Signing Off

You probably thought that we had fallen off the end of the earth as we haven’t blogged for some time...

It has been nearly 10 months since Bryan’s accident, and five months since Bryan has been home from hospital.

There hasn’t been any more change in the feeling and movement in Bryan’s arms, torso and legs since he has come out of hospital, but he is becoming a lot stronger in the shoulders. Bryan does experience nerve pain in his feet, back and buttocks on different days, some days more bearable than others. He describes the pain as a burning feeling or hot needles being poked into him, we only hope that this is a sign of good things to come.

We’ve attended a few fundraising events in the last few months, the Race Day, Jazz concert at the Uni, Shakespeare in the Park (Empire Theatre), Golf Day. It was so good to catch up with family and friends and thank them in person for all the support they are giving us. We also attended Erin’s year 12 formal in March. She even took Bryan out on the dance floor for the father-daughter dance.

Bryan’s new push chair and power chair have arrived so he has been out and about a bit more on his own. Bryan, his brother Edward and a few friends are in the process of designing a powered go-kart which will attach to his push chair. The parts are coming from all over the world to make this unique flyan-mobile.

A couple of weeks ago Bryan had a small day surgery procedure to remove his indwelling catheter and replaced it with a suprapubic catheter which is where they put the catheter through his stomach to the bladder just above his pubic area, he has been calling it the “Free Willy “ operation.

We spent Easter and the following week camping (in a wheelchair friendly cabin) at Mudjimba Caravan Park with some of my family and friends, we had a great time and all went smoothly, so Bryan is thinking we may try and do the real camping next year, by that time I’m sure that it could be achievable. Perhaps in a caravan that is also on the drawing boards.

Most of the reno’s to the house and yard have been finished and looks great, Bryan is now able to do laps around the backyard . I’m back at school three and a half days a week, so Bryan’s carers stay until 12 o’clock on those days. Bryan is keen to get back to work at the Uni even if it is just a couple of hours a week.

This will be our last official blog for the bryanflyanflemming website. Bryan is on facebook now and will be keeping everyone updated on there. The Friends of Bryan website is still thriving and the committee is continuously updating it with events and activities, so keep watching it as well. They are also on facebook!

Well we will sign off here with some words of thanks and some pictures of the family.
Thank you to each and everyone who has followed us over the past 10 months through this journey, we send our love!

Stay in touch,
Bryan, Julie, Rebecca and Erin.

The troops hard at work in the backyard

Bryan in his new push chair

Erin's formal.

The golf day.

Race Day

The Friends of Bryan Race Day was a great success!!

Nearly 400 people came to raise money and have a good time for a good cause. A lot of time and effort went into the planning and preparing for the day which there are many people to thank for.

I have had a couple of people ask me if they could have a copy of my speech so I am going to post it below:

If anyone were to ask me at any point in my life who I look up to, I would say my Dad.

Dad you have been an inspiration to me my whole life. You have always encouraged me to do well in school and uni. You taught me how to keep the balance between work and play. You have inspired me to stay fit, training with me since I was 11 years old. You gave me a passion for fitness and health and a competitive spirit. You have inspired me to be the best person I can be, to be responsible and you have played a crucial role in making me the young woman I am today. You have achieved so much in your life and from the turn out today it seems you have touched so many other peoples lives.

If anyone were to ask me what is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, it was when I walked into the ICU in the Princess Alexandra Hospital and saw my Dad, the person who has been there for me my whole life, my inspiration lying helplessly on that hospital bed. The most energetic and athletic person, the helping hand, the listening ear, the protector, suddenly grinded to a hault.

But since June last year Dad, you have proved to be more of an inspiration to me than ever. The way you have brushed yourself off and moved on. Improving with leaps and bounds everyday of your recovery. Problem solving through the dilemmas. Staying positive even on the tough days. You are still the same Dad I have known my whole life. As you have often said Dad this is just one of the many challenges that life has thrown at you – so keep on fighting!

Mum, I want to say that you are truly amazing! It takes a very special type of person to take this situation in your stride, to keep on keeping on no matter what life brings. I know Dad must thank the heavens every day for sending him an angel to love and look after him.

Erin, you have been so strong through over the last six months. Getting through one of the hardest years of school without your parents at home, you should be proud of yourself. You have accepted Dad’s change of mobility better than anyone else.

I think the last six months Dad, Mum, Erin we have proved that as a family we are unstoppable.

Joey – thank you for being there for me!

I could go on forever thanking each individual who has helped Dad and our family the last six months. It is truly incredible the support we have received, from our family, our friends, friends of friends and people we don’t even know. Some people I must mention are The Friends of Bryan crew as they themselves have also been unstoppable raising money and holding events – such as today’s race day. I cannot express the appreciation for all your efforts and I don’t have words to describe what amazing friends you all are so I am going to use someone elses.

The next quote is from a famous song by Bill Withers – it sums up the strength that a friendship holds.

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain, we all have sorrow,
but if we are wise, we know that there’s always tomorrow.

Lean on me when your not strong, and ill be your friend, ill help you carry on,
for it wont be long till im guna need somebody to lean on.

We all need somebody to lean on!

Thanks to everyone who came yesterday, I hope you enjoyed it as much as Dad, Mum, Erin and I did.

Please keep watching the Friends of Bryan site for the total money raised by the Race Day and upcoming events.

Goodnight
Rebecca and family xx

Home in Toowoomba!

Hello Bloggers!

It has been a while since our last blog and I know a lot of you have missed it. So its about time for an update.

Dad arrived back home on Christmas Eve to a house full of friends and family to welcome him back. The renos were finished just in time before Dad wheeled in the door. Still a little bit to do but our home has been like heaven to Dad.

Like anything new it takes time to get into a routine and settle back in. Dad has carers that come morning and night to take care of the more personal duties, so Mum can be a Mum and a wife instead of a nurse. They are very lovely ladies and do a good job in caring for Dad.

Since being home Dad has been more himself then ever. Still the Boss! I am always non stop as soon as I walk in the door here in Toowoomba. I don't know how Mum is not more exhausted at the end of the day! We all have stepped up to take over the male duties such as mowing, top-dressing lawn, cleaning shed, washing cars, etc.

Dad has been working a lot on his car transfers - setting a record pace each time we do it - and his pushing. The second has been a little bit harder because the roads and pathways are very rough making it difficult for him to do it on his own. He will have greater mobility and freedom when the power chair arrives - hopefully Feb/Mar - allowing him to negotiate the streets independently.

The chiropractor has been seeing Dad once a week, mainly for the muscles in his shoulders and back. These muscles receive a lot of extra stress when transferring and pushing and therefore are always very tight and sore. My massage skills come in handy here! Hopefully soon Dad will get to the gym to build some strength up in these muscles - but for now just taking gradual steps in his fitness.

Along with an exercise regime Dad will also get an eating plan when he goes to see the nutritionist in a couple of weeks. The aim being to get Dads body back to a fairly normal state with minimal medication.

We are all looking forward to the Race Day in two weekends time. It will be a good chance for us to catch up with family and friends and thank everyone who has given their thoughts and time in Dad's recovery.

Mum plans to go back to work at Tommy Mores next week part time. Dad's also keen to get back into work when he can.

That's all for now!

Rebecca and the Flemming family xo

Our last night in Brisbane

It is our last night in Brisbane and five months since Bryan’s accident. We have been looking forward to this day for sooo long. To think that on the night of Bryan’s accident I took a clean set of his clothes down to the hospital as I thought that I would be bringing him home the next day, little did I know.

Our stay in the transition house has run rather smoothly just a couple of little issues to contend with, pressure areas on Bryan’s heels and back, but with constant monitoring and keeping off them they shouldn’t cause any problems. Of all the issues that come with a spinal cord injury the skin would have to be the biggest issue as if you don’t keep checking for pressure areas you could end up in bed for 1 to 8 weeks or even more depending on when it was noticed, where it is, how big it is.

Bryan’s progress has been amazing, but still has a long way to go. He has got more strength in his shoulders which helps him to push his chair around and helps with transferring from bed to chair and vice versa. He also has a bit more strength in his left tricep the right tricep is still weak. There hasn’t been any progress in the way of movement in his legs or fingers but his wish for Christmas is that he gets some finger movement back. Bryan is getting more spasms in his legs and stomach, but don’t know if they are a good thing as if they get too bad it means more medication to control them. It could be a sign that good things are happening inside, but no one can tell you for sure, it is still an area where more research needs to be done. We’ve been told that things can still come back up to two years after the accident, we can only pray.

I’m ready to hit the pillow ready for an early start and what will be a big day tomorrow.

Goodnight
Julie

The Next Step

We have finally taken the next step and we are currently living in the transition house in Brisbane. This follows my trip home last Sunday for the first time in 5 months. Our first stop was to Julie’s Mum’s place for morning tea (which is a regular for the Fitzgerald’s) and to watch the boys play a bit of back yard cricket. Danny, Mick and Craig placed me in the outfield in the hope that I could catch a ball or two, no such luck, I was never that good at cricket anyway.

From Joan’s we went to Steve and Brenda’s home for a gathering of the Friends of Bryan Committee. It was great to be surrounded by friends and family. We stayed in a motel in Toowoomba for the night (thanks Liz and crew), then out to the University in the morning to catch up with work colleagues.

On our way back to Brisbane we went via Lotus Cres., where my Dad and Craig were hard at work finishing off some painting, can’t wait to get back home to stay. Our trip didn’t start well with the air con not working in the car, Shane had a look at it for us but it is going to need some time spent to fix, hence a hot trip back to Brisbane.

After saying our farewells to patients and staff we headed off to the transition house for our stay up until Xmas Eve. The house is certainly going to test my skills as it has a few challenging areas for me to negotiate. Our first three days have been without drama and feel that my endurance is increasing to the point I can handle being in the chair for a whole day in this heat. We have carer’s come in morning and night to assist with personnel care giving Julie a much needed break. Next week we have a carer coming down from Toowoomba for three days who will be trained to work with me when I get home along with 3 other carer’s.

We can’t thank everyone enough for the effort they are putting into getting us home.

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you

Keep you posted

Bryan

One more Sleep!

Only one sleep to go !

Tomorrow morning we will drive back to Toowoomba for a xmas gathering and stay the night in a motel. On Monday Bryan is going to visit the Uni to attend the WHSO morning meeting as a guest and to say hi to as many as possible by 11.00 am before returning to Brisbane for 10 days stay in a transition house, to be home on Xmas eve hopefully home for good. The stay in the transition house is to prepare us and train the carers who will be looking after Bryan when we get home to Toowoomba. It is exciting as well as scary proceeding with rehab in an environment not supported by 100% hospital staff at the press of a button.

This last full day here in some ways is sad as you can imagine you meet a lot of friends, but there is no holding me back here, I’m so looking forward to being around my family and long time friends as I progress towards normal life.

It has been so wonderful for Julie to be able to stay with her brother Mark, sister-in-law Sue and niece Kate while attending the hospital each day (only 10 mins drive) without their support it would have made things very difficult.

We will keep you updated from the transition house.

Bye for now
Love from Bryan and Julie

Almost Home

Hi all,

I'm starting to feel excited that it's only 2 weeks until I have my first trip back to Toowoomba since the 19th of July. It's the longest time, in my 46 years, I've ever spent away from home. I'm wondering how things will have changed; and I look forward to being close to all my family and friends once again.

Although, I do need to return to Brisbane to attend the transitional house where Julie and I can trial living away from the hospital semi supported; this will take us up to Christmas where I hope to return to my own home for good!

I had my first experience in the hydrotherapy pool this week. I enjoyed floating around, but scared myself when not being able to correct myself due to my nonexistent hand function, as I was attempting to right myself when face down. Future water experiences I’m sure will be accompanied by a fixed floaty to keep my head up, as for one day I hope to paddle my surf ski with the girls.

I look forward to seeing everyone, lots of love.

Flyan Bryan...

Monday - memories and mateship

Hi All,

Hung out with Dad today at the spinal ward. It is really starting to feel very normal now! I can remember when Dad first got moved down into the unit, it just felt like such a dull and gloomy place, but now spirits are much higher and a its become a very homely place. Part of the reason is because we know that Dad will be going home soon and its only giant forward leaps from here.

There are a few guys that we have become good friends with and having that company is such a boost. I think it makes Dad's day go so much faster when he has someone else there to chat to about what they are going through and to push each other along.

Dad did pressure mapping on his chair in physio today. If any of you have seen the cool boards you stand on when you get fitted for runners at athletes foot that show you the different pressure areas - it was a little like this. The lady placed a gridded mat on his push chair which Dad then transferred onto. She had a laptop set up connected to the mat that displayed a colourful image of the different pressure areas. This can than give the physios an indication of what size cushion would suit.

Tonight after dinner I took Dad and Jason, one of Dad's roomies, down to the shopping centre. The guys had fun burning around the shops and acting like school boys. It is awesome to see Dad with a huge grin on his face :)

Dad is booked in for the pool on Thursday - that should be a bit of fun.

Update you again soon

Rebecca and family xox

From the Horses Mouth

Hi All,
I’m going to gloss it up a bit and tell you how spoilt i am here in my 6 star accommodations. Where else can you stay and not even have to put yourself to bed. Progress is a great thing and until yesterday I was powering ahead to the point of being able to finally transfer from wheelchair to bed without the use of a hoist just using my new learned skill of self transferring. Unfortunately a small mishap occurred while transferring landing me knees first on the floor. I quickly directed the assisting nurse to get help and with the push of the emergency button 10 or more nurses arrived on the scene in seconds. I was getting into bed to go for a kidney xray at the time, the doctor after this incident organised xrays to be taken of my knees as well (no reports back yet). If there was anything wrong with my knees which I’m confident there is not, I’m sure the staff would have advised me.

All that aside my health is progressing well allowing me to meet goals set for me to go home. We, Julie, Rebecca and myself had a meeting with the Doctor, Ot, Physio, etc to discuss a discharge date, this will see me home for Christmas all going well.

Home reno’s are taking place and the pressure will be on family and friends to have our home ready for my return, this is a big ask as the work has only just begun. Julie’s brother John Fitzgerald is building and co-ordinating the reno’s and many thanks to John, family and friends that are giving their time and resources to get the job done.

It still blows me away the amount of support and generosity my family and I have and are receiving from all. Upon my return I hope to repay in some or form.
Love to all
Flyan Bryan

The First Weekend Away!!

Hello all Rebecca here!!

Im am on holidays as of Saturday, so I will be able to keep all the bloggers regularly updated.

The weekend away was a great success!!! We have noted a few things for next time but overall there was no major dramas or worries. Dad got in and out of the car, with only a little assistance and with his slide board. We sat around the pool for a bit then a big group of us went over into the park across the road for a BBQ.

When it was bed time we just wheeled Dad in his chair one step at a time up to my unit. He didn't get alot of sleep last night but that was expected being in a new place for the first time in a while. Mum and I had nurse duties this morning which also ran very smoothly.

Spent the rest of the day out by the pool, having some drinks and prawns for lunch. Mum and Dad have just left now (4pm) headed back to Brissy.

Here is a couple of pics of the weekend:

Love Rebecca and Family xoxo