Well things are really starting to move now!
Doug had his first two nighter at home last week-end and enjoyed it greatly:-) Even better, Nick, Heike, Jules, Malky and Clare took Doug out for the afternoon on Sunday and after perambulations along the foreshore, ended up in the local hostelry!!! Talk about breaking the mould!! Doug REALLY enjoyed the afternoon ......... thank you folks so much.
No sooner had he 'checked back in' than a rather dishy young doctor (female I am assured) came along to take out his PEG feeding tube! (Monday) I think we were all a bit concerned about this, but, according to Doug, it was just a question of grabbing a hold of the tube and giving it a quick heave and ... pop ... out it came. Huummmm Not sure it was really that simple but ......
Apparently the outside hole heals very rapidly (a day or so) and the inside one (in the gut?) seals almost immediately. I'd still be a bit worried about the leaking inner tube thing though they know what the're about.
So - now all food and liquids are taken orally!!!! Liquids still have to be thickened because of the swallow reflex deficiency but fortunately Doug has taken a liking for Lemon and Barley water which he drinks by the litre!! Anyone tried thickening gin and tonic???????
To top it all off we now have a discharge date for Doug. 10th June is the big day!
From that point on he'll be at home, under the care of Mom and Pop, aided and abetted by the Community Rehab Team who, I am told, will really be working him hard.
The 10th will be out for visiting what with the transfer followed by the Rehab Team visit.
So I guess, for those of you who work in and around the town centre, visiting could be a little less easy; however, on the plus side we'll not be constrained by hospital visiting hours and the surroundings are certainly more congenial!! Clearly we'll have to work around the Rehab schedule (whatever that turns out to be). If the weather keeps up remember to bring sun cream so you can all sit out in the sunshine!!
Dougs mood certainly seems much more positive now although he still has trouble with the balance issue and therefore with the business of walking and standing.
He has started the process of applying for 'a place of his own' through Edinburgh City Council although that is likely to be a fairly long drawn out process given both his particular requirements for wheel chair access and the relative shortage of such housing. He tells me he is very apprehensive at the idea of living on his own but hopefully his fears will diminish as he becomes more confident around the house.
He has also applied for a Blue Badge that will make going anywhere just that little bit easier and a Taxi Card that gives discounts on cab fares around the city.
We have still not heard anything further about the PFO business (closure of the hole in the heart) and I hope this is simply due to pressure on available resources. Were it otherwise I'm sure we'd have been advised.
The upcoming week-end (5th; 6th and 7th) Doug will be at home - Friday lunchtime till Sunday evening, so if you want to pop in for a visit in the afternoon, give me a bell first just to make sure allus OK.
Iain
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Outside is not all that bad ...............
Doug went for his Ear Nose and Throat consult on the 7th May and the results were a bit like the curates egg - good in parts.
The good news was that it now appears that both vocal chords are working (previously only the right one was doing its stuff) and this should make swallowing more certain. Whether or not it is reflected in his speech remains to be seen. :-)
As for hearing ....... the consultant was not very encouraging although he did not rule out slow improvements. He more or less said that, as Doug has found, it is possible to 'tune out' the tinnitus (white noise) with a lot of practice. Huuuummm
In balance - there was some progress.
Needless to say (and quite understandably) this was NOT what Doug may have hoped for so he was a bit down for a while.
None the less there is progress ..............
We have had bannister rails fitted on the house entrance to the front door and on both side of the internal staircase to the first floor.
Doug coped very well with the outside rails (Sat 16th), getting from his chair on the front path to inside the house with the minimum of assistance and then down the hall on his zimmer. However it was all a bit tiring - pretty good for a first attempt I say!!!! Doug did concede that it was somewhat short of perfect :-)
We are waiting for a high backed chair, the seat of which will be more on a level with the cushion on his wheel chair, fitted with rail arm rests that should make transfers to and from wheel chair or zimmer much more practical.
In the mean time Doug is being worked pretty hard by the Physios on stair climbing (and descending) and is doing very well at this so we are told.
All this is aimed at Doug being able to stay at home overnight at week ends in the short term (like this week end?!), with weekday visits to the Astley for physio.
To help with this we have converted the downstairs dining room into a bedroom for him. Sadly he will have to have his showers between Monday and Friday in the hospital.
The ultimate aim is to have him home full time in around 5 to 6 weeks when his physio etc. will be managed by the Community Nursing system although I guess this will depend on his stair climbing ability.
After a period of 'settling down' in the home environment (around 6 weeks) he will be entered into the Out Patients Rehab Programme at the Astley under Dr Todd.
To be honest, a lot of this period is aimed at 'de-institutionalising' (if there is such a word) Doug and getting the idea firmly fixed in his mind that a return to normal life is what it is all about.
However, on that subject, his friends have been absolutely great especially in the last 10 days or so in persuading him that the great 'outside' is not a bad place!!!!! For the first time for over 6 months Doug actually agreed to go for a walk in his wheelchair (whoopeee!!!) with Nick Stephenson. Nick we are forever in your debt!!
Then, much to our delight he went out in the Astley grounds with Veronica yesterday afternoon.
It all sounds a bit naff I guess, but Doug had set his mind on only going outside in a social sense when he could 'take himself walking' so to speak and we just did not seem to be getting out of the rut on this one. I know several others have tried persuading him without success but PLEASE do not take his refusal as any sort of personal comment - so much depends on how he is feeling at any particular time. None the less, having broken the mould I hope casual outings will become the norm.
So what about visiting I hear you say!!!
For the moment Mondays to Fridays at the Astley from 3 till 8 (but not 5.45 to 6.30 - Meal time) are great.
Saturday and Sunday any time between 2:30 pm and 9:00 pm at home.
I will confirm the week end timings once we have agreed things with the Astley (hopefully Friday this week).
EXCEPTION ........ Friday 22nd Doug will be at home being put through his paces with stairs, handrails etc. etc. so really the 22nd is a no go.
Oh, by the way ......... Kay, if you read this Doug did his extra 3 steps!!!! I have no idea what this is all about but I'm sure you'll know :-)
Iain
The good news was that it now appears that both vocal chords are working (previously only the right one was doing its stuff) and this should make swallowing more certain. Whether or not it is reflected in his speech remains to be seen. :-)
As for hearing ....... the consultant was not very encouraging although he did not rule out slow improvements. He more or less said that, as Doug has found, it is possible to 'tune out' the tinnitus (white noise) with a lot of practice. Huuuummm
In balance - there was some progress.
Needless to say (and quite understandably) this was NOT what Doug may have hoped for so he was a bit down for a while.
None the less there is progress ..............
We have had bannister rails fitted on the house entrance to the front door and on both side of the internal staircase to the first floor.
Doug coped very well with the outside rails (Sat 16th), getting from his chair on the front path to inside the house with the minimum of assistance and then down the hall on his zimmer. However it was all a bit tiring - pretty good for a first attempt I say!!!! Doug did concede that it was somewhat short of perfect :-)
We are waiting for a high backed chair, the seat of which will be more on a level with the cushion on his wheel chair, fitted with rail arm rests that should make transfers to and from wheel chair or zimmer much more practical.
In the mean time Doug is being worked pretty hard by the Physios on stair climbing (and descending) and is doing very well at this so we are told.
All this is aimed at Doug being able to stay at home overnight at week ends in the short term (like this week end?!), with weekday visits to the Astley for physio.
To help with this we have converted the downstairs dining room into a bedroom for him. Sadly he will have to have his showers between Monday and Friday in the hospital.
The ultimate aim is to have him home full time in around 5 to 6 weeks when his physio etc. will be managed by the Community Nursing system although I guess this will depend on his stair climbing ability.
After a period of 'settling down' in the home environment (around 6 weeks) he will be entered into the Out Patients Rehab Programme at the Astley under Dr Todd.
To be honest, a lot of this period is aimed at 'de-institutionalising' (if there is such a word) Doug and getting the idea firmly fixed in his mind that a return to normal life is what it is all about.
However, on that subject, his friends have been absolutely great especially in the last 10 days or so in persuading him that the great 'outside' is not a bad place!!!!! For the first time for over 6 months Doug actually agreed to go for a walk in his wheelchair (whoopeee!!!) with Nick Stephenson. Nick we are forever in your debt!!
Then, much to our delight he went out in the Astley grounds with Veronica yesterday afternoon.
It all sounds a bit naff I guess, but Doug had set his mind on only going outside in a social sense when he could 'take himself walking' so to speak and we just did not seem to be getting out of the rut on this one. I know several others have tried persuading him without success but PLEASE do not take his refusal as any sort of personal comment - so much depends on how he is feeling at any particular time. None the less, having broken the mould I hope casual outings will become the norm.
So what about visiting I hear you say!!!
For the moment Mondays to Fridays at the Astley from 3 till 8 (but not 5.45 to 6.30 - Meal time) are great.
Saturday and Sunday any time between 2:30 pm and 9:00 pm at home.
I will confirm the week end timings once we have agreed things with the Astley (hopefully Friday this week).
EXCEPTION ........ Friday 22nd Doug will be at home being put through his paces with stairs, handrails etc. etc. so really the 22nd is a no go.
Oh, by the way ......... Kay, if you read this Doug did his extra 3 steps!!!! I have no idea what this is all about but I'm sure you'll know :-)
Iain
Monday, 4 May 2009
Maan ... he's all heart ..........
Douglas went for his cardiac investigation with some trepidation - not so much over the likely result but more over the actual examination itself since it involved swallowing a small ultrasound transducer. The swallowing part has always been very uncomfortable in the past.
However the staff at the Western recognised his concern and really zonked him out for the whole event, so much so that he took around 2 hours to fully come around afterwards.
The good news, if you can call it that, is that he definitely has one hole some 3mm in diameter and around 15 mm in length (a tunnel like defect) which appears to be classed as 'large'.
It was deemed a good candidate for sealing although we have not yet heard which sealing method is considered best. I understand that it will either be the umbrella type or the mesh type and definitely NOT the 'stitch it up' type.
We are all just waiting for feedback on this and on the date for an op (estimated at within 5 weeks).
Douglas had bets on the number of holes and suffice to say I won the bet. Mind you its not much of a win, since I have to give him the stake in the first place ........
We are currently getting set up for a 'home evaluation visit' by the physios and OT lassies to establish just how well Doug can manage at home. This will both set targets for the rehab programme and also give us some idea about any changes that may be needed around the house.
Unfortunately Doug feels a bit threatened by all this .......... they just want to get rid of me sort of thing. I can understand his concerns and Sheena and I have been doing our best to convince him that this is only the first step towards a getting home point sometime in the future. Not at all sure how well we have managed that though?
Saturdays at home continue to be a great favourite and Doug really relaxes when he gets through the front door - its so good to see!! Mind you he gets spoiled rotten (we'll not be admitting that to the OT's!!!!).
He continues with the rehab stuff but still has problems with balance that play havoc with his confidence in walking with the zimmer frame. Never the less he is slowly getting more flexibility in movement.
He agreed a wee while ago to be part of a study into Cronic Fatigue Syndrome in stroke victims and although I'm not really sure how it works, its a comfort to know that it is recognised as an adverse factor in rehabilitation. Whether or not it will all result in any palliatives or even a cure remains to be seen. In the meantime he still gets really pissed off at how easily he runs out of energy.
The next thing on the list is a visit to the ENT clinic on the 7th May. Doug has said recently that he occasionally gets bursts of what he describes as white noise in his left ear. Whether or not this indicates any degree of recovery of hearing on that side I'm not sure. Perhaps this appointment may help provide answers.
I'll pop up another update soon.
In the meanwhile, thanks again for all the visits and for the messages through the blog and facebook. Doug really looks forward to hearing them all.
Iain
However the staff at the Western recognised his concern and really zonked him out for the whole event, so much so that he took around 2 hours to fully come around afterwards.
The good news, if you can call it that, is that he definitely has one hole some 3mm in diameter and around 15 mm in length (a tunnel like defect) which appears to be classed as 'large'.
It was deemed a good candidate for sealing although we have not yet heard which sealing method is considered best. I understand that it will either be the umbrella type or the mesh type and definitely NOT the 'stitch it up' type.
We are all just waiting for feedback on this and on the date for an op (estimated at within 5 weeks).
Douglas had bets on the number of holes and suffice to say I won the bet. Mind you its not much of a win, since I have to give him the stake in the first place ........
We are currently getting set up for a 'home evaluation visit' by the physios and OT lassies to establish just how well Doug can manage at home. This will both set targets for the rehab programme and also give us some idea about any changes that may be needed around the house.
Unfortunately Doug feels a bit threatened by all this .......... they just want to get rid of me sort of thing. I can understand his concerns and Sheena and I have been doing our best to convince him that this is only the first step towards a getting home point sometime in the future. Not at all sure how well we have managed that though?
Saturdays at home continue to be a great favourite and Doug really relaxes when he gets through the front door - its so good to see!! Mind you he gets spoiled rotten (we'll not be admitting that to the OT's!!!!).
He continues with the rehab stuff but still has problems with balance that play havoc with his confidence in walking with the zimmer frame. Never the less he is slowly getting more flexibility in movement.
He agreed a wee while ago to be part of a study into Cronic Fatigue Syndrome in stroke victims and although I'm not really sure how it works, its a comfort to know that it is recognised as an adverse factor in rehabilitation. Whether or not it will all result in any palliatives or even a cure remains to be seen. In the meantime he still gets really pissed off at how easily he runs out of energy.
The next thing on the list is a visit to the ENT clinic on the 7th May. Doug has said recently that he occasionally gets bursts of what he describes as white noise in his left ear. Whether or not this indicates any degree of recovery of hearing on that side I'm not sure. Perhaps this appointment may help provide answers.
I'll pop up another update soon.
In the meanwhile, thanks again for all the visits and for the messages through the blog and facebook. Doug really looks forward to hearing them all.
Iain
Monday, 20 April 2009
Looking good .........
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
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
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
Monday, 23 March 2009
And the progress continues ....
Douglas paid a visit to the Opthalmic clinic on the 20th and he was greatly pleased when it was decided to take out the remaining stitch in his left eye lid. It is so good to see the eye open fully again! However he still finds it impossible to fully close the lid when blinking so I guess we'll have a continuation of the ointment to provide adequate lubrication. He hasn't said too much about improvement in vision, so I guess it wasn't quite the magic bullet he had hoped for.
He goes back again in a months time for a further check .............
The other day he was given permission by the Physios to walk unattended using a zimmer frame and to mark the occasion he was given his own personal one, set up for his height!!! This is absolutely great news although he is still a bit cautious about using it alone. The other day he walked up and down the ward corridor and appeared to manage it very well - and in a straight line as well! This means he is able to balance the forces in his arms - previously he tended always to go right.
Unfortunately he has had a couple of falls - overbalance being the issue. Luckily he appeares to have suffered no ill effects - as he says 'It'll just teach me to be a bit more careful in future!'.
This is a common issue with stroke patients during the rehab phase and, provided it does no damage either physically or to confidence, is a valuable lesson.
Next big thing is an evening out on the 25th to sample the delights of a favourite Indian eatery (a birthday treat courtesy of Kay)!!
Needless to say we had to do a 'dummy run' at home to make sure he could manage curry and rice and, of course, beer!!! That went well - particularly the beer :-)
So I guess things are progressing well and, despite having come off Amatryptoline (an anti-depressant) cold turkey, Doug has suffered relatively few damaging mood swings in the last month. We can but hope this improvement continues.
Iain
He goes back again in a months time for a further check .............
The other day he was given permission by the Physios to walk unattended using a zimmer frame and to mark the occasion he was given his own personal one, set up for his height!!! This is absolutely great news although he is still a bit cautious about using it alone. The other day he walked up and down the ward corridor and appeared to manage it very well - and in a straight line as well! This means he is able to balance the forces in his arms - previously he tended always to go right.
Unfortunately he has had a couple of falls - overbalance being the issue. Luckily he appeares to have suffered no ill effects - as he says 'It'll just teach me to be a bit more careful in future!'.
This is a common issue with stroke patients during the rehab phase and, provided it does no damage either physically or to confidence, is a valuable lesson.
Next big thing is an evening out on the 25th to sample the delights of a favourite Indian eatery (a birthday treat courtesy of Kay)!!
Needless to say we had to do a 'dummy run' at home to make sure he could manage curry and rice and, of course, beer!!! That went well - particularly the beer :-)
So I guess things are progressing well and, despite having come off Amatryptoline (an anti-depressant) cold turkey, Doug has suffered relatively few damaging mood swings in the last month. We can but hope this improvement continues.
Iain
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Much overdue update ...............
Things have been progressing moderately well with Douglas over the last wee while.
The much anticipated attendance at Nick and Heikes' wedding was a great boost to Dougs morale and he thoroughly enjoyed being amongst all his friends at such a happy occasion.
I thought he looked rather good all dressed up in his gear!! (Got lots of wolf whistles from the nurses - the female ones that is :-))
I was pleasantly surprised that he lasted so well given that this was his first exposure to a big crowd of people with all the attendant buzz and movement. Unfortunately we had to drag him away before the partying really started - we had a 9pm deadline at the hospital (which we only just kept!!). Staff were out with the breathalyser kit on our arrival but Doug had been very aware of the hazards in drinking thin liquids and had stayed off the booze. Shame in a way but I can not but agree with him.
His physio had been focusing on the possibility of walking at the wedding but, although he has been doing rather well in the hospital at this, staff felt it would be unwise to attempt a repeat given all the distractions, carpeted floors and the like. Poor Doug was a bit sad at this but could see the sense of it.
His next hurdle is an appointment with the opthalmic folk on the 20th of this month and we all hope it will have a positive outcome. I fear he may be somewhat disappointed since he has not really come to terms with how slow the healing process of the nervous system really is. He is doing his very best not to build too high an expectation.
He also will have an appointment with the cardiology folk at the Western for a second look at the root cause of all this ........ the PFO (or hole in the heart). It was recommended that this be 'fixed' at some time in the future (back in June 08) and I guess this is a follow up. I sometimes wonder whether that fact that Doug so easily feels tired may be due, in part at least, to the 'bypass' effect of this, although I would have thought that were it seen as being of such significance, a shorter time limit would have been put on the need for a fix.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
We continue with the Saturday day pass and Douglas does say he really enjoys being a home even though it's only for one day a week. The hospital staff feel Doug is getting quite close to the 'week-end out' point, where he effectively leaves the hospital on a Friday evening and returns on a Monday morning. However Doug is quite insistent that he wants to be able to walk better before this happens so I guess we have to be patient.
In the meantime he continues to look forward to visits with all the chat and gossip.
Many thanks you true and faithful friends.
Iain
The much anticipated attendance at Nick and Heikes' wedding was a great boost to Dougs morale and he thoroughly enjoyed being amongst all his friends at such a happy occasion.
I thought he looked rather good all dressed up in his gear!! (Got lots of wolf whistles from the nurses - the female ones that is :-))
I was pleasantly surprised that he lasted so well given that this was his first exposure to a big crowd of people with all the attendant buzz and movement. Unfortunately we had to drag him away before the partying really started - we had a 9pm deadline at the hospital (which we only just kept!!). Staff were out with the breathalyser kit on our arrival but Doug had been very aware of the hazards in drinking thin liquids and had stayed off the booze. Shame in a way but I can not but agree with him.
His physio had been focusing on the possibility of walking at the wedding but, although he has been doing rather well in the hospital at this, staff felt it would be unwise to attempt a repeat given all the distractions, carpeted floors and the like. Poor Doug was a bit sad at this but could see the sense of it.
His next hurdle is an appointment with the opthalmic folk on the 20th of this month and we all hope it will have a positive outcome. I fear he may be somewhat disappointed since he has not really come to terms with how slow the healing process of the nervous system really is. He is doing his very best not to build too high an expectation.
He also will have an appointment with the cardiology folk at the Western for a second look at the root cause of all this ........ the PFO (or hole in the heart). It was recommended that this be 'fixed' at some time in the future (back in June 08) and I guess this is a follow up. I sometimes wonder whether that fact that Doug so easily feels tired may be due, in part at least, to the 'bypass' effect of this, although I would have thought that were it seen as being of such significance, a shorter time limit would have been put on the need for a fix.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
We continue with the Saturday day pass and Douglas does say he really enjoys being a home even though it's only for one day a week. The hospital staff feel Doug is getting quite close to the 'week-end out' point, where he effectively leaves the hospital on a Friday evening and returns on a Monday morning. However Doug is quite insistent that he wants to be able to walk better before this happens so I guess we have to be patient.
In the meantime he continues to look forward to visits with all the chat and gossip.
Many thanks you true and faithful friends.
Iain
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