last one - only recently back from the medical ward, still in post traumatic amnesia and simply not well enough to take part in the meeting. This time he will be able to be his own voice, with us just there ar back up.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
22nd May: A posting direct from the man himself
Hi guys,
Well it's nice to be something like a happy ending to this story. My recovery is headed in the right direction yet I'm conscious of the fact that things could have easily been so much worse. If I've learnt one thing from this whole experience it's that no matter what happens things could always be worse and you should always keep on pushing (my apologies for the triathlon-speak in that last bit).
To let you know what it feels like (and to use my physio Sue's analogy) it as if an army has run through my head with a scorched earth policy burning all the crops and killing all the locals. There's quite a lot to get used to. The most major thing is the fatigue given I wasn't a guy who ever let lack of sleep get in the way of anything important to me. Most things that use muscles require relearning (for example for accuracy reasons I'm having to one finger type the keys for this document even though I knew how to touch type before the accident). The relearning includes walking and eating. For example, try swallowing your saliva three times. I'm told that the third time was what it was like for me eating originally. On top of this I have a number of problems I'm told are common to head injuries the most annoying of which is a cloudiness over the brain. My memory is ok but as events move closer to 20th Feb they get harder to remember without prompting. I have no memory from before the accident itself until early April (for better or worse). This all said, I've been told by friends who knew me well before the accident that I still have the same sense of humour and the same smile.
I've tried to say thank you to a number of people and been told either that the accident wasn't my fault or I would have done the same for them. While both of these may be true neither reduces my need to say thank you to a few people. Firstly, my thanks go out to my parents, Lee and Bryce, (who could ask for anything more?), my sister and brother-in-law, Tracy and Andrew, (thanks for cutting short your OE for me) and my brother, Phillip, (thanks for your attitude and for still coming to visit me despite getting told off by the Cavit staff at least twice). My thanks also go to my extended family, to all the medical staff involved in my recovery (including the unknown doctor who stopped and helped me immediately following the accident) and to my co-accidentee, Ben Schurr. Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who has come to visit me, sent something to me or posted something on this blog site.
I don't have an internet connection yet but hope to get one very shortly. I will take over putting posts on this blog but I'm sorry to say the frequency will drop. I will put something on this site when I have some major news about my recovery.
Kind regards and best wishes,
Mike
Well it's nice to be something like a happy ending to this story. My recovery is headed in the right direction yet I'm conscious of the fact that things could have easily been so much worse. If I've learnt one thing from this whole experience it's that no matter what happens things could always be worse and you should always keep on pushing (my apologies for the triathlon-speak in that last bit).
To let you know what it feels like (and to use my physio Sue's analogy) it as if an army has run through my head with a scorched earth policy burning all the crops and killing all the locals. There's quite a lot to get used to. The most major thing is the fatigue given I wasn't a guy who ever let lack of sleep get in the way of anything important to me. Most things that use muscles require relearning (for example for accuracy reasons I'm having to one finger type the keys for this document even though I knew how to touch type before the accident). The relearning includes walking and eating. For example, try swallowing your saliva three times. I'm told that the third time was what it was like for me eating originally. On top of this I have a number of problems I'm told are common to head injuries the most annoying of which is a cloudiness over the brain. My memory is ok but as events move closer to 20th Feb they get harder to remember without prompting. I have no memory from before the accident itself until early April (for better or worse). This all said, I've been told by friends who knew me well before the accident that I still have the same sense of humour and the same smile.
I've tried to say thank you to a number of people and been told either that the accident wasn't my fault or I would have done the same for them. While both of these may be true neither reduces my need to say thank you to a few people. Firstly, my thanks go out to my parents, Lee and Bryce, (who could ask for anything more?), my sister and brother-in-law, Tracy and Andrew, (thanks for cutting short your OE for me) and my brother, Phillip, (thanks for your attitude and for still coming to visit me despite getting told off by the Cavit staff at least twice). My thanks also go to my extended family, to all the medical staff involved in my recovery (including the unknown doctor who stopped and helped me immediately following the accident) and to my co-accidentee, Ben Schurr. Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who has come to visit me, sent something to me or posted something on this blog site.
I don't have an internet connection yet but hope to get one very shortly. I will take over putting posts on this blog but I'm sorry to say the frequency will drop. I will put something on this site when I have some major news about my recovery.
Kind regards and best wishes,
Mike
Friday, May 20, 2005
20th May: Three months since Mike's accident
It is hard to believe that the three month mark is here. I look back to our lives pre 20th February and it all looks so far away, like a vaguely familiar movie.. It is also amazing to realise how far Mike has come since that dreadful day. the support of friends, family, friends of friends and total strangers has been so vital to Mike and all of us.
We had a celebratory meal of takeaways around Mike's bed tonight, and the anniversary made me think about progress to date:
His walking is coming along okay. Today Sue the physio got Mike walking with his arms stretched out and resting on her shoulders. This seemed to keep him more stabel than on the walking frame. The two of them looked like a couple of rather slow and stiff tango dancers. He will get there with the walking.
He is eating pretty well now and we're doing just fine on the weight gain. Apparently Mike's gained 2.8kg in a week, which is pretty impressive. It makes me realise how eating too much puts on weight! Duhhhh. For skinny Mike it means he is able to take in plenty enough food despite coming off the drip.
Mike has got a lot better at monitoring his tiredness. He's not good at judging when he is tired, but he does have his head around having to store up energy for the therapy activity or visitors and then resting to recover. We think we're not far off him being able to come out for a car ride and that would be a wonderful step forward.
His talking is fine as long as he is not tired. His voice is still hoarse, but that will improve apparently. The therapists are testing his cognitive ability and so on and I guess we will get an up-date at the family meeting next week.
Mike is having a few problems with double vision, but once again this is common and should disappear as he recovers. At the moment it affects his reading and anything else that requires his eyes to focus.
So thanks to everyone
Lee
We had a celebratory meal of takeaways around Mike's bed tonight, and the anniversary made me think about progress to date:
His walking is coming along okay. Today Sue the physio got Mike walking with his arms stretched out and resting on her shoulders. This seemed to keep him more stabel than on the walking frame. The two of them looked like a couple of rather slow and stiff tango dancers. He will get there with the walking.
He is eating pretty well now and we're doing just fine on the weight gain. Apparently Mike's gained 2.8kg in a week, which is pretty impressive. It makes me realise how eating too much puts on weight! Duhhhh. For skinny Mike it means he is able to take in plenty enough food despite coming off the drip.
Mike has got a lot better at monitoring his tiredness. He's not good at judging when he is tired, but he does have his head around having to store up energy for the therapy activity or visitors and then resting to recover. We think we're not far off him being able to come out for a car ride and that would be a wonderful step forward.
His talking is fine as long as he is not tired. His voice is still hoarse, but that will improve apparently. The therapists are testing his cognitive ability and so on and I guess we will get an up-date at the family meeting next week.
Mike is having a few problems with double vision, but once again this is common and should disappear as he recovers. At the moment it affects his reading and anything else that requires his eyes to focus.
So thanks to everyone
Lee
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
May 18th: Quiet day for Mike
A bit quieter couple of days for Mike. Probably the main event was Bryce getting back from ten days in the US. There is a scurry of testing happening, so we presume this is to meet the deadline of our next family meeting on Wednesday next week. I look at some of the tests and wonder how us non-brain injured people would score. Some tests are cognitive and earlier this week there was one called Behavioural Recall which seemed to relate more to practical recall relevant to aspects of every day life - so skills such as remembering names, remembering to ask a question during an appointment, remembering where you put something and so on.
Mike's walking is gradually getting more stable. I presume once he is more steady he will be able to practise on his own and make more rapid progress. I gather that at the moment there are quite a range of skills the therapists would like to work on, but they have to just focus Mike's small amounts of energy on the highest priorities.
Regards to all
Lee
Mike's walking is gradually getting more stable. I presume once he is more steady he will be able to practise on his own and make more rapid progress. I gather that at the moment there are quite a range of skills the therapists would like to work on, but they have to just focus Mike's small amounts of energy on the highest priorities.
Regards to all
Lee
Monday, May 16, 2005
May 16th: Onward and outward
Mike is rather like Hansel in the witches house in Hansel and Gretel. Each day he pokes a skinny finger out and we all try to fatten him up. Must have been a record today: Three regular meals, about five high fat and protein drinks, I took a muffin out, Tracy took a baked kumara to heat up and Cousin David really hit the spot with Burger King!
Mike's walking continues to strengthen. He walked from his room to the day room with no walking frame, just some stabilising hands from the physios and me trotting along behind with a chair for him to rest on half way. So we were really pleased with that. The balance takes a great effort and at the end of that walk he was exhausted.
Regards
Lee
Mike's walking continues to strengthen. He walked from his room to the day room with no walking frame, just some stabilising hands from the physios and me trotting along behind with a chair for him to rest on half way. So we were really pleased with that. The balance takes a great effort and at the end of that walk he was exhausted.
Regards
Lee
Saturday, May 14, 2005
14th May: PSB
Hi everyone
PSB? Personal Social Best. I took Mike on a wheel chair ride around the block to buy a coffee, because it was A GORGEOUS WELLINGTON DAY AS USUAL.
Quite a collection of his uncles(2), aunts (2 sort of), cousins (1), sister (1) and brother-in-law (1) were at the cafe because another cousin had rugby nearby. Mike coped well with this collection of rellies all talking at once, plus the crowded cafe plus the cafe music. I thought it would confuse and tire him, but he coped well and was not too bad by the time we got back. How the pleasure of the simple kicks in - just being able to be out in the sun, with family, choosing his own food etc. So another set of high fives.
It is easier to manage this sort of trip on the weekend because there is no therapy to tire him out.
Regards to everyone
Lee
PSB? Personal Social Best. I took Mike on a wheel chair ride around the block to buy a coffee, because it was A GORGEOUS WELLINGTON DAY AS USUAL.
Quite a collection of his uncles(2), aunts (2 sort of), cousins (1), sister (1) and brother-in-law (1) were at the cafe because another cousin had rugby nearby. Mike coped well with this collection of rellies all talking at once, plus the crowded cafe plus the cafe music. I thought it would confuse and tire him, but he coped well and was not too bad by the time we got back. How the pleasure of the simple kicks in - just being able to be out in the sun, with family, choosing his own food etc. So another set of high fives.
It is easier to manage this sort of trip on the weekend because there is no therapy to tire him out.
Regards to everyone
Lee
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
10th May: Bye Bye P.E.G.
Another good step along the way today. A nurse came from Endoscopy (sp?) and pulled out the P.E.G.feeding tube into Mike's stomach, so now it's All by mouth. A fine change from 'Nil by mouth'. When I write 'pulled', I mean literally that. Amazing really. So now we have what many of us would regard as a nice challenge: How to whack heaps of calories into Mike, so he doesn't lose weight. The food still has to be of fairly uniform texture because he can't manage eating hard stuff, or chewy stuff, or too much variation in texture. We celebrated with a latte and a muffin in the hospital cafe.
The physio is going fine. Each time I watch I can see that Mike is getting his muscles a bit more stabilised and under control. In some ways it is very like gradually building up the weights in the gym. He starts out okay and then as he tires his muscles get wobbly. Because Mike is having to concentrate on each aspect of muscle movement, it is amazing to realise some of the complexity of even a small movement - stabilising other muscles, focusing on the one you want to move, controlling it, positioning the rest of your body to manage, bringing in to play the associated muscles etc.
Yours muscularly
Lee
The physio is going fine. Each time I watch I can see that Mike is getting his muscles a bit more stabilised and under control. In some ways it is very like gradually building up the weights in the gym. He starts out okay and then as he tires his muscles get wobbly. Because Mike is having to concentrate on each aspect of muscle movement, it is amazing to realise some of the complexity of even a small movement - stabilising other muscles, focusing on the one you want to move, controlling it, positioning the rest of your body to manage, bringing in to play the associated muscles etc.
Yours muscularly
Lee
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