1st August: Mel's birthday

First up, Simon says "happy birthday, Mel"! Also from me. We are counting down the days until you land in Adelaide.
Simon had a nice quiet day, he had a shower this morning, and a very good close shave (an expert nurse with the razor). Our doctor friend (I will not use his name here, he is bound by oath) met us at the hospital with his wife and their two year old boy. Simon was quite interested in the baby who was beautifully behaved. The doctor spent some time with Simon and said that he had made really good progress. The DVT is one of many setbacks that we might expect, but he explained to Simon that, with treatment, the blood clots would eventually dissolve. Also there is a new drug for treating DVTs that is approaching the end of its trials, and may be available very soon. This could be far better than existing treatments and will help a great many people currently stuck on Warfarin (spelling?). The doctor explained to me that we might expect improvements in Simon's condition over the next two months which is longer than I expected, these improvements are most likely to be in terms of increased brain plasticity (this does not mean that his brain turns to plastic, it means that the right side of the brain learns to take over some of the duties of the left side). Simon is not very aware of his right side at the moment, and we need him to pay more attention to it. The physio was trying to get him to do this yesterday, e.g. by encouraging him to massage his own hand. The breathing mask is off all day, which is fantastic for his communication. Simon had quite a lot of questions: is there hope? being the most fundamental. I was reassured by our doctor's visit, and am convinced that we still have a long way to go on this journey. He did tell me that to move Simon to another hospital at this stage was not advisable because Simon has become accustomed to the team treating him, and to the environment. A move would probably traumatise him, and any receiving team would have to learn about Simon from scratch. Also I was strongly advised not to send him near any private hospital because they have none of the specialisms that Simon needs. The assessment for getting into rehab will include Simon's ability to get out of bed with limited assistance, and his ability to sit up straight in a chair without risk of falling. He is some way from being able to do these things, although as his weight drops I think it will be easier for him to move. I am going to need to learn some lifting techniques, at present he is about twice my weight but I have seen nurses smaller than me lifting him successfully so there is a definite knack to it.
Simon must have had a visitor last night or this morning because there were some comic books left for him. These were great, I read the first chapter of the marvel with him, he was completely engaged. Thanks to whoever brought these in. This evening he went through his stack of CDs selecting those that he wanted to keep and others that I could take home. I have the task of taking in a new selection tomorrow. He also asked me to change the batteries on the CD player. I asked him about the laptop, he said he would like to try this, so yet another toy will arrive on the ward. This makes me smile a little. Our house is littered with media devices (cables everywhere) and Simon's corner of the ward is starting to look like an extension of his living room! I think there might be a way of setting up the mouse for a left-hander. I will look into this.
Raina, our two year old niece, has donated one of her tommee-tippee spoons to Simon (it has a bend in the handle which makes it much easier to scoop up food). I love the way that kids respond to people even when they are very ill, no inhibitions, and boundless optimism.
I filled out Simon's menu for the week today and he was able to make his own selections - grimacing at some of them (you wouldn't chuckle).

Asher if you are reading this, I need a document that you may have, can you look at your email?
Love Marian x
P.S. When you visit Simon, can you write your name in the notebook inside his locker. I ask him if he has had any other visitors, but he cannot remember. If I know your names I will be able to jog his memory.