Many small steps .......

It has been a relatively quiet few days with some small but significant improvements, none of which seem to have impressed Doug very much :-(
His breathing is definitely getting quieter and easier even though he still needs to be 'suctioned' every so often. The samples have cultured no bugs over the last three (or possibly 4) days so it is just possible he's managed to beat the dreaded chest infection at long last.

However he has yet to get to the point of having the trachy removed - something I'm certain he's really looking forward to. As are we all!!
Doug still gets mood swings although not quite as great as before but we're not really the people to judge since I suspect he uses our visits to relax, knowing there is someone there to keep watch over him. In consequence he probably does not feel the need to be bright and responsive when its only Sheena and I around.

In general he's looking a lot better - colour, skin tone etc. and his left eye seems to be coming along very well indeed. The Neuro Team were in to see him this afternoon and pronounced themselves very happy with his progress and the boss man spend some time telling all the good developments to Doug and detailing why he was so pleased - all of which can only have been beneficial.

He has now acquired a goodly collection of DVDs from all his many friends (for which we thank you most sincerely!) and treats his Sony DVD player with great care although he still finds it a bit difficult to concentrate on it for any length of time. Whether this is due to having only one active eye at the moment or because of rapid movement causing feelings of dizzyness I'm not sure.
I do know he gets a bit dizzy when he stands upright ... to be expected I guess given the areas of the brain that have been affected.
None the less it and the collection are treasured possessions !!!!

His writing is getting very much clearer with very little letter overlap and what he expresses is clear and unambiguous with very good use of language and spelling. All of this bodes well for the eventual return of speech and pleases the Docs greatly. Needless to say, we are delighted !!! :-)

He is still in Ward 32 with no sign of imminent moves.

Iain