The story to date ...

Hi folks ....
I'm Iain, the proud father of Douglas.
Many people have been inquiring as to the well being of Douglas so here is a brief (but somewhat rambling) summary of the way things stand to-day (30th April).

Ward 20 (ICU) Western General Hospital, Edinburgh.
After a very traumatic few days late last week when things did not look at all good, Douglas appears to have started on an upward trend.
He was breathing only with the aid of a ventilator on Sunday but, in the space of around 30 hours he was breathing on his own, supported by the ventilator which was tremendous news. To make him more comfortable he had a tracheostomy on Monday (28th) which allowed the tubes to be removed from his mouth and throat and also allowed the sedation level to be reduced to zero. Since then his breathing has greatly improved although, when he is tired, it still appears a bit laboured. His oxygen intake now approaches normal but he still has a slight temperature.
It's so good to seeing him look more like the old Douglas we all know and love.

He is able to respond to both voice and presence and is learning to communicate with eye signals and has very recently started to move his mouth as well.
Since Monday he has been bombarded with specialists (neuro, speach, physio etc) all looking for positive responses and, by to-day, he was looking very tired and somewhat pissed off at the world which is hardly surprising!

We have decided, on medical advice, to declare a halt to visitors other than immediate family and very close friends to give him time to rest although both we and he do most sincerely appreciate all the support that he has from his wide and varied circle of friends. Hummmm that doesn't look quite right somehow but I'm sure you understand what I mean.

As for the future ........ neither we nor the excellent medical staff really know the answer. We simply have to wait and see. This is the hardest thing for family and friends to bear - we'd all like to think that somehow there was a quick fix, but sadly that can not be. This is really very early in what will be a lengthy recovery period of recovery extending over at the very least 18 months so Douglas really needs all the love and support he can get. He has both youth, strength and very good physical fitness on his side which is more than many in his position have.

We shall try to keep posting as things progress but please do realise that it may not always be as positive as we would wish - it is a real roller coaster believe me.

With regard to visiting, whilst I'm sure he'd much rather listen to chat from his own generation I would ask that until at least the 4th May we all give him a period of rest. He'll be bombarded by specialists anyhow.
After that we'd really appreciate if visitors could be kept at around 4 folk per day 'cause not only must we avoid tiring Douglas out but we must also appreciate that he is in an Intensive Care Unit with some much less fortunate patients in the same facility.
When he is moved to HDU (and hopefully the Neuro Ward) things will change but that has yet to come.

Sorry for rambling on, but I did warn you!!
Both Douglas, his mother, Sheena, and I value most greatly the caring friendship of you all. Sheena and I would have found it almost impossible to keep postive without all your support and I feel certain Douglas both knows and understands all your best wishes.

Thank you.

Iain Moffatt