A short update on the results of Dougs eye examination.
The condition of his left eye appears to have stabilised and is good apart from the presence of a couple of ingrowing eyelashes - a common problem we are told.
He has been changed to a less viscous type of eye drop which should improve the vision but we'll have to wait and see (not a pun I assure you!).
His next appointment will be in around 6 weeks assuming the new eye drops do their job OK.
If the eye lash problem repeats they plan to do a simple electrolysis job on the offending lashes which should resolve the issue.
His mood remains good although he can very easily get into a negative frame of mind about things. To be truthful this is the most worrying aspect of his recovery and we are all a bit at a loss to understand how best to deal with it.
The guys and gals from the Coop gave him a great birthday pressy of a replacement bike helmet (a Xen ??) in preparation for his first outing ............. not for a while yet I'm afraid!! He was absolutely delighted.
Oh and by the bye, his birthday outings went off very well - awesome in his words - Kay took him out for a curry one evening and Jules took him for a day out down the coast. The actual day was spend at home and was relatively quiet with a visit from our next door neighbours.
Douglas wants me to say a real big thank you to everyone for their best wishes, texts and cards.
Sheena and I echo that ....... the moral support you all give is priceless.
Next big event ..... the Transesophageal echocardiogram on the 30th of this month.
Iain
Monday 20 April 2009
Thursday 16 April 2009
Oh so slow and sometimes not all that sure .......
Doug continues to make progress in the walking and Occupational Therapy stuff (making soup, chopping veg etc.) but unfortunately, having come off the anti-depressant, his mood swings have returned a bit. Fortunately neither as deep nor as prolonged as before, but more than enough to upset and slow down all the rehab tasks.
He still does not really seem to have made the connection between how hard he works and the rate of improvement which is VERY frustrating for us (and I'm sure also for the staff).
However the good news is that having had the last remaining stitch removed from his left eyelid last month (20th) , his eye seems to be staying in good condition with the application of lacrilube ointment. He has a checkup appointment at the Eye Pavilion to-morrow (Friday 17th) which hopefully will confirm this.
He also had an appointment with the cardiology folk on the 9th April to review his progress towards having a fix done on the PFO (hole in the heart) which is believed to have been the initiation of the stroke by allowing a small clot to pass through. He will be going for an ultrasound examination on the Thursday 30th to resolve the size of the defect and hopefully confirm that there is only one hole. This will provide the necessary information for the fix - in around 6 weeks we think.
The introduction of the probe down the throat is a knock-out job so will occupy most of the day and he'll probably still be woozy by evening time.
So all in all it has been a busy month so far, thankfully all of it positive.
He still finds it difficult to read normal size text so entertainment centres around music (from his iPod), DVDs on the Sony DVD player that so many of you presented to him (back in the Western days!) - oh and it gets very well used for Talking Books also. You have no idea just how much pleasure it has given him. Thank you.
I'll call a halt now, but will update after the eye stuff to-morrow.
Iain
He still does not really seem to have made the connection between how hard he works and the rate of improvement which is VERY frustrating for us (and I'm sure also for the staff).
However the good news is that having had the last remaining stitch removed from his left eyelid last month (20th) , his eye seems to be staying in good condition with the application of lacrilube ointment. He has a checkup appointment at the Eye Pavilion to-morrow (Friday 17th) which hopefully will confirm this.
He also had an appointment with the cardiology folk on the 9th April to review his progress towards having a fix done on the PFO (hole in the heart) which is believed to have been the initiation of the stroke by allowing a small clot to pass through. He will be going for an ultrasound examination on the Thursday 30th to resolve the size of the defect and hopefully confirm that there is only one hole. This will provide the necessary information for the fix - in around 6 weeks we think.
The introduction of the probe down the throat is a knock-out job so will occupy most of the day and he'll probably still be woozy by evening time.
So all in all it has been a busy month so far, thankfully all of it positive.
He still finds it difficult to read normal size text so entertainment centres around music (from his iPod), DVDs on the Sony DVD player that so many of you presented to him (back in the Western days!) - oh and it gets very well used for Talking Books also. You have no idea just how much pleasure it has given him. Thank you.
I'll call a halt now, but will update after the eye stuff to-morrow.
Iain
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