This is the story of Colin’s car accident resulting in him becoming an incomplete Quadriplegic, and his recovery process.
This weekend was a wonderful step forward for us – (we fetched Colin from rehab at 8am on Saturday), and he stayed at home for the first time since the accident, (not in a hospital, or rehab); and it went very well. Jabu, our assistant is a gem of a guy, and I know we … [Read more…]
Colin came home today for the first weekend visit with overnight stay. We got him a trackball mouse so that he would more easily be able to use his computer. We got this one from our local Matrix (who have always helped us with any and all issues): . Here is a very short video … [Read more…]
Colin was well today, and has lost a total of 29 KGs. He has 1 more to go before he can use a commode, and this is actually very exciting for all sorts of reasons. He will be able to have a shower on the commode, and he will also be light enough not to … [Read more…]
We got fantastic news today – the visit on Saturday was a success (which we already knew, but it had to be confirmed by debrief and the Doc and the Physios, etc) and it was such a success that he will be allowed to come home for the weekend from now on, which includes sleeping … [Read more…]
Colin had his official pass-out to come home for the day today. We arrived at 7:30 at the rehab this morning, and Jabu (our wonderful Carer / ENA [enrolled nursing assistent]) helped with the heavy lifting and some other nursing activities. The Transporter (a wheelchair rack built to fit onto a tow bar) was successful, … [Read more…]
One of the things that really does me in is when things don’t go according to plan, when things don’t happen as people say they will, or when people are late. There were a few things that needed to be in place for Colin to come home on Saturday, we had to do home carer … [Read more…]
OK, new update. I just phoned to see if he was ok etc, but he didn’t have the op as scheduled. First of all they said he wasn’t there, then they said he was late and didn’t have the op, and then they said he was in another ward, and then they said he didn’t … [Read more…]
The last three days were filled with lots of heavy lifting, heavy learning, and heavy sleeping. Each day I was so tired I went to sleep at 8pm and slept right through to 7am. The process of being a carer is physically exhausting, and we also had to learn all the technical things about his … [Read more…]
Braai time today. Colin is doing well, and here is a vid of him feeding himself: Colin is using a special plate and a special spoon, and he is getting so strong in his arm that the nurses just cut the food for him and leave him alone to eat his whole meal by himself. … [Read more…]
… and suddenly, after 90 days of really hard work, Colin has made an overnight quantum leap forward. So far, Colin can feed himself with his left hand (using a few aids), he can balance himself in a sitting position (if centered first), he can use both his shoulders, he can use his shoulders to … [Read more…]