Home Sweet Home ....

Well Doug has survived the first full week at home under the tender care of Mom and Pop!!!
It is great to have him home in familiar surroundings and to be able to resume a more normal life style.
Doug was rather concerned that it would be a case of 'out of sight - out of mind' where the rehab programme was concerned but in reality it has been quite the reverse!
We now have a well established schedule for each day that starts at around 7:30 am with breakfast closely followed by a wash and brush up session that can take us through to about 9:45.
He has a short rest period up to 11:00 am when he is taken in hand by the physios and OT's for around an hour of pretty intensive activity.
This is followed by another rest period then lunch.
We are trying to ensure that Doug gets a post prandial nap up to around 3pm and its then all hands on deck for the afternoon and evening of more domestic stuff.

Douglas is really doing very well indeed having acquired a new lease of energy and commitment with his discharge from the Astley. Of course it is still all too slow for him, but none the less he is progressing. Most notable is the improvement in his standing and mobility. He is now able to stand unaided (albeit a bit shaky for now) for periods in excess of a minute - and getting longer by the day too! This really helps his confidence in using the zimmer and and in particular in washing, dressing and using the toilet. As he said to me the other day, try doing all that with one hand, standing on one leg and you'll get an idea of how it feels! Needless to say I haven't taken him up on that - I've got trouble enough already :-)
Physio is also addressing co-ordination (hand and eye) issues and in improving Dougs use of his left hand which still tends to be 'forgotten' much of the time.
Doug is hoping that the OT's may be able to offer solutions to the vision issue when he is trying to read PC size screens and text. There appear to be some solutions available but whether or not they'll suit remains to be seen. In the meantime I'm acting as a somewhat inefficient secretary in this respect.
There does seem to be a very slow improvement in his ability to blink with the left eye although we still need to apply liquid tears as a lubricant four times per day and tape the eyelid shut over night. Not the best of situations but needs must when the devil drives.

Visiting friends have also added a new dimension and he has had several outings without M&P fussing around :-) I cannot express my thanks enough to his circle of friends who are such an important part of the support team and do so much to bolster Dougs spirits and help him back into the great outside world.

Needless to say we are all having to learn new ways of doing things around the house which is not helped by the fact that some of the 'essential' modifications have not yet happened (like a door on the downstairs toilet!!!!) Having said that, the City Council have been great in providing the mechanical bits and bobs like handrails at the front door and bannisters on the staircase. We are so fortunate in this respect.

As regards visiting ........ afternoons and early evenings are the ideal since it gives Doug a rest period after his rehab exercises in the late morning and time to have lunch. So I'd suggest 3pm onwards but if that's not suitable, just give me a ring and we'll see what we can do. We usually have tea at around 6pm.
For those who have tried finding us in Cammo ........ I've just painted up a new house number so you don't have to worry about trying to recognise car number plates or anything else!

Iain