Losing the physical self

Brain injury is a very very hard thing to be rehabilitated from. I have made a very short video of Anita transferring from an electric wheelchair to the bed. If you click on the thumbnail it should open or download to your hard drive. This is in her room at Rayners hedge and will hopefully be a useful record of her progress for the future. It may not look much to most people out there who take things for granted but this is were she is at after many, many hours of physio and over 14 months of hospital. As you can see from the video Anita has more power and strength to make this transfer but still lacks in the area of control.

It’s much easier for her to complete this transfer at RH because the bed is adjustable and the mattress is very hard, at home we need to change the mattress. Because her left side is weak she has to make the transfer always to her right. At the moment she is still in transition from the stage that someone needs to keep a hand on her and the stage she can just be monitored hands-free. To get to that stage alone is still a way to go. She will need much more control, I would be still very worried at the moment that she would fall and injure herself. We could do without any blows to the head or broken bones that would set her back.

Yes Anita wants to walk again but right now this transfer is an important step to some independence! As it stands she needs someone to supervise these transfers which means lots of carers etc.

I have been back at Rayners Hedge, the rehabilitation hospital, for two weeks now and I must say I am making progress, but slowly as usual! I can now walk for 20 metres with a quadropod (four legged walking stick) and one physiotherapist to catch me if I fall. I can stand without holding on to anything for the count of ten before I fall forward and head butt my physiotherapist!! My hand is getting better as well and has much more movement than before. I have a new splint for my hand that is supposed to straighten my thumb.

My employer has been in touch about my return to work and although I want to return and luckily am mentally able, I don’t want to rush back to work! I haven’t been off with a bad back or stress and my employer has to understand it will take me quite a while to recover from this!!

I found out this week that I am free of MRSA! I have had three clear swabs, so have beaten the dreaded Super bug!!

I do my own laundry now at Rayners Hedge, but I find it more tiring than I thought it would. I listen to talking books to while away my time and I am taken out shopping in Aylesbury, which I enjoy. However, no-one tells you how boring and slow recovery is. I shouldn’t moan though as it could be worse! One of the other inmates at Rayners Hedge stays in bed the whole time and is fed through a tube. What sort of life is that for a young lad? He’s only about 19 years old! He should be out with his mates, making mistakes, not lying in a hospital bed! I have told his mother that I used to be on a life support machine and was fed thorough a tube for many months, to give her hope that her son might recover, as it must be awful for his family what he has to go through. She said that seeing lucid people like me that have also had a brain injury, inspires her and I am glad I can be some help at this difficult time.

There is a lot of frustration at Rayners Hedge as people struggle with their various disabilities. I must admit that before I became ill I was not fully aware of all the things that can go wrong with the human body! I try to remain positive, but it’s hard and ironically I find it easier to see other people struggling and finding solutions!

While watching South Today last night, I saw an article with Martin Skarrott complaining about able-bodied users using disabled parking spaces at supermarkets. This also annoys me, but extends beyond supermarkets to encompass all disabled parking spaces! Since my bad reaction to my operation, I have been stuck in a wheelchair and need the space around a disabled space to get out of the car. The person driving the car has to put my wheelchair alongside the car so I can transfer out. I don’t have the freedom to park elsewhere, as other parking spaces don’t have the room I need to manoeuvre.

Most able-bodied people who park in disabled bays are just thoughtless and don’t realise the inconvenience they are causing to genuinely disabled people. Even some disabled badge holders can walk very well and should ask themselves whether they really need to park in a disabled bay or can use an alternative.

If you wish to support this campaign, visit the BBC ican website.

Anita came out of hospital for Christmas on the 17th and we have had a very indulgent time since then. It’s been a case of getting some respite after the onslaught we have had. We can only have a small tree this year due to limited space in our lounge. As you can see also from the picture of the presents that Anita had last years presents from the relatives to open as well!

Anita contracted a cold before Christmas and came home with low morale partly due to that and partly due to some depression. As it cleared up her spirits lifted as she got into festive mood. Before Christmas she had another visit to the hospital this time regarding her hearing. She was tested and the results showed she had slightly less than average hearing in both ears. Her right ear also showed problems with sounds at higher frequencies. That could be one of the reasons that she sometimes has problems differentiating from sounds at various distances. We will go back in the future to see if anything should be done.
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