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

BBQ

The BBQ we are having this afternoon (14th Nov) will be across the road from Blue Waters Apartments in the park along the Broadwater. Its BYO and will start about 4pm with a few drinks.

Love the Flemmings

Weekend Away

Hello all,

Just a quick note to say that Dad will be coming down to the Gold Coast this weekend to stay with me and the family in our apartment. It will be his first overnight stay outside the hospital and we have done a lot of preparation!

So just in case anyone was planning to visit this weekend Dad won't be at the PA but soaking up the sun down on the coast. For all those who live close by we are having a BBQ in the park along the broadwater on saturday afternoon/evening, if you are interested in coming along just let one of us know.

Dad has had a really good week this week, no dramas to report. He has been working alot on his transfers, in/out of his hospital bed and our car. We ordered his push chair last week (Dad knew exactly what he wanted) so hopefully that won't take too long to be processed.

Will post again after the weekend to let you know how it all goes.

Love and Thanks Rebecca and Family xox

15 weeks and powering on

Hi All,

The last week has seen no extra issues to contend with. Bryan had another ultrasound on Thursday to examine the clot in his right calf, and some good news when they said it had reduced in size. Hopefully next time it will be completely gone. The pressure marks on Dad’s feet are also very slowly healing. It has taught us a valuable lesson about skin care and how diligent we will all have to be when checking pressure areas.

Our second trip to Southbank was a little less stressful this time round. Both train rides ran smoothly and the power chair was fully charged. Nan and Pop came along and we met up with Carmel and Grant, Mark and Kate for a lovely lunch at the Plough Inn. Dad even got to watch some Moto-GP racing!!

This week Bryan had a visit from Ellen, Stacey and Troy Morgan (from Vision Health and Fitness). Troy, being a personal trainer, gave Dad some professional advice in the Physio gym. They worked on Dad’s weight lifting technique, to strengthen his shoulders and arms.

Dad continues to have visits from friends and family, which he tells me, keeps him sane.

Tuesday being the Melbourne Cup, the Spinal Unit has organised wheelchair racing. Bryan, and his competitive nature will be champing at the bit, lined up on the start line. Mum is going to the function that USQ is holding in their refectory.

Mum and Dad are going to come down and visit me at the coast in 2 weekends time for my birthday. This will be Dad’s first overnight stay outside the hospital. But before this can happen we must first tick off a checklist of “things to take/ do”. For example we will need a portable hoist, shower chair, mattress, slide board, etc. There won’t be any room left in my apartment!

Uncle Derek and his friend Russel came to visit yesterday and motivated Dad to put out a hard session the gym.

Dad, Mum and I ventured down the road to Stone’s corner for some lunch today. It is about 1km away so Dad was in his power chair.

This week Bryan will be working on transferring into a car. This is the next step to being a little more independent. On the 17th of November the staff in the spinal unit will be having another meeting with us to discuss a possible discharge date.

Bye for now, keep you posted

Love always Rebecca and Family xo

22nd Wedding Anniversay

Hi All,


Saturday didn't turn out as we had initially planned. It all started when I arrived at the hospital around 9.30am and was walking down the hall to Bryan's room following a couple of nurses who were discussing the pressure sores on someones feet. I was saying to myself please don't let that be Bryan, but the closer I got to his room and they walked straight over to his bed my heart just sank when I saw him. Pressure sores are something you try to avoid at all costs as they can take months to heal. We are hoping that the sores were picked up early enough that they will heal quickly. This means keeping his feet up as much as possible and the pressure off the bottom of his feet. The second thing that happened was his electric chair hadn't been plug in over night and was flat, so it took a few of hours to charge. After much deliberating with the doctor and nursing staff, and Mick for the slight chair adjustment we were sorted enough to head out for a couple of hours.



The train ride to Southbank was smooth and hassle free, but the trip home was a bit of a different story. Once we got to Southbank we had a nice couple of hours just wheeling around (a very wheelchair friendly spot) having lunch, looking at the markets, Bryan even had a neck massage. The trip home on the train was going fine until we had to get off as having another wheelchair in the carriage required Bryan to reverse out rather then been able to turn around and drive out forwards (Bryan commented the chair should be accessorised with mirrors) . This was quite a challenge as it was a tight fit to manoeuvre onto the narrow ramp in reverse and with limited flexibility Bryan had to rely on myself and the train guard to assure he was lined up with the ramp. Before Bryan could get off the train the driver had to go forward a couple of meters as ramp lined up with a post.

This week has also seen Bryan with a clot forming in his right calf which again is not good news and needs to be watched closely but the doctor is hoping it will dissipate over time, an ultrasound next week will let us know what it is doing. Bryan's blood pressure has been very low this week and seems to be slowing his progress and he is keen to find a solution to this problem.

Today went well as blood pressure maintained, we think by the use of pressure stockings with holes cut out around the pressure sores (thanks to Rebecca's fine scissor work).



Some ex patients came in today to talk about their experiences since leaving the spinal unit which Bryan and I thought to be very beneficial. After lunch it was off to the gym to do some more lifting and transferring from chair to bench with alot of progress being made since I last saw him trying this.


Bryan was very excited at the news that Troy Carroll has managed to secure 4 tickets for us to attend the last round of Super X in Brisbane on the 5th December.

We are looking at taking another train trip to Southbank again on Sunday with the family.

Keep you posted.

Julie

Thursday 15th October

Hi All,

Just letting everyone know that as Saturday is our 22nd wedding anniversary we are having a day out. We plan to take the train to South Bank and have lunch and depending on how things our going we may even go and see a movie. Bryan is looking forward to his first train ride in the power chair. We went down to the train station today to check out where to wait for the train and it looks like it should be a straight forward exercise, we hope.

I'll let you know how everything goes.

Julie.

Mango smoothies and motorbikes on Monday

Hi followers of the Bryan Flyan Flemming blog site,

It is Rebecca here blogging for this week. Dad has been having a lot of adventures in his power chair over the last week. He is excited now that he can get out and explore the outskirts of the hospital.

Uncle Jeff made a surprise trip over from China this weekend for Pop's birthday, which is today. Dad didn't know he was coming over, so was a little shocked to see his brother standing outside the dining hall after lunch on Friday. Dad and Uncle Jeff went down to the Norman for a feed, Dad leading the way in the vroom vroom chair.

Mum and I spent the weekend down in Surfers Paradise for our annual girls weekend away with the touch footy girls. We returned to Brisbane on Sunday for Pop's birthday lunch with Dad, Nan, Unlce Jeff, Aunty Chris and Aunty Ros. Then we watched the end of bathurst in the spinal ward lounge room with big screen TV. Dad's cousin Ray also came to visit on Sunday afternoon.

It was my day with Dad yesterday as usual and we had a really good day. I arrived at the hospital very early and he hadn't even had a shower yet! Once Bryan was up we sat on the balcony in the sun to warm up a little as it was very cold here yesterday morning. Dad now has a moblie phone holder that he can hook to his hand and lift up to his ear to use his phone. He has his mobile phone on him and can answer it and even send a text message!

I bought some soy milk for Dad to make a smoothie in OT. He was given 2 mangoes and we decided that we should use them in a smoothie. Mark and Stacey turned up just in time to join in the fun!

Dad cut up the mangoes, poured in the milk, got the milo tin open and spooned it in, opened the honey jar and poured some in. He then took the blender over to the other bench, put in on its base and blended in up.

He then poured himself, Emily, Mark, Stacey and I a glass of Mango Milo smoothie each. A very weird combo of flavours but it tasted alright. We decided next time we will need some ice cream!

Mark, Stacey, Dad and I then went across the road to a little cafe for a yummy lunch and some fresh air.

Physio time at 2pm and Dad was keen to push himself hard. He did some long and short sitting, ranging and then practised rolling over, propping and sliding his bum across the bed. As I watch Dad struggling to move himself across the bed I find myself trying to do the movements for him. It doesn't help much so I give him as much verbal encouragment as I can. He is builing up his arms very fast and he finds they really burn after a day in the chair and the gym. At the end of todays session Dad's physio helped him do an assisted transfer from the bed into his chair. It is hopeful that when Bryan builds up enough strength he will be able to do this himself!

During physio Dad's friend Geoff Udy arrived on his yellow Can-Am Spyder Roadster. Dad and Geoff spent a while checking out this awesome piece of transport. Then moved to Starbucks for coffee and cake.

It was then time to say goodbye for another week. Back to uni for me and back to recovery for Dad.

Until next time!

Love Becca and family xx

Vroom Vroom

Hello wonderful friends and family,

Rebecca here! Updating the blog with a couple of days worth of news...

Mum, Erin and I spent a night in the Sofitel in Brisbane city on Friday night - it was a voucher kindly given to us by the USQ - for some relaxation and girly time. We had a wonderful night!

Saturday afternoon we all went to Uncle Mark and Aunty Sue's place for a BBQ. When I got there Dad was already having a go at Mark's Nintendo Wii, playing tennis! He loved it and when he got the hang of holding onto the remote gave us a real run for our money. (Off track a little but Dad is involved in a research program run by UQ students studying the advantages of interactive games, such as the Wii, in the recovery of spinal injury patients). I can see that little things like this game do really help, as a fun way of ranging and exercising his arms. Earlier on Saturday before Dad got in the taxi the nursing staff emptied his catheter bag, which wasn't very full and asked him if he wanted to take any more "overflow bags" just in case but he didn't think he would need it. Later on Dad managed to produce 3 whole bags of urine...which because we didn't take any bags...had to water Mark's lawn. While it was being emptied Dad let out a sigh of relief "ahhh"...even though he can't really feel it.

Sunday Nan and Pop came to visit in the morning and Mum and Erin headed back to Toowoomba in the afternoon. Kath and Pat joined Dad, Joey and I to watch the footy Grand Final. We ordered pizza and took over the lounge room in the spinal ward..which has the only big screen TV. Very enjoyable evening...Go the Storm!!

I spent Monday with Dad and took a few photos of the eventful day.

Dad got a new trial chair! It is electric this time. After only being in it for half an hour Dad says "I feel guilty when I see other people in push chairs...I'm being lazy". But it gave him so much freedom and a well deserved break for his arms. I could not stop him once he got going...I had to jog to keep up with him. It is the first motorised vehicle he has driven since the accident and he is starting to appear as Flyan Bryan once again!!

Now that he had proper wheels he wasn't going to let the walls of the spinal unit keep him in he wanted to get out and about. So I walked/ran and he motored on down to the shopping centre to buy Mum a birthday present.

Some beautiful flowers!!

Mum's birthday was yesterday and she went back up to Brisbane to spend the day with Dad. They went to the Norm for dinner last night.

I will get Mum to upload some more pics of us playing the Wii at Uncle Mark's during the week.

Love to you all

Rebecca and family xoxo

Tuesday 29th

Hi everyone,


Just a quick message to let everyone know that Bryan is heading out for another adventure on Saturday, we are taking him for a taxi ride over to Mark and Sue's (my brother and his partner)who live at Camp Hill for a BBQ. Bryan likes these outings so we will endeavour to do more over the next couple of months and iron out any problems which may arise before he tests the waters when he gets home.

The girls and I have spent the last couple of days at the beach for a bit of R & R. I'll be heading back to Bryan tomorrow and Rebecca and Erin will join me on Friday when the three of us will be heading to the city for a bit of pampering which has been kindly donated by the USQ.

Goodnight

Julie

10 weeks

Hey everyone,

Its Rebecca here! I'm on uni break as of today and have taken over as chief blogger for tonight.

Today it has been 10 weeks since Dad's accident and, as you all are probably thinking, I cannot believe it! For Dad I know it feels like forever that he has been it that place as one day rolls into the next, without seeing much progression himself. But for me just reflecting over the last two and a half months, I can see just how far he has come in such a short time!

From lying flat on his back, breathing aided by a ventilator, unable to communicate with us...to now when he is whizzing around in his chair, eating and drinking independently, taking leaps and bounds in his recovery. Although there have been a few set backs on the way, I believe Dad was reborn into this new way of life as a challenge..because life is not meant to be easy.

"Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there is always tomorrow."

As Mum told you earlier in the week I got a new Subaru Forester. I think Dad was almost as excited as I was! He was so keen that he wanted to get the train with me down to the Gold Coast to pick it up. "As simple as it may sound Dad, its going to take a little more planning than that".

Bryan being the motor-loving man his is was hanging out for me to get back to Brissy on Friday afternoon so he could see it. We took him across to the carpark where he analysed it from every angle possible. The final thing he wished was to go for a test ride...again not an easy process. So overnight Dad came up with a plan...

Dad's friend Shane came to visit today, unexpecting of what Dad has in mind...
Dad: "Are you feeling strong today Shane?"
Shane: "Umm..yeh!!"
Dad's plan was for Shane to lift him from his chair into the car. Shane was up for a challenge and managed to lift Dad, who weighs about 73kg at the moment, from his chair and into the car. We strapped him in and away we went for a drive around the city! What can I say...Dad absolutely loved it!! He was thrilled to get away, if only for 15 minutes. As soon as we got around the corner Dad's first words were "Alright, back to Toowoomba!".

Dad is designing a device that will be able to transfer him from his chair to his car, as Shane won't be able to be Bryan's personal lift.

Bryan has by choice, weaned himself off his Sudafed tablets. He usually takes one in the morning to increase his heart rate and therefore to increase his blood pressure. With these he is able to get up without feeling too dizzy. He has gone 3 days now without them and is doing very well, only on occasions needing to get his feet lifted up to let the blood drain back to his torso.

Until next time!

Love to all

Rebecca and Family xoxo

Thursday 24th September

Hi All,


Bryan has had a very mixed week going from feeling good and working hard with his physio, to feeling a lot of pain down his back and in the soles of his feet. This pain may be signs of good things to come but is not pleasant in the short term. Bryan is trying some nerve pain medication to see if it will help alleviate the discomfort.



The blister he has on his inner thigh which came about last week from the catheter has got bigger and is of concern at the moment, so they have changed to a different catheter and will need to be monitored closely.



Bryan had his second ride in a taxi yesterday which took him to Lifetec over at Newmarket. Lifetec is a place where they supply aids for people with disabilities such as aids for the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, car, and alarm devices etc. It was a great morning and has given us a few ideas to pursue. The ride in the taxi wasn't much better then the first one he had a couple of weeks ago he would much prefer to be transferring into a normal seat and not sitting in a wheelchair in the back.


After my effort with driving through Brisbane yesterday I think I'll stick to taking public transport as I got lost on the way to Lifetec and on the way back and getting a few more grey hairs in the process.


Erin brought a guitar to the hospital today and played a few tunes for Bryan and some of his friends here at the hospital, it brought a tear to his eye.

Bryan had a trip over to the shops with his OT to try out community access. The task required purchasing some needed items. Bryan discovered the dilema of not being able to reach the motorcycle magazines as they were on the top of the rack and the difficulty of receiving change to put back in his wallet. Similar problem purchasing items from supermarket as many items are out of reach. Bryan has asked if anyone has any good ideas to hand over and receive coins please let us know.


Home news - Now Erin has turned 16 she has obtained her Leaner's and will be out and about so look out! Bryan is looking forward to getting back in the car and giving her some lessons.
Rebecca hasn't had much luck with cars lately, they keep breaking down or end up in wrecker heaven so as from Tuesday she took possession of a 2002 Subaru Forester which should keep her on the road for many years. Rebecca has done really well with her exams which is an amazing effort as she has had a lot to contend with these last couple of months.

We have plans over the next week or so to take Bryan on the train into the city for the day, depending on his health.

Love to all,
The Flemmings

Eight weeks on...

Hi All

It is now 8 weeks since Bryan's accident and six weeks in the spinal unit. In this time he has gone from flat on his back strapped down to his bed with weights attached to his head and communicating in any way possible other than by voice. Telling us he had any itchy nose could sometimes take 10mins or so. From eating pureed food to now enjoying a nice juicy steak. Passing out when getting hoisted out of bed of a morning to going for a whole week without Bryan saying to quickly lift his legs up to the blood flowing back to his head. Requiring assistance to get pushed around in his wheelchair to testing out how fast the wheelchair can go down ramps, the list goes on.

Bryan's movement is still limited to his head, shoulders and part of his arms, his legs and fingers still don't have any movement, but he hasn't given up on them (YES USQSafe team, The power of positive thinking is not a load of rubbish). He has been getting some spasms in his legs and through his torso. The touch feeling he has in his body is also much the same, but has discovered extra sensitivity with hearing. The pain that he originally had in his neck and shoulders is not so serve anymore and not needing any pain relief, Bryan is not keen on taking pills!

Another milestone achieved today in physio with Bryan being able to get from lying flat up to a sitting position all by himself with the aid of a ladder strap that he hooked his wrists through. Bryan is also showing excitement about finally getting to try out smaller and lighter wheelchairs as they are much easier for him to manoeuvre places. We have had a couple of excursions across the road and also beyond the car park to view riverfire with the F1 11's flying directly over head.

Bryan has been shifted to bed 14 which is in the most western room in the spinal unit and he says is the closest he can get to home. On the subject of home, plans are progressing and Bryan has been able to have plenty of input with design features.

We found out this week what the issue is with Bryan's voice. After the camera down the nose to view his vocal cords, it was found a Granuloma has formed most likely due to the tube down his throat while in ICU. The Granuloma may reduce and disappear in time but if it continues to cause voice problems it can be removed by laser surgery. (Granuloma is a benign growth that results from irritation or trauma). Adding to this is some nerve damage resulting in one side of the vocal cords not moving and requiring the other side to compensate. The speech therapist said Bryan should get this vocal cord movement back as this nerve can repair itself.

All in all Bryan is progressing steadily and working hard on his goals to get him home.

Keep you posted.

Goodnight from,
Julie and assistance from Bryan

Beginning of Spring

Hello all,

Sorry there has been no blog for the last couple of days! Its been fairly busy times this week with Erin's and Kellie's birthdays and alot going on with Dad.

This week I am feeling has been Dad's best week since being in the spinal unit! His spirit truly amazed me this week. A massive proportion of this due to the fact that he has not been experiencing as much pain as he had been. I said to him on Tuesday "Dad you are going really good today, do you think this has been one of your better days?", he thought for a while then said "yeh, i think it would be pretty close, apart from bad news this morning"

I will tell you a bit about that now...

Last week Dad had a very swollen leg, we thought he may have bumped it on something without noticing. Anyway after a few days the docs decided they would x-ray and ultrasound it to find out if there was any underlying factors.

The news came back that Dad had Heterotopic Ossificaiton which, in normal person's terms means there are bone fragments growing in muscle and other tissues where they shouldn't be. They found these at the top of his thigh and around his hip joint. Research indicates that there is a high correlation between spinal injuries and HO, due to mixed signals being sent through the nervous system telling bone to grow instead of healing tissue. Many of the other patients on the ward also have this condition.

It is preventable but not yet treatable, with no cure, besides invasive surgery to remove fragments. Prevention involves taking anti-inflammatories and keeping a good range of movement in the affected area. We are already noticing that Dad has lost some flexion range in that hip.

It is not life threatening but a little bit of a setback that we hope will not get any worse.

Dad was very disappointed that he could not be with Erin for her birthday on Wednesday. Ann and I spent the day with Dad and assured him it wouldn't be long until he gets to go home. Trust me when I say Dad has everything planned out for when he comes home. The reconstruction of the house, his new gym, his modified car, wheelchairs and the list goes on! He is putting a lot of brain effort into his spare time so that he can get home quicker and for everything to be ready when he does. I don't think the nurses have seen anyone so keen to get out of there!

Troy and Jake (Dad's friends and motorcross racers) also came to visit on Wednesday. I saw the passion in Dad spark when he saw them coming. Even though Dad's injury was from a bike, that has not stopped his love for the sport and everything to do with bikes. He has been concentrating his energy on the mental side instead of the physical side, giving some advice to Troy and Jake about the up coming season. If Dad can't walk yet, he will use someone else's legs to do it!

Many of you may know already but Dad is set up on "Skype". This is a video call program run via the internet. Dad is pretty independent with Skype, no one has to hold a phone up to his ear, he just puts his earphones on and chats away! Uncle Geoff and Aunty Chris in China talk to Dad a few times a week on Skype, which means that no matter how far away you are you can still keep in touch.

I have been meaning to post something on here for a while about "how to post a comment" on the blog. Many of you who read this have had trouble writing in the comments box. So for those who are yet to discover the art of blogging you must first sign up for a google blog account. Then you can chose to "follow" our blog www.bryanflyanflemming.blogspot.com, it is only then that you are able to post a comment. Hope this works!

I hope I have not missed anything out from this week! You will be hearing from me again soon.

Love always
Rebecca and the Flemming Family xoxo

Father's Day

Hello everyone!

Wishing all the Dad's a very Happy Fathers Day today!

A very exciting day in the Flemming camp today, with Dad having his first outing since the accident. It was a very successful adventure just down the road to the Pineapple Hotel for lunch. Bryan has been craving a nice juicy steak with mushroom sauce for a long time and he got one today! The taxi ride on the way there was a little bit scary for Dad - taxi rides are scary at the best of times, but when you don't have a lot of balance it makes it even more interesting. Dad says the taxis aren't designed very well as he was sitting so high up in his chair that he couldn't see out the windows. However the hydrolic lift that got him into the taxi was very impressive! Here are some pics we took today...

Us girls (Rebecca and Erin) with our wonderful Dad

The "Father's" Kev and Bryan

Getting into the wheelie taxi

Pineapple Hotel for lunch - Kev, Julie, Erin, Ros, Bryan, Ev, Bec and Joey.

Hope everyone had a wonderful day - we sure did! And we hope that we can venture further and further each time.

Lots of Love

Rebecca and the Flemming Family

xoxo

Thursday 3rd September

Today finds Bryan confined to bed as he has a blood blister on his back which was caused from the binder he wears around his middle which helps keep his blood pressure at a manageable level. Without wearing a binder he feels dizzy and on occasions tends to pass out, so he needs to wear one. A binder looks like a girdle, it is a wide thick elastic band which is wrapped around Bryan's stomach and fastened up with velcro. His physio is sorting out a solution to the problem. It is very important to be extremely careful if you have any skin issues because they can lead to major issues with nasty results. Therefore staying in bed and keeping the pressure off the blister is priority.



By the way Bryan is out of isolation and back in the "Cute" section, not because he is needing extra care but he is waiting for a bed to become available back in the ward as his bed in room 6 was quickly snatched up when he left.



Tuesday I met with Rachael (Occupational Therapist) at our house in Toowoomba to assess what modifications will need to be done to the house before Bryan returns home. The major issue is the bedroom as it is too small to accommodate a wheelchair and a hoist (if needed), so the plan would be to knock out the wall between our room and the spare bedroom to make way for a toilet, shower and robe. As Bryan didn't spend a lot of time in the kitchen before the accident he reckons why start now, so at is stage there will only be minimal if any changes in this area. The only other issue at this stage will be putting a ramp at the front door and the back door.



Sunday, being father's day will be Bryan's first outing from the hospital. Rebecca , Joey, Erin, myself, his Mum , Dad and sister are heading to the Pineapple hotel for lunch for a nice steak.

Once Bryan has experienced a few day trips out of the hospital we will try an overnight stay in Brisbane and if all goes well we will trial a weekend stay in Toowoomba which Bryan is very keen to do, but will need alot of planning.



I'll update you on how the trip on Sunday goes.



Bye for now,



Julie

Monday the last day of winter

Hello everyone,

I haven't blogged in a while (been very busying catching up on uni and exams, etc) so I thought I should give you an update on Dad's latest.

I spent yesterday (being monday) with Dad and it was the first time I had seen him since I was sick last week. He seemed a little lethargic as he didn't get to sleep until 3am but that didn't stop him from having a very active day.

I quite enjoy hanging out with Dad on Mondays, I get to talk to him about how he is feeling, what he is thinking and spend some time working out what his next plan of attack is. We had some high priority admin issues to sort out in the morning with the doc and nursing staff, a few delimmas over the weekend will hopefully be sorted now.

The daily routine took us to OT at 11am where Dad attempted to beat his record at solitaire/chinese checkers game. You have to try and jump all your pegs and end up with the smallest number you can. Dad is currently 2nd on the record board with a score of 3 but this isn't good enough for him, he wants his name in 1st place.

Dad's cousins Karen and Angela came to visit after lunch, they bought with them a happy spirit which cheered Dad up a bit. They bought him a soft crocodile toy, which they said reminded them of Dad, had a bit of a laugh over that. We all talked to Uncle Jeff in China via Skype!

2.30 came quickly and we were nearly late for Dad's physio appointment. Karen and Angela joined us for a little bit and said a lovely prayer for Dad before they left. Erin, Dad's physio, had written up a new program at Dad's request, it will make it easier to keep track of his progress. Dad trailled the automatic bike pedal machine, did weights and dominated the arm pedal machine. I was amazed at just how well he was performing and considering he was already tired.

Mark Harland also came to visit later on in the afternoon. The day seems to pass so quickly when you are kept busy so before I knew, it was time to say goodbye.

One of the OT's was visiting Mum at home in Toowoomba today and I haven't heard how it went yet but hopefully Mum will be able to update on that very soon!

Goodnight and love to you all
Rebecca xox

Sunday, 30th August

Hi all,

Week six has slowly creeped up on us, alot of progress has been made in this short time; but more is still to come. Just one short week until fathers day Dad is still so keen to persuade us in letting him come home back in Toowoomba! But as this is a little unrealistic just yet, we are talking about taking him on his first outing away from the hospital for a nice juicy rump which his mouth has been watering for, as the last one he had was the night before his accident!

The weekend has been a little frustrating for all of us, with a few mishaps taking place, but once Dad vents his anger he is usually cool calm and collected.

On Tuesday this week, The Occupational Therapist will be meeting Mum (Julie) at our house in Toomoowmba to dicuss what alterartions will need to be made for Dads to come home. As this could take a while, they need to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.

Dad is still trialing the Dragon voice recognition on his new laptop. Once he has mastered it, you'll be hearing from him rather than us ladies.

Dad is in awe of how much support he and the family are reciveing. It's very overwhelming and appreciated. Dad is forever saying he needs to get out of the hospital so he can repay everyone for what they have given.

To wrap it up here are some photos of some visitors and a couple more from his birthday!

Goodnight, Erin & Julie xx



Dad With Derek and his brother.



Karen, Dad and Stacey. They had just ran the Bridge to Brisbane 10km race.



Dad showing off his flowers sent from USQ for his Birthday!



A signed canvas from his friends at Endeavour (Ramsay Street)



A couple of punks who crashed Dads party celebrations! (Craig and John)

Thursday 27th August

Hi All,

Bryan is still in isolation and has started on a 10 day course of antibiotics for the bowel infection which has some long name but abbrev to C dyf. One of the symtoms of the infection is nausea as well as a side effect from the antibiotic is nausea, so he is not feeling the best at the moment.

Today he had an xray taken of his knee (the one with the broken ligament from previous accident in 1982) as it has been swollen the last couple of days, don't have results back yet. As I'm typing this he is getting an ultrasound done on his left upper thigh as yesterday it was quite swollen and has a bruise on it, they want to rule out a clot. I'll let you know the results when they are back.

Bryan is still not sleeping very well at night which makes him tired during the day and has little energy also, so they are giving him a sleeping tablet tonight so he gets a descent nights sleep.

Bryan has just been wheeled back from the ultrasound and has been given the all clear, great news! He didn't need any more worries to deal with.

Bye for now,
Julie

Tuesday 25th August

Hi All,

Bryan is still in isolation until they do further tests to rule out any bowel infections which could take a couple of days.

He had a good day in physio today, working on being able to roll over onto his side using his arms to help him swing(very tiring). He also did some sitting on the bed with his legs out in front of him and worked on being able to balance on his own and then throw his arms back to prop, (to stop himself falling backwards) and then bring his arms back again, this will aid him when he gets to transfer from bed to a wheelcahir when the time comes.

Both Rebecca and Erin are feeling a bit unwell at the moment, so they won't be visiting for a few days as Bryan's immune system is not that good at the moment and he can't afford to get any new bugs going around.

As Bryan only had a couple of hours sleep last night he is very tired and looking for a good nights sleep tonight, so he is already tucked up in bed with the lights out
(it is 7pm).

Until next time.

Julie

Hello all,

Due to a what they now know, Bryan has a bowel infection and has been shifted again this time into iscolation for a couple of days. So he has been placed on some more anitbiotics (he is sooo excited) not! Tomorrow he has a meeting with the Doctors, Physios, Occupational Therapists, and Social Worker to discuss the next plans for his recovery, and the requirement needed when it is time for him to come home.

Here is a video Warren recorded of Bryan's first attempt at wheeling his own wheelchair on day 30.

Goodnight from Julie and Erin

(as Bec is down with a vomiting bug she is unable to post tonight)

xxxooo

Bryan's 46th Birthday!!!

Hello everyone!

Dad's birthday today and he was in great spirits. I arrived at the hospital with Joey this morning and Mum was helping Dad with his shower. Soon after they returned Dad was in his new chair and out in the sun. Such a beautiful day today, Dad didn't even need a jumper! Uncle Ed, Nan and Pop and Erin arrived not long after. We had a nice little picnic out in the sun! Aunty Ros and David came and Ann, Craig, Ellen and John also. We also talked to Uncle Jeff and Aunty Chris via Skype and received many phone calls. Pizza, chips, lollies and carrot cake (Dad's favourite!) I have put a few pics on tonight so that everyone can see how well Dad is doing. His voice is pretty much healed and he looks healthy but still having a little trouble with his bowels.

Just a short post tonight, very enjoyable day had by all. Here are the pics...

Dad eating a pancake that Aunty Kathy made, Ben gave up and Uncle Ed bought all the way from Toowoomba.

The punk party arriving - Craig, John behind Ellen and Ann (Mum's brother Patrick had a dress up 50th birthday party last night and since Dad couldn't go they bought the party to him!)

Dad and us girls :)

Hope everyone is well, goodnight, love to all

Bec xoxo

Wednesday 19th August

Its been four and a half weeks since Bryan's accident and he has come a long way in what seems like an eternity to him but only a short time on his road to recovery.
 
Since the last blog Bryan has had a few more uncomfortable days coping with pain in his back and shoulders resulting in sleepless nights therefore feeling tired during the days.  He did have a good night sleep last night after a very stressful one the night before as he was put on oxygen for a few hours because he was having trouble breathing which could be the result of the pain killer he took (he just can't win).  They have just wheeled him away up to x-ray to take a photo of his shoulder and neck to see if there is any underlying problems in this area that is causing such pain.
 
Bryan's OT sessions are going well. Emily (his OT) has made up a few more gadgets to help with day to day things, one being a washer made into a mitt which he will have a go at today when he has a shower.
 
In Physio sessions Bryan has been having a few massages on his back, shoulders and neck which has been quite painful at times, but is benefiting him at the same time.  He has  also  stepped up in the travelling world he now has a wheelchair that he can push by himself which his friend Warren videoed yesterday so we will put that on the blog at some stage.
 
Bryan had a very good day today and also enjoyed a visit from Geoff, Steve, Chris and Garry who talked about bikes and touring around this gave  Bryan's voice a rest for a change.
 
There hasn't been any significant change to the movement or feeling in Bryan's arms and legs, but is experiencing spasms in different areas (back and chest).  Bryan is putting 100% in getting his internal functions back on track before he concentrates on the physical side of things because when the internals are doing what they are suppose to do it hinders the physical side (hope that makes sense).
 
It is now 8pm I started this blog this morning and have only just got back to finishing it.
 
I will get Bryan to do his own blog very soon.
 
The  visiting hours are ( all the patients were given a reminder about this)
 
Monday to Friday: 12pm - 2pm and 4pm - 8.30pm
Weekends/Public Holidays: 12pm - 8.30pm
 
Goodnight all,
Julie

Friday 14th

Hi All,

It's me again updating the blog today.

Bryan was going to have a go at updating the blog himself but he has had a rough couple of days trying to deal with the pain in his neck and back which also has kept him awake at night, so he is feeling rather tired and exhausted at the moment. The physio is working on the muscles in his back and neck to try and relieve the pain but it may take awhile. After much deliberation with the physio and nurses Bryan gave in and decided to take a stronger pain killer tonight, so hopefully he will get a better nights sleep.

As Bryan has had a stressful week he may need a bit of quality resting time for the next couple of days. He doesn't like to turn away visitors, but I do think it is taking alot out of him at the moment. So if you are thinking of visiting on the weekend just give myself (0447529182) or Rebecca (0405077806) a call to see how Bryan is feeling and up to having visitors.

Thanks to everyone for your support.

Julie

Thursday 13th

Hi All,

It has been a few days since the last update on Bryan's progress so I thought I'd better post a message tonight.

Bryan's had his ups and downs this week. He's had a few sleepless nights, feeling sick and had trouble with his breathing over the last couple of days due to a course of tami flu they started him on (even though he was tested for Swine flu and was given the all clear). Because these are side effects of taking tami flu Bryan told them he didn't want to continue with the course, so today he was feeling a lot better and got a good nights sleep last night.

Bryan is doing well at his OT sessions, he was able to stack 11 blocks with his left hand and 8 blocks with his right hand today which was great (even though Bryan is right handed his left hand/arm seems to be stronger). OT gave him a lesson on shaving with an electric razor on Tuesday, so he has been doing his own shaving, so that's put me out of a job and I was just getting the hang of it. Bryan has been able to drink by himself using a cup with a lid and a straw. By manoeuvring his wrist he is able to hold the cup in his hand and bring it up to his lips to have a drink, it sounds so simple but a bit of a challenge . In physio they have been stretching and massaging his shoulders and the top of his back to loosen the tight muscles in his upper body, this seems to make it easier for Bryan to move his arms and shoulders and relieve some of the pain he is getting in that area.

We have been venturing down to the dining room in the spinal ward for lunch and on Tuesday Bryan was able to eat his meal by himself using his adapted spoon and a plate guard, there were a few claps and cheers going on after he ate his last mouthful. It's amazing what can be achieved if you persist. As it was a big achievement I let him have a rest and fed him his dinner that night. He his going to tackle cleaning his teeth by himself next.

Bryan's been in hospital for three and half weeks and hasn't seen much other then his room and the ceiling in ICU so I decided to take him on a tour of the hospital in his wheelchair and he was amazed that I knew where I was going and where everything was, I told him that for the first couple of weeks in between visiting him in ICU and having coffee down in the cafe I didn't have much else to do other then go exploring.

As it is getting late I'll finish it there and get Bryan to do his own blog tomorrow using the computer that USQ have supplied for him to use, it has the dragon voice recognition program on it so he won't even have to type.

Goodnight all,
Julie

Room 6

Sitting around Bryan’s bed thinking we should update the blog on this wonderful Monday arvo.

I got to the hospital fairly early this morning just before Dad was going for a shower. Apparently he was keeping the nurses entertain in the shower room by singing a few notes. He looked refreshed and had good colour in his face when he returned. While Dad was in the shower I was setting up his new laptop all ready for him to start training the voice controlled “Dragon” Program.

They popped him back into bed for a brief moment to get dressed and then got him out into his chair for another day out and about. We wheeled out into the sun and found a nice place to set up. We spent about an hour training the new program to recognise Dad’s voice through a headphone/microphone combination. It was amazing that after about 15 minutes of training the computer was able to recognise Dad’s voice and as he spoke it typed into Microsoft Word. Truly incredible technology!

They called Dad inside at about 10.30 to get the last pic line taken out of his arm. So he is now clean skinned, no more cords or devices attached! Phew! Dad could not believe how long the line was when they pulled it out from his elbow. It went all the way to his chest from his elbow and he believes that was causing his shoulder pain on that side.

11am – time for OT!! We ventured off to that side of the building, taking with us the laptop in hopes they could give Bryan a few pointers for his fingers so he is able to type. Emily, his OT was very surprised at what Dad could do with the computer already. She tried some readymade pointers on his fingers to type with, but ended up making some specially to fit his fingers. He is now typing as fast as he used to!! (Dad says: “Don’t say that! They will want me back at work!) Emily is also going to try and chase up a tilt table so Bryan can use the laptop in bed.

From OT we went straight into the dining hall for lunch. Soup and some of my personally made chicken, cheese and tomato toasties were on the menu today. Dad fed himself the soup with the adapted spoon, without spilling a drop! Allan, Donna and Caitlin Dallas came to see Dad while we were at lunch. It was a good catch up with these long time friends who Dad hadn’t seen for a while. They live in Brissy and assured Dad they would try and make some regular visits.

Jeff, Chris and the Boys returned this arvo to spend some more time with Dad. Daniel was flying back to Melbourne this afternoon and they have just left for the airport not long ago. They will be back again tomorrow before they venture down to Sydney.

When we were heading back from lunch, one of the nurses informed us that Bryan had been kicked out of his room. He has been moved out of the Acute section into the “not as cute” area of the ward, where he shares a room with Bill, Peter and Henry. These guys have been in here for a little longer than Dad, so hopefully they will be good mentors and support for Bryan. When we first came into the room, boys being boys, shared all there war stories and compared experiences.

Warmed up in the sun again this arvo before heading in for a training sesh with the Physio. She had him sitting up by himself, balancing using his arms. He lent too far forward and nearly passed out from the smell of his socks. Susie gave Dad’s shoulder a bit of a massage and stretch; this is the first step before he starts exercising.

Not as many spasms today in Dad’s leg but his voice sounds a tiny bit better today. No news on the camera down his nose yet so hopefully they can do it tomorrow.

Quite a big day today, I know I will sleep well and I hope Dad does too.

Love to all
Becca xo

The family get-together

Hi all,

Yesterday, being Saturday the 8th August, Dad had nearly all of his side of the family to come and visit. Uncle Jeff and Aunty Chris flew over from China, Blake from Perth, Daniel from Melbourne and Lori and the kids from Sydney. Lozen, Kate, Aunty Ros, Ray, Wendy and Cherie all drove up from the south also Dad's cousin Judith and Richard who live in Brissy, the rest came down from Toowoomba.

It was wonderful to see the family that we don't get to see all that often! As you can imagine everyone has lots to catch up on so we were a bit of a rowdy bunch and stuck to the balcony all day. Someone asked me during the day if there was some sort of party going on, I replied "No, thats just what its like when my family are together!".

Dad is making astounding progress, reaching a couple of milestones in the last few days. The occupational therapist made him an adapted pen and spoon that straps to his hands. He signed his name on a form and today fed himself some peach halves from a bowl. Dad has also learnt to hook the jug of water over his hand and lift it up to sip from the straw, so no longer requires someone to help him have a drink of water.

Mum and Erin went back to Toowoomba this afternoon to go to the Friends of Bryan dinner. I decided to stay here and keep Dad company.

Dave and Morgan Wagner came to visit Dad today, along with Mark, Sue and Kate Fitz. Tim, the IT guy from the USQ, went out of his way to bring Dad a laptop from the uni with some specialised voice activated programs. He spent hours searching for all the equipment and setting it all up and then he drove down from Toowoomba this afternoon for a special delivery. Thank you to Michael Flannery and associates for approving all this for Dad, it is very much appreciated. Dad says he thinks they might expect him back at work a little sooner than first thought, which he tells me he would be only to happy to do, given all the positive comments and best wishes from the university staff.

Another extremely exicting occurance has been happening throughout today as well. Dad's legs have been spasming! It has happened about 3 times today and I as I have been typing here tonight, again his knee rose up and back down. Apparently spasms are a good thing, so I hope that they become more frequent. I will do some of my own research and keep you all informed on my findings.

Dad and I went to the dining hall for dinner this afternoon (I wouldn't call it night because dinner is served at Granny hour - 5pm). Its a bit of a laugh for me when I'm giving Dad his mouthfull of food because I find myself opening my mouth and swallowing at the same time as he does. You try scraping food up on your fork, getting it all nicely positioned, raising it up off the plate and not opening your mouth but giving it to someone else.

Dad's voice is still not improving much, he is getting it checked out tomorrow. They will put a camera down his nose and have a look all around his throat and voice box to try and find the cause of his "Darren Lockyer-like" voice. Will let you know how that goes.

Just tucked Dad into bed and will read him a bedtime story before I leave.

Until next time...

Love Bec, Bryan and the family
xoxo

Wednesday 4th August

Hi all, it's me back again for another go at blogging.

The last couple of days have being an experience for me as I have taken on a whole new role in Bryan's life. I arrive at the hospital around 9.00 of a morning in time to help get Bryan out of bed and into a chair that is used for showering. He is strapped into a canvas like harness and hoisted onto a special chair that is used to shower him then wheeled into a big wet room where he is showered. Bryan really enjoys the shower as he loves his head being washed and massaged ( the saying "I'll give you 10 mins to stop that" is getting a bit old). Part of the shower deal is also the shaving job, which took me about 10mins to do but probably only a 3min job for Bryan, I only drew blood once (no stiches required). Bryan must have thought I did an OK job the first time as he let me back at it again today, this time no blood in sight. After his shower he is hoisted back onto his bed where I help him get dressed then he is hoisted back into a chair then wheeled out onto a verandah where we spent most of the day. My next job is feeding Bryan his lunch and giving him drinks of water. Then there is the beauty treatment - moisturising his face, arms and legs as they are very dry and flakey after all the treatment he has been having. I also get the job of cleaning his teeth, which he will learn to do by himself eventually using the same velcro strap that holds his spoon. All of these things I will happily do forever, the only thing I don't like doing is at the end of the day tucking Bryan in and kissing him goodnight and leaving him at the hospital as its not the same going home to an empty bed which we have shared for nearly 22 years.

Today, at his OT session Bryan was given a modified spoon which is placed in a strap which is then velcroed to his hand so that he can start trying to feed himself. He did have a go using it tonight (which I videoed) but I think it will take a bit of practise.

Bryan being Bryan asked the doctors if he could see the xrays of his neck before and after the operation, he wanted to make sure that everything was lined up before they put the plate and screws in and that the screws were the right size etc. The xray after the operation wasn't very clear so he couldn't tell if it lined up or not, but they are doing another xray next week which will show things a bit clearer, he will just have to wait until then.

The doctor indicated to us today that the swelling in the spinal cord could take up to 6 - 8 weeks to go down, so until then they are not sure to what extent his injury will be. 2 and a half weeks of waiting 4 - 5 weeks to go.

On Saturday Bryan's family are coming to the hospital to spent the day with him. His brother and sister-in-law are arriving from China and some of his neices and nephews are travelling from different parts of Australia, so it will be a big day for him.

Bryan's sessions of a day are OT at 11 - 12 Monday to Friday and his physio is from 2.30 - 3.30 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, this may help with visiting times.

We would like to thank everyone for all your support and prayers , for the flowers and donations it is truly amazing, it does make it easier to go from day to day knowing that we have such great friends and support out there.

Goodnight.

Julie

Day 13 Video - By Warren Suley

Out and About

Rebecca here! Im on the train back to the coast now and before I left Dad told me to do the blog tonight. He is really getting into the whole thing - giving me the orders about what to put on here and what not to.

Firstly, Dad wanted to pass on some messages to a couple of people:

Kath and Pat - Thank you very much for visiting me! I can see that Kath, in her actions has that instinctive nature to care for people. I want to personally thank her for being inquisitive, involved and demostrating excellent personal care. But its a shame that I had to be the excuse for you two to come down to Brissy and have a dirty weekend in a motel.

Warren Suley - What a great mentor you have been to me over the years, in a way like a brother. You have such great leadership qualities and compassion. You know just what to do and what to say. I really enjoyed you company. Thank you! (ps. Thanks heaps for the voice recorder, I think it will take a few practises to get it tuned just right!)

Well today Dad achieved a MASSIVE milestone, which I will continue with a little later. I arrived at the hospital very early this morning. Dad said he had a terrible sleep as his bowels were blocked and making him very nauseated. He hasn't "been" properly in a few days now which is causing him a bit of unwanted stress. They believe its from all the medication and probably a bit of trauma. This will improve with time and he can then establish a "rountine".

The nurses came to give Dad his shower, hoisting him out of bed and into a reclining, wheeling, deck chair sort of thing. Today they gave him some psuedoephydrine - it helps increase heart rate and relieve the initial upset of the blood pooling in the legs. He felt a little bit better than yesterday and will probably feel a little better tomorrow sitting upright. The nurse then asked if I was going to be showering Dad...and as keen as i was (cough)...I thought I might let them do it.

Not long after he came back his new physio Susie dropped in. She told us she would be seeing Dad at 2.30pm on a daily basis for the next few weeks. After this she got Dad up on the hoist again and sitting in a wheelchair for the first time. He loved it! I took him outside for a walk and just for him to be moving and looking around again was amazing, not to mention the sunshine! There was no way I was getting him back inside in any hurry, so we had lunch on the balcony.

I thought Dad was incredible today getting up in a chair but not only that, he stayed up for a good 4 hours! This apparently is a huge feat for his first go. I was so proud, and he was very exhausted.

Dad also has an occupational therapist Emily, that will be helping him adapt to his new mobility over the next few weeks. Dad will be seeing her at 11am daily.

We welcomed some visitors today - Don Murray, Geoff Udy and Peta and Darren Cobby, all of whom Bryan hasn't seen in while. Derek also came down today to hang out with Dad. As Dad is still having a little trouble with his throat, it was difficult for him to really project his voice. Usually I can't stop Dad talking and he is still the same but I think he is enjoying more just listening to people talk. Like tonight before I left Dad, Don and Derek were discussing cars, bikes, old girlfriends, etc. and they were laughing and having a great time. It really lifts his spirits!

Thank you to all those people who have sent flowers. Dad's area is starting to look a little more homey now and it really does brighten the place up a bit.

Goodnight everyone.
xo

A short snippet from a message sent by Bryan's uncle Allan: "God can bring you through situations you think you won't survive, or feel you'll be stuck in forever. He can make you comfortable in the most uncomfortable places, and give you peace in the midst of trauma. Before your life is over you'll live, love, and experience loss."

Progress in the Flemming Camp

Its been so great to have family and friends visiting to cheer me along and give plenty of encouragement.

I thought I could handle being up all day but unfortunately I was very worn out by the end of Saturday, which hopefully hasn't effected my progress. In saying that it didn't end up being my expended energy entertaining visitors but in fact a medical issue. It turns out my cathater was blocker and I was unable to pass my bodily fluids, which were bloating my tummy. When the new cathater was inserted I expelled 2L of fluid and now have my 6-pack stomach back (pity they are out of the carton).

I finally beat the "longest pee" record currently held by Buck (pilot jet) by peeing from 7pm through till 2am. After that I was feeling a little dehydrated - just like after a night out on the grog. This little episode has reminded me to ask more question about my health...rather than perving on the young nurses looking after me.

Sunday
After another relatively sleepless night, trying to cough up phlegm of my chest and attempting to rehydrate, I did manage to eat my first sandwich. It was sooooo good!!!

I had my first "sitting up" shower in the chair this morning, lifted out of the bed in a hoist. Once sitting in the chair I started to go a little pale and felt a bit faint. The nurse lifted my legs up to stop the blood pooling and I felt much better. I have come to appreciate the sensation of the warm water flowing over my head in the shower.

Feeling much better today and hopefully from now on no more medical issues apart from dealing with the trauma of my spine. I feel much more confident that I will have a speedy recovery.

Julie, Rebecca and Erin were here all day with me, along with my Mum and Dad and brother Ed and then joined by Brett, Many, Dylan and Ashley Ebneter. Mandy being so kind as to give me a professional barber treatment, clipping my hair, eyebrows, sideburns and neck for me. This felt wonderful!! With little sensation in the rest of my body, its amazing how good it feels to be cared for around my head and shoulders. But on the other extreme I'm glad I couldn't feel what my brother was doing to my toenails. All I could see was the debris flying past my face and as a WHSO (Workplace Health and Safety Officer) I suggested we should all wear safety glasses.

My personal carers, Julie, Rebecca and Erin each play a vital role in my progress to recovery. I really extremely appreciate their care!

Tomorrow I start my new training boot camp, I don't think they know what's in store for them when I enter that spinal unit gym. Hopefully they will want to kick me out soon.

For those that didn't understand why I've gone from Flyan to Floater...it is because when I get placed in a chair on my numb lower torso it feels like the top part of my body is floating. It's a weird feeling!

Keep you posted

Floatyn (alias of Floater alias of Flyan Bryan)

1st August

Mum and I went shopping this morning to buy Dad some clothes and other toiletries. He is allowed out of his purple robe now and into some comfy shirts and slacks.

Dad had a fair few visitors yesterday, Kath and Pat from USQ, Warren Sulley, Mark, Sue and Kate and Carmel, plus Mum and I. So as you can imagine he was very worn out by the end of the day. We have decided that we will need some sort of roster/ time limits for visitors. He absolutely loves everyones company so much that he doesn't want to let anyone leave and wears himself out in the process. I am going to attempt to make an online roster for people to select days they would like to come and see Bryan, this way we won't have 10 people coming on one day and one the next day!

This early stage of Dad's recovery is perhaps the most important. His immune system is still on the mend and he still needs a lot of rest, although he may not think so. I will make sure dad has a break from 12-2pm each day while he has visitors.

Warren gave Dad an old voice activated, voice recorder that he was no longer using. Dad says that he has been waking up at all hours of the morning with all these ideas but no way to write them down. So using the recorder was one theory we had. It works alright but maybe better when Dad gets his voice back fully.

Warren also brought his video camera down and took some footage of Dad. Hopefully we will be able to get some more videos in the future for the blog.

Until tomorrow...

Love Bec and Family
xo

P.S. There is another website that has been created by Bryans friends and extended family.
It is:
www.friendsofbryan.com

~Photos~

We have been describing to our best ability the likes of the ICU and Dad's condition over the past 2 weeks...but they do say pictures speak a thousand words. So see for yourself....

Dad in ICU with nurse Kate

The dreaded ventilator tube!

ITS OUT!!!

First glimpse of the sun out on the balcony in a chair with nurse Jenny who is originally from Toowoomba.

From Floater, you will work it out...

Dear all

Lying here in spinal unit reading a blog about a about a guy who sounds just like me, Floater.

Turning a dragster into a mountain bike....to dual purposing a Hiace van (mx, camping, party bus, music box, race car, etc.)

Some of those things might have began from early in my life, when sitting in a grade 5 classroom meant to be reading a 20 page book when instead getting down the first half of the page and drifting off into innovation land and looking out the window at how things could be improved or played with...to have more fun in life.

I feel this has been the basis of my whole life, always coming up with fun, innovative.....ideas, to fit as much as possible into every day. This was decided to be the theory of life from then on, not "live to exist..but exist to live".

As you read at the start and have probably gathered, YES its me Bryan, finally able to communicate with all family and friends. Your comments and best wishes have indeed greatly inspired me to fight on and regain as much out of everyday as possible, as I always have.

Now that I am back to a level of sanity (without pain relieving drugs) I've already started planning the next challenges in my life, with my trustworthy family and friends. Will keep you posted.

Floater, The Innovator (alias of Flyan)

31st JULY - Spinal Ward

Today was Dad's first day out in the sun. He was able to sit on the balcony out side his room with the best view of brisbane he could get. Paul Nugent and Derek came to visit along with myself (Erin) Ellen, Ann and Mum obviously today. we sat out looking at our great view for about 2 hours which was great for Dad, as he loved the fresh air.

He was extatic to finally be able to cough up his first golly on his own today. We all gave a cheer then he quietly asked what colour it was to give his own diagnosis. Dad had another lovely nurse Jenifer today, who is an ex toowoomer-y, who we had a great chat to. We asked when she thought he'd be able to be transfered to one of the Spinal Wards; but her reply wasn't very enthusiastic as it could have taken anywhere from a week to 2 months. But while Jenifer was on her lunch break we got the great news that they had made room for dad to be admitted in no more than an hour! This probably would have been the best news he's had all week. He threw his arms up in the air and Wooooooooo-ed.

So out we all went to let Dad have his lunch (Puree chicken and gravy, puree potatoe and carrot, puree fruit, and thickened cordial; impressed he was as he told the nurse that the meal would have been brilliant without the PUREE!) and get moving down to his new room. He made sure we wouldnt be long as he appreciated everyones company!

Soon after we met him back down in his new room in the spinal ward, in which he has about 6 new roomies. The first question they all asked was if Dad snored, as the guy before him kept them awake all night with his snoring, and accepted him with open arms when he replied "No, do you?" He's got his own tv and a flash new buzzer he can pres to turn all sorts of things on and off.

The first question Dad asked was, "where's the gym?"The Physio told him that the gym is closed on weekends and wouldn't be able to start on his rehabilitaion til Monday. In reply to that he asked if he could have his own key, as there are no such thing as weekends to Dad. Beth, his new nurse, asked Dad what he wanted to do. He told her that the First thing on his list was to learn how to get out of his bed and onto the wheelchair himself. Dad being Dad dives straight to the deep end and forgets that he has to take it slow and start with the little things first and then work up to the big things. The saying Patience is a Virtue obvioulsy doesn't apply to him!

Today Dad's strenght and determination was amazing as you think all this excitment about seeing more friends and family and finally getting out ICU would ware him out so quickly, but no he was still bright and bubbly when we had to say our goodbyes again this afternoon. From today onwards things can only get better and dad can move forward on his road to recovery. He won't be alone on this journey though as my Mum has been amazing through this all. She has had so much courage since day one through the good and bad. She is with Dad every minute she can be as the terms "Visiting hours" don't apply to her. YOUR TRULY AMAZING MUM.

Goodnight to you all

Erin xx

RACQ Careflight

RACQ CareFlight Rescue is a Queensland based community helicopter rescue service that's helped more than 15,000 people. Their dedicated crews, including a critical care doctor, are on standby 24/7 ready to help.

If it weren't for the rescue helicopter being in the area at the time of Dad's accident, he could have been in a much worse state. Dad always loved flying and was looking forward to doing heli-biking in NZ later this year, but I don't think he expected to be in a chopper so soon. Although it was far from a joy flight, they looked after Dad and got him safely to the PA hospital in Brissy.

I think it was appropriate to thank, on behalf of Dad and the family, the CareFlight Rescue crew for their amazing work not only for Dad but the other callouts they receive 24/7.

If you want to find out more about the life saving service or want to donate money to this deserving cause visit:
http://www.careflightrescue.com.au/

Thanks again to the RACQ CareFlight team

The Flemmings

Thursday 30th July

Well It's my second day on the job and I haven't been fired by Bec or Erin so last nights blog must have past the test.

When I visited Bryan today they had him out of bed and sitting up in a big chair which caught me by surprise as I wasn't expecting that to happen so soon. Bryan felt like he was floating over the chair as couldn't feel his bottom sitting on it, he said it was a strange feeling. They didn't keep him in the chair for too long as you could see it was tiring him out.

Bryan also had his first meal today and as you could imagine he wasn't impressed by what was on offer, mashed up veges and what looked like pureed meat of some sort . As he is having trouble swallowing he's not eating much, but that will eventually increase over time. The physio is still making regular visits to come and beat his chest and get him to cough to clear his lungs of the muck that is still making it hard for him to breath, but he is improving every day.

After being on such a high yesterday I think it wore Bryan out as he didn't have that spark in him today and he said as much to me this afternoon. Angela the Social Worker said there will be
days where he is going to feel this way as he will be trying to come to terms with what has happened and what is yet to happen, it will be a journey we will all share together and get him through it.

They are (and we are) hoping that Bryan will be transferred to the spinal unit tomorrow, so fingers crossed.

Bec or Erin will probably be back on the job tomorrow night, but I will be back next week.

Goodnight all

Julie

29th July 2009

As Bec is back at Uni and Erin is also back at school it has been left to me to keep you updated, it won't be as good as Bec's but I'll give it a go.

We had a very exciting day today as Bryan had the ventilation tube removed this morning. When I was able to go in to see Bryan for the first time today I could see the relief on his face and he had a smile from ear to ear. It is such a relief to be over the fist hurdle, even though there will be many more to come. Bryan was able to talk to me even though his voice was a bit croaky which is to be expected after having the tube down his throat for a week. One of the first things he said was "I'm going to design a new ventilation machine/tube as well as a new system for communicating when you are unable to speak, the list went on. Now that he is talking he has been giving the staff a bit of cheek and they said that if he keeps it up they will put the tube back in (only jokingly). It is good to see Bryan in such high spirits.

The physio came to work on Bryan a few times during the day to try and clear his chest. I'm sure when Shane (from Southtown Service Centre) came to visit today he did'nt know he was going to be a physio assistant, I don't think he will change his job from working on cars to working on people as cars don't complain when you work on them. Stacey also visited today and was able to help out by massaging Bryan's arms which was very much appreciated.

I've been reading the blog comments to Bryan over the last couple of days and he is so blown away by it all. He was like me in the beginning and asked "What is a Blog?". I'm sure once he is able, he will be posting his own stories on here.

I took some photos today and at some stage will put them on the blog but I think I will leave that up to Bec or Erin when they are back at the weekend.

Bryan had a big day today and when I left the hospital he was very tired so I'm sure he will sleep well tonight.

Thank you all for your prayers and positive thoughts it is very comforting to know there are so many people out there who care.

Goodnight,
Julie