Return to the Gulag
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!