9/12/14

I have not written for a couple of days because there has not been much to report.    Ron is getting stronger and now manages to sit out in a wheelchair all day.  He has not been to the gym since Friday but the OT's have been observing and advising him.  Yesterday for instance he was able to wash his whole body while on the bed, which previously the nurses have been doing.   Ron told me yesterday that he had managed to tap his non-working leg up and down several times and he was going to surprise me when I arrived but unfortunately he could not manage it when I got there but this is an encouraging sign - if you can do it once you can do it again.  Ron now has no trouble using the rotastand to get from bed to chair and chair to loo.

Ron is extremely lucky with the amount of visitors that he has, I think he has more visitors than anyone else.  All the family visit frequently but yesterday afternoon, we had Danny (ex brother-in-law), sister-in-laws Jean and Pat, and then our friends Barbara and Tony came for the last half hour.  Ron really enjoys the visits even though we keep hushing everyone when it gets a bit rowdy.

This morning I phoned the hospital to see if Ron is not out by his projected date of 22nd, whether he will be able to make some home visits over the Christmas Holiday.  The Staff Nurse has said she thinks it highly likely that he will be home for 22nd.  So 13 days to prepare!!   I have had several attempts to speak to someone from the Stroke Association but keep getting directed to the wrong volunteer.   I am now waiting for someone from West Essex to contact me - The Malden area is not for us.   It is possible that there will not be a rep for this area in which case it will be phone call only and I find it difficult to hear some people on the phone and I would really like someone to see what our home is like.

Another good thing is that Ron's fatigue seems to have improved considerably, his anxiety has lessened so all good news today.