The weekend was long with a Bank Holiday on Monday and Dana and I are left on our own. Sunday was so lonely, although there are families here and are friendly, it’s not the same as talking to someone who knows you. Dana spent most of the day crying and I spent most of the day consoling her or attempting to incorporate a routine such as doing her exercises. The car had also gone back on the Saturday so it was back to using the shuttle bus. I managed to cook a roast dinner on the Sunday evening which much to Dana’s surprise she enjoyed. Monday night we got a takeaway and ordered a pizza from a yummy independent pizza company. We both sat in the lobby reception area and ate pizza while watching Friends on TV, which is Dana’s favorite show. I needed to be around people and couldn’t stand being in the apartment anymore. While we were eating an American man approached us and congratulated Dana on how well she was progressing and we had a brief chat. What a lovely and friendly man he was and told me he had been staying at the hotel while his house was being rebuilt. He and his wife had been at the hotel for 2 months and had a further 2 months to go. Their kids had put the washing machine on and not noticed the water overflowing for 4 days. The house was ruined. I felt so sorry for him yet instantly felt better. Strangers are so friendly, only if you let them in. Someone once told me I do not let people in, maybe they have a point. The same man later returned and had a very large watermelon, which he presented to Dana. Unfortunately Dana dislikes this type of melon and declined. We both felt uplifted as we walked back to our room, I still couldn’t wait for Tuesday though.
After the usual morning exercise’s we make our way to breakfast and see the American man and his wife. We have a brief chat and wish them a good time in the Bahamas as they fly today for a week. I think to myself Dana and I will still be here when they return. What I wouldn’t give for a week in the Caribbean. Still there is lots of work to be done and my mind comes back to the day ahead as physio today is at 2pm with Erica, who has just returned from a break in Mexico. You get to know people here pretty well in such a short time, it feels as if you have known them for years. There is an unexpected twist this morning, the temperature has fallen so much it feels more like the UK. How can it be 105 last week and this morning it was 56, even the locals say it is freezing and have hoodies and coats on.
Dana looks and feels much better this morning and tells me she will do her best today in physio. I know she will, she always does, even if she pulls funny faces and moans. I gather the laundry and bag two loads of washing that is washed and hang before we go out. We plan to have lunch out which will make the afternoon longer and after Dana finishes her much loved chicken noodle soup and I have a sandwich with coffee, we walk back to the children’s hospital. John, the cheery security guard, welcomes us back and we chat for a while. We then go to the 8th floor to the roof garden as it’s turned into a beautiful sunny day and we have a while before physio. As we walk out of the lift we are faced with the schoolroom. This prompts me to walk in and talk through some lessons for Dana either before or after therapy during these next few weeks. The staff in the schoolroom are all qualified teachers and are so helpful and flexible, they will work with Dana on any subject she wants. I mention Math is her weakness and suggest starting with this subject. They agree and also suggest if Dana’s current school is able to email some worksheets, they are more than happy to work with Dana during the hourly lessons. If not, then they will work on the areas that Dana most needs. So within a few minutes 3 sessions are booked for this week. Dana will have a different focus to concentrate on. Feeling a sense of achievement we head to the roof garden and sit down on one of the many wooden benches. It so wonderful here, the flowers are so colourful they attract so many butterflies, it’s a joy to watch. There is a water feature which has a large rotating ball with a map of the world etched. The children touch the ball as it rotates. It’s such a happy and positive place, perfect for children who are recovering. You’d be forgiven in thinking this was somewhere else other than a hospital. A family from Scotland join us in the garden and we chat for a while until it’s time for our appointment.
Dana and I head to the 4th floor and greeted by Darlene on reception ‘Hello Mrs Johnston, hello Dana, how are you today’ It’s still amazes me the personal touch every time I walk into the therapy department. I open Dana’s walker while Dana makes her way out of her wheelchair and positions herself with the walker. Within seconds starts to walk along the corridor just at the point whereby Dr Park enters the department. ‘Good Work Dana’ he says and we talk through Dana’s gait. ‘Keep up the stretches, more stretching’ He observes and pats Dana on the shoulder for encouragement. How lovely and sincere Dr Park is. To spend time with Dana and I when he is an incredibly busy man. Dr Park is a true professional and a gentleman. As Dr Park disappears Dana continues to walk through the department into the therapy area and Erica appears with a rather squinty eye. One of her contacts is giving her trouble, so she is looking at me sideways and squinting. Should be an interesting physio session.
It was an amazing physio session, Dana walked for 12 minutes at a speed of 0.6 on the treadmill. We did have moaning and pulling funny faces from Dana yet she did it non-stop. The remaining time Dana focused on high kneeling and weight transferring, this was tough and a lots of work needs to be done to build up strength. It will come over time. As the session was ending Dana walked to the exit increasing her distance. This is real progress and decreases time spent in the wheelchair.
As we go toward the exit of the hospital there are several families with wheelchairs waiting for the shuttle. Dana and I will wait for another shuttle as we are last in the queue. The driver says we can all fit, so with a little help by everyone for everyone, I don’t know how we did it but we all get in. There were six adults, five children, three wheelchairs, three walkers and a pair of sticks. We all worked together and helped each other, it felt so comforting.
Tomorrow is Wednesday and 10 days until we return to the UK. It seems such a mountain to climb and not sure now what stage Dana will be at on our last day here. I do know the wheelchair is becoming less used and the walker is being used more in all environments. Dana seems to have lost her fear and makes opportunities happen. She will stand up on her own and do things that she would not even attempt before SDR.
No comments:
Post a Comment