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