22nd August: Simon's first home visit

Simon finally made it home for a visit today, here he is with Shirley in our front room. Sorry its a bit dark, but you can tell it's him. We really enjoyed our day. I arrived mid-morning as he was on his way to occupational therapy. I was invited to join him and learned a lot about exercises that we can practice with his right arm. A brief trip to the cafe where Simon has discovered they sometimes serve hot chips! Then back to the ward for lunch. A nervous time this because the doctor came onto the ward and wanted to see us about the home visit, I was very concerned that he would not let us go because our house has to be approved by the occupational therapists. I promised to restrict him to the patio - as you can see, I fibbed a bit... The taxi arrived, and whisked us to our home in Brighton where Mel, Pen, and Margaret were waiting, so plenty of woman-power available. They got us settled in then took Shirley shopping leaving Simon and I to have a peaceful couple of hours with each other. We explored every room that we could get into with the wheelchair, and then roamed about the garden, even popped in to visit our neighbour, Jan. Skippy was a rotter - he took one look at Simon's wheelchair - which he interprets to be a vehicle - and bolted for the cat flap, when I picked him up he scratched my arm deeply. About an hour later we managed to entice him indoors with a packet of sandwich ham (guess who's eating peanut butter sarnies for the rest of the week?). The cat started to 'mark' Simon's wheelchair, so I am hoping that he will get used to it and be more friendly the next time. With luck, the next time will be tomorrow, but again we have to get the doctor's permission. Having said that I have already booked the taxi! I returned Simon to the hospital in pristine condition, spot on time, so they should have no complaints. We completed our day with a spot of TV, and dinner (for Simon) at the hospital. Pray for good weather tomorrow please.
Happy Shurvilles, love Marian xx