Man Friday

As Val reported in the news flash, Dave has now gone home. He had his accident on a Friday, moved to Musgrove on a Friday and now has gone home on a Friday! As he has been in hospital for so long, this is going to be a big change for us all. To help the transition, care is being provided twice a day for a while. Obviously he still has some way to go with further rehabilitation and outpatient appointments and has restrictions at the moment - including, unfortunately no alcohol, no cycling and no driving! This is the start of another stage in David's recovery which is just as concerning and will include at some point, the replacement of the bone plate, to rectify the dent in his forehead. Thanks once again to everyone who has visited and sent messages, which we are sure has helped him to reach this stage so quickly. No doubt Dave will be grateful for continued contact with his friends. It is good to see you back at home Dave - good luck and don't forget your helmet!

Newsflash!

David is on his way home! Roger will be picking him up later this afternoon and taking him to West Coker. More later.

Home Economics

There have been no blog updates recently because David is continuing to do very well. He's working hard with the Physio's and Occupational Therapists, doing his exercises to build up his strength and generally get him ready for the outside world. Today he had a 'mini independence' day and had to cook his own lunch, which he says he thoroughly enjoyed. Unforunately,he was only cooking for one, so no-one else was able to escape the hospital food - although he did say that the others in the dining room looked on enviously when he caried his meal in! Joking apart though, he says that the meals are very good. There certainly seems to be a good choice each day and the smell is good if we visit around meal times. Today he had a phone call from someone from Chard road runners, who had only just heard the news - it seems the grape vine has missed them -sorry.

Back again

Published the post then realised I had`nt told you about the wheelchair tour that Margaret had given Dave,she was the right one to do this as she works in the hospital and so would`nt get lost.So Dave has had a tour of all the best places like the boiler house the store rooms and all the other places you would rather be than in a ward.Thanks Marg.

Wheelchair Tour

You are all probably wondering whats going on with Dave,well remember that old addage,"no news is good news". This is exactly so,he really is doing well.Val,Dave,Margaret and I have visited him various times this week,also some of you friends have kindly seen him.He`s been busy doing physio/occupational therapy and seems to be getting on well.
He told me tonight he had asked for a sharp knife to rectify his headgear which gives him bent over ear syndrome,some of the hat needs to be whittled away to allow his ears more room,funnily enough they had`nt been back with one.Just as well Dave, probably better to stay out of the "tabloids" !!
I was pleased he was listening to his cd player when I got there he seems to be enjoying that,when I left him he was well away with the "Oysterband" to be followed by "Santana" he said.
His bed although now a much more standard model was up very high,I commented on it to Dave and said "are they giving you an oxygen mask tonight" We had a good laugh. Maybe it will remind him of the himalaya`s!

Party time!

Thank you to Jilly and Jan for visiting this afternoon. They were quietly sitting chatting to Dave when we arrived but all that changed when we had a go at playing Jilly's CDs. Dave put the earphones on so that the rest of the ward wouldn't hear the music and proceeded to shout out comments at the top of his voice - Jan had to put her hand over his mouth! Great fun - he was in good spirits. We had taken a profiterole in from our lunch at Roger and Margaret's and he gobbled that down as if there was no tomorrow. He has plenty of goodies provided by his friends, thank you.

After Jilly and Jan left he was demonstrating the exercises he does with the physio and when I asked him if there was anything he wanted his reply was 'a one way ticket to West Coker'. Can't help him with that at the moment however.

Thanks

Thanks to Derek Watts for sending on pictures of Nova Scotia tour and letter,Dave was pleased with those. Also, Jilly your cd`s and card arrived ok hopefully Dave will see the photo`s tomorrow when Val visits.Dave has had more visitors today,Dave and Jane and little Oliver also Andy and Mandy.It was teatime when I visited,I don`t know why I visit then it made me feel hungry.He was in good spirits but having trouble sorting dates,times and various things,hopefully with time this will improve.
We do apologise if at any time we get names of visitors wrong or miss mentioning anyone,as you can imagine we have had a steep learning curve over the last few weeks.

Walking it

I was going to blog last night but due to technical difficulties did`nt manage it, so here is the news.Dave found it a bit lonely in the small room so he asked if he could be moved out into the ward.This was understandable as in HDU in frenchay there was a lot going on all the time and I think he found it a bit tedious watching Winnie going back and forth past his door!! So when I arrived yesterday he was in a new spot,well actually he was`nt there,he had gone to the boys room, what a lovely sight to see him walk back down the ward unaided, towards me, he did of course have his headgear on. Well done dave!
I`ve just heard from Val that he walked to physio and back today and she said he seemed good,saying that he had asked lots of questions.
Dave was pleased to see Stephanie the other day and also he had a card from Jeff Bowler.
Val had printed out the blog up to Monday when they visited,so that dave could read what has been going on,obviously a lot to take in, he then told me he realises how 'damn lucky'he is.Yep I think we all agree with that dave, but some of it is down to 'Pitman Power'

Sorry

I should have said a thankyou to Dave and Sheila for visiting dave,also to Ann and John who came just before I was going to leave yesterday and to those who continue to visit as and when they can.
Many thanks.

Boogie woogie shoes!

My visit Friday did`nt happen as the journey for dave in the ambulance took a while due to the heavy traffic and having spoken to the staff nurse, felt it wise to leave them to their job, settling him in to his own little room.
So Val and Dave visited him yesterday delivering his shoes and socks!He was in good spirits and seemed pleased to be in Taunton and more aware of where he is.( it obviously helps to be conscious).He was pleased with having his own room saying he will get a better nights sleep without all the peeping noises from the machines.They are useful those machines dave,they help to keep you ALIVE!!
Margaret and I visited after Val and Dave. He told us he had to wear the ****** cycling helmet in the ambulance which appears to amplify sound due to the dome shape of the headgear.Come on dave it is only an ambulance not a rolls royce.
I visited earlier today to be greeted by dave sat on the edge of the bed swinging his legs complete with shoes and socks,busy eating a lovely looking tea consisting of Omelette/sweetcorn/peas/saute potatoes followed by strawberry dessert I have to say it was brilliant to see him like that, he certainly is heading up the ladder now.
AMAZING!! I`m Proud to be his replica! Keep it up dave.

Whoops!

Musgrove Park Hospital is of course in Taunton, forgot that bit.

IMPORTANT NEWS

Less than an hour ago I had a phone call from Frenchay to say that Dave is on his way to Musgrove Park Hospital. He is going to be on Triscombe Ward, visiting times are 2 pm - 8 pm.

We were just about to leave home to go and visit him, so they caught us just in time! Visit for this evening now abandoned, so we'll go in tomorrow instead. I think Roger is going to pop in this evening and make sure Dave knows where he is!

Doughnuts

Margaret and I visited Dave last night,we found him cheerful with an empty plate in front of him. Another pulverised meal eaten up, all good for the marking system he informed us.While on the subject of food, to all his colleagues at work he now realises and was a bit concerned he has missed providing the cakes/doughnuts when it was his birthday.Hopefully one of you has celebrated a birthday within your ranks so you have`nt gone without cakes all this time!!
He had also been out on the bed contraption,quite hilarious apparently according to the nurse.It seems Dave said he thouht it was a bit kinky being strapped in!!
Joking aside this bed thing was quite stressful for him and made him very hot,they did`nt quite make it to the vertical position maybe next time.
I`ve just heard that he told Lesley and Paul tonight that he had badger faggots!Lloyd Grossman must have been reading my blog the other day.

Happy chappy

Roger, Margaret, Chris & Gem visited yesterday and we have been in tonight with Mark & Claire. Dave has been really bright and cheerful for the last couple of days, almost to the point of not being able to get a word in! Really good to see him more like his old self, although he has not been out of bed in the chair recently and says he still gets the dizziness. The tube in his nose has been removed because he is now on pureed food, so no more elephant's trunk as he called it. As Dave says 'this is how they do it here'! When we arrived this evening he told us, spoon in hand, that his neice had just been feeding him. Were you hiding behind the pillar Katie? or was it Lesley who had been giving him wobbly raspberry jelly and icecream.

Mark gave him a sneak preview of his Peruvian honeymoon photos, but on hearing there could be as many as 1000 pictures to see of the wedding and honeymoon he gave a yawn and asked if this was a threat. (Having to look at large nos. of photos has always been a family joke).

Dave says his new Google password is going to be 'badger bait'.

Very many thanks to all Dave's friends and neighbours who continue to visit. It is a real joy to see his face light up when we have seen some of you arrive. He has been known to fall asleep when we get there!

Yet another week!

Sorry about the lack of me on the blog,maybe that is a good sign and perhaps you are all happy about it!
Marg and I have seen dave three times this week last evening being our last visit.We delivered Jilly`s cd of photo`s which my technical sister and laptop will sort out.So thanks Jilly for that.
Dave is in generally good spirit especially after a visit from his old mate Ray Archer,old times had been recalled some of which he related to us.
He has had some more pulverised food,hmm nice!(I don`t think)He is not impressed.Lloyd Grossman are you reading this!! Never mind dave Sunday roast one day I reckon.
Progress being slow it maybe that we may not necessarily blog daily but you can be assured any milestones and humour that needs to be shared will be. Val and I hope you all understand this and we thank you all for your support so far it`s great to know he has so many friends out there.

New outfit

Not a great deal of change to report today, Roger and Margaret visited yesterday evening and we went this afternoon. Dave is still maintaining his sense of humour. Today he was wearing the pyjamas we got him recently and he's so grateful to me for the colour - helicopter blue - reminds him of his work overalls! Thanks sis.

Dave is still very disorientated about where he is at the moment and what he may have been doing. For instance he tells us most days that he has been wandering out and about. However, this is unlikely because as far as we have been told, the physios only see him every other day and up to now he may only have been sitting in the special chair they have, or using the standing 'contraption'. Never mind his memory for past events is good and actually Jilly, Dave told us all about the photos the other night without the aid of any annotations. He also mentioned that he took some good photos of a bald eagle.

Thanks to Roger Nash for the CD and card which Roger took up for Dave yesterday. Actually Dave did say how lucky he has been to receive so many cards and he will have to write and thank everyone one day.

Photo memories

We had a good visit with Dave this evening - I took my laptop in with the CD you had prepared Jilly with photos of Nova Scotia and Scotland etc. Dave was able to tell us all about each one, where it was, who the people were and about the photo he had taken of a bald eagle. We were very impressed. He told us that where he is and time are a bit mixed up - but if he looks under the front of his gown it has Frenchay, Bristol stamped on it! That helps. He also asked us what our accommodation was like here, but we reminded him that it was OK because he is in Bristol and we visit from our home.

Badgers are still not his most favourite wild animal - he wanted to know if his house was badger proof.

Yesterday Roger had taken a CD player in for Dave together with 2 Seth Lakeman CDs, also provided by Jilly, so we sorted that out for him to use. It was really funny because whilst he had it on he suddenly started to talk again, but in a very loud voice over the music in his ears! Very many thanks for the entertainment Jilly, excellent. We await the DVD movie maker with interest - it's a good job we have an IT expert in the family.

Another Rung

Val and I visited this afternoon,to see Dave and to see the Registrar.He told us they are pleased with his progress,still working on getting him out and about.While we were there the physio`s got him out into a fancy chair which tilts and reclines so they can gradually try and overcome the fainting problem that he has. The other thing to sort is the feeding,but given time they are hopeful this will resolve itself.I hope so because he asked Lesley yesterday whether the butcher had any "Badger pie" in!! We gave him a Cycle magazine that had arrived for him and he was busy taking the plastic cover off when Chris and John arrived to see him,so thanks to them for visiting and to Rob and Pat over the weekend.

Start of week seven.

We visited Dave last night and again this afternoon. He was brighter this afternoon and said that he felt a bit better today, which was nice to hear. We read him some of the cards which he had received, one from Jane, David and baby Oliver,and another from Stephanie, who had only recently heard about Dave's accident. Dave told us that he had had some visitors and mentioned their names. Andy and Luisa Huish arrived this afternoon and Dave was pleased to see them. Many thanks to them for making the long journey to visit and to everyone else who has visited, it is much appreciated. He continues to have trouble coping with sitting out and he easily tires, but he is still making progress especially with being able to hold a conversation.

Ouch!

According to Dave's nurse this afternoon, he had at last been able to sit out in the chair today, which is the first time for some while. The last few days when they have tried he has fainted or felt really dizzy so they have left him lying down.

Dave was quite chatty with his nurse today and told her that he thought the girls here were a bit sadistic because they liked putting sticky patches on his chest and then when they removed them some of his chest hairs disappeared as well. She told him that if he went to a beauty salon he would have to pay a lot of money for that treatment. He seemed unimpressed because he has circular bare patches!

He now has a new black foam helmet to wear to protect his head when he is being moved around. Very fetching.

Cards and visitor

Dave told us that he had again tried some yoghurt, custard and mashed fruit today, although he is still also being fed through the tube - the usual coffee coloured liquid! The speech and language therapist told us the other day that they would be gradually weaning him onto 'solids' over the next few days so that the feeding tube can then be removed. According to what Dave told us last night he would like some cake!

Thank you to Peter for travelling up from Yeovil this evening to see Dave and thanks also to Jane, Dave and Baby Oliver and Alasdair Macvarish for their cards which Dave was looking at yesterday evening when we arrived. I apologise for not mentioning this before.

Change of scene

Dave has been moved further down the ward and is on the other side of the room. He was quite alert this evening and very interested in all the comings and goings on the ward. He told us that he had been given some yoghurt, mashed fruit and chocolate drink today and his nurse came to give him some more 'gloopy' chocolate mix (her words) just as we were leaving.

The conversation tonight was definitely two way although there were some quiet moments as well - Dave also showed us how the bed worked, something he seems to enjoy.

Stepping Down

Margaret and I visited this evening and were greeted with a big smile and Dave holding his hand out to be shaken. Although he has not managed to sit out again today, the nurse told us that as of this evening he was 'stepping down' from high dependency, which is another step forward. Well done Dave. This may mean that his bed may move further down the ward, nearer to the entrance, depending upon space.
He also told us that he had had a visit from Chris and John, thanks to them and also to George and Margaret Bartlett, who sent Dave a card, which we read to him. We left before the end of visiting time, as Dave was noticeably tiring.

Zzzzzz

Apparently Dave had been asleep for most of the morning and only woke up for a short while during our visit. He seemed quite sleepy though, but did manage to smile about the bed incident yesterday, obviously remembering the fun he'd had. He must have worn himself out with all that activity and needed to have a restful day - well it is Sunday after all.

We Have Lift Off!

Margaret and I visited today, with our wonderful daughter Katie (who is also typing as I dictate because we need to get to Ilminster Carnival!)
When we arrived Margaret and Katie went to see Dave first, and I went to the waiting room. Dave was busy with the bed remote, pressing all the buttons and moving up and down - as well as moving his head and feet up and down! This kept him occupied for quite a while - until a nurse came and took the remote away!
Katie read the Get Well card from Janet, Maurice and Brigitte - thank you.
Dave was saying quite a lot of things today - but it's obviously quite a struggle for him to get the words out - and what he's saying can be a bit random. (No mention of Balnket Baths today though!)
We each took it in turns to sit in the waiting room, and all heard a different part of the life histories of the other family waiting there - we really needed to know that Granny's brother keeps his potoatoes in the toilet, and that they're ok for roasting!
We left before the end of visiting time, because he'd drifted off to sleep - obviously still getting very tired quickly.

African Baths

Balnket Baths are extremely common in Malawi Val.So Dave was quite correct!!

Balnket Bath

Apart from us visiting this afternoon, Dave's friend, Ron Bastable, had come up by train from Yeovil after work. Unfortunately to begin with Dave was asleep but before Ron left he woke up and nodded his head when Ron told him he would visit again. He gradually became more alert and it is obvious he has not lost his sense of humour. My husband, Dave asked him if he had had a blanket bath yet and he laughed and said 'yes, people from Malawi gave me one and their boss was from there as well'. ?????

As we were saying goodbye he said it was nice to see us and as we walked away from the bed he said 'it's like pages from a Thomas Hardy book'. We're not sure what is, unless anyone can enlighten us. I'm not sure watching Tess of the D'urbervilles on TV qualifies me as a Thomas Hardy expert seeing as that is his only book I have ever read, many years ago.

He`s my brother

Whoops, technical hitch this is my second attempt.I have also had a tear jerking moment. I like Val found Dave very tired,apparently they tried to sit him out today but he promptly nearly fainted,so this probably explains the way he was feeling.When the nurse came to do her obs she asked him who I was and with a smile he said "he`s my brother".As you can imagine following the last five weeks this is the best thing I`ve heard in fifty three years! I also took in a cd player and let him listen to some Seth Lakeman that Jilly had left with us. He seemed to enjoy it and his foot was moving a lot.Lets hope that slowly but surely he continues up the ladder.
Val,I entered the ward cautiously looking for razor weilding nurses,luckily they wer`nt on shift,so I have come home with a full beard!!
PHEW!

Wow!

Dave was really smiling at us during our visit this evening and the most exciting thing yet..... he said 'goodbye see you tomorrow'. That was a tear jerker.

Picnic in the park

Roger and Margaret have visited Dave this evening and they have just phoned from their picnic spot in the car park at Frenchay! He knows how to choose the best places. He reports that Dave was moving his arms and hands and having a bit of a scratch. The tracheostomy has been taken out today and he looks much better without it. A small step forward. His beard is now beginning to grow, but the man in the bed next to him who had a beard yesterday, is now clean shaven! Watch out Roger, there is obviously someone in that ward who is razor happy.

Hope your alarm clock works well in the morning - ours does. Relaxing with that first cup of tea, remembering when we were on the road early in the morning on our way to work. You see, we still think of you. This retirement life is very busy, I'm not sure how we found time to go to work.

Sorry Dave, not much to say about you tonight!

Feeding time

We met two of Dave's friends when we visited this afternoon, Chris Caulder (not sure of the spelling sorry Chris!) from Sherborne and John Saunders from Yeovil who had travelled up together. Chris has visited a couple of times before and was really pleased that Dave squeezed his hand in recognition, previously he had only seen him with his eyes open.

After they finished their visit we went back in to see Dave and then it was time for his feed! It doesn't look very appetising - a beige coloured liquid which is injected into a tube that goes into his nose. Lesley and Paul, our daughter and her husband visited yesterday evening for the first time and she was thrilled because Uncle David recognised them and squeezed her hand. They had been to dinner with us earlier and she thought he looked starving hungry and would have enjoyed the roast dinner we'd had.

We went off for a coffee (actually a similar colour to Dave's food!) and then popped back to see him for a while. He looked really peaceful and comfortable today and was breathing on his own without the support of the tracheostomy, that's the first time since last Thursday which is good.

On the road again.

I visited Dave this afternoon along with son Chris and his lovely wife Gemma(she`s paying me to put that)! We found Dave pretty sleepy but he opened his eye and recognised Chris and Gem`s voices.The nice card from his westland workmates was read to him by Gemma. His eyebrows seemed to be going up and down when he heard different names mentioned.Thanks to all of you at westlands for that and pleased the blog is proving successful for you.The nurse came to do her obs,dave did`nt appear to be in the mood,he was`nt going to stick his tongue out at her nor was he going to squeeze her hand, until she told him she would untie his hand, to let him have a bit of freedom whil`st we were there.I then told him she was definitely worth a sqeeze,this made the nurse laugh,he then sqeezed her hand.He was also occasionally moving his legs and arms which is good to see.We told him that Paul and Lesley were visiting this evening which seemed to get a glimmer of approval. I hope their visit goes well.
Those of you that work will be pleased to know that my alarm clock comes back into action this week! No names mentioned but some people are now retired,lucky things!!
Time for bed zzzzzzzzzzz.

Stubble's growing

Dave and I visited this evening and found Dave asleep when we arrived. However, he opened his good eye after about 5 minutes and I read him the comment from Nicky and Peter which had been written on Wednesday. Sorry I missed it that day, so good job you mentioned it yesterday! It was very warm in the ward and Dave was fidgeting around quite a bit trying to get comfortable. According to the nurse he had not been in the chair today or had time off his tracheostomy but he seemed reasonably alert.

Thanks to Roger and Margaret's request yesterday, they are allowing his beard to grow back so that makes him look more like himself. He might have had a shock otherwise seeing himself clean shaven after so many years with a beard!

Hi De Hi !!

We have returned home and it is my duty to give my sister a break from the blog journalism bit.Margaret and I visited Dave this afternoon, soon realising that following the up days this was a down day,but we have to remember the doctors told us to expect this sort of thing.He was unable to tolerate sitting out today and had not had any time off his tracheostomy. The nurse said he was very sleepy, but we did think that he looked comfortable and relaxed.
Can`t believe it`s four weeks ago I had the terrible message that dave had been airlifted to Frenchay.As for our holiday it`s been good, much easier for visiting and nice to see Val and Dave. As you can imagine there is an awful lot to talk about!
We`ve also had one of the best weather weeks for camping this year.
We also met Jilly and Paul,I`m sure we will meet more of all of you, in the coming months and once again thankyou for your comments and cards etc.

Afternoon visit

Since yesterday Dave has been in Ward 3, which is the male high dependency ward just up the corridor from where he was before. Roger, Margaret, Dave and I visited together today and the physio told us that they are working on weaning Dave off his trachy so that he can start to breathe on his own safely, with a view to removing it. So far he seems to be doing quite well with that.

He did seem a bit tired today, probably after his exciting day yesterday! Thank you Jilly and Paul for taking the trouble to come so far, and bringing your laptop with photos. Nice that you have been able to leave a couple of photos that will help to give the physio and nurses something to talk to Dave about.

We have noticed over the last few days that Dave does get very tired and we are finding that short visits are probably all that he can cope with at the moment. Thank you to Dave and Sheila and Jill and Harry for your cards.

Out of bed

Dave and I went to see Dave yesterday afternoon and then went to visit Roger and Margaret on the campsite at Bath and had a meal at the restaurant there. We were a bit late back home so hence I'm only doing the update now! We had a really nice evening together. Dave (and I) are very lucky to have a brother and sister-in-law who are prepared to forgo their original holiday plans and spend a week nearer to the hospital. By the way you may have heard that there was a fire and explosions at the new Bath shopping centre late yesterday afternoon - nothing to do with us! It was nice to speak Jilly too and I hope she and Paul navigate their way to Frenchay without too much trouble.

Dave had been hoisted out of bed and put into a special chair at about 2.30 pm to give him a change from lying in bed. He had his good eye open for most of our visit and we showed him some more of the cards we have received. They have now been left in his room so that the physiotherapist and nurses have something to talk to him about when they are working with him. We are going to take in a few photos during the next few days to pin up on the walls. Thank you to Pete and Pat from Suffolk for the card and kind words, Roger and Margaret read it to him on their previous visit - snail mail works extremely well.

There did not seem to be much change from before, except Dave now has his right arm restrained because he had been trying to pull out his trachy which is not a good idea at this stage! Jilly and Paul are visiting this afternoon, and Roger and Margaret will be going in this evening so I'll let you know later how Dave is today.

Caution

Roger and Margaret have been in to see Dave this evening after spending the day at Westonbirt. There has been no change since yesterday and Roger, very sensibly, has reminded me that I mustn't get too excited by Dave's arm moving. After all as far as the doctors are concerned there is still no response to the tests they do - he is still seriously ill, although stable. Dave has obviously lost weight and his face, especially without his beard, does look quite gaunt and sad. He must be very bewildered.

Roger passed on your message Jilly about your visit on Wednesday and I will read the whole blog to him when we go in tomorrow afternoon.

Progress

After what has been days with no change, our visit this afternoon has left us feeling really upbeat. Dave was reaching up with his right hand to scratch the back of his head and his nose, rubbing his forehead and his eyes, both of which were open today. Although the movements are quite gentle it is amazing to see such positive actions. When the nurse came to do his obs at 4 pm, she pressed his left shoulder and asked him to push her away - up came his right arm to do just that. At 2pm she had had no reaction! Mind you we did laugh when the nurse was shining the torch in his right eye and obviously seeming puzzled that there was no reaction. We politely reminded her that he has a glass eye! I think she felt a little stupid.

Rob had left a card for him yesterday so I showed it to him and he put his hand out to hold it with his thumb and forefinger. He also seemed very interested in the photo of Mwanza, Tanzania you had sent us Faith. His head was turning to whichever one of us was talking too and although there is still nothing happening on the left side I am sure that will come eventually.

Roger and Margaret are going in to see Dave in a minute so I hope he keeps it up for them too. Perhaps he has finally thrown that six.

Visit of friend

Roger and Margaret are having a week's holiday and have today come up to a campsite near Bath to stay for a couple of days, giving them a chance to visit a few places up around this way and not be quite so far away from the hospital.

They visited Dave this evening - he is still opening his good eye and moving his right arm but otherwise there is no change. Whilst they were there one of Dave's friends, Rob Cook, came in having travelled up from Yeovil. Thank you Rob.

Ward 1

At last Dave has been moved to Ward 1, which is a high dependency ward. He has a chest infection and is being treated with antibiotics. It appears to be a female ward! but he is in a side room at the moment. There is a window with a view of the sky, trees and grass, quite pleasant seeing as it has been such a beautiful day.

When we visited this afternoon he again had his good eye open and was moving his right arm, and like Roger and Margaret felt yesterday, it seemed as if he was looking at us when we were chatting to him and I am positive he moved his fingers when I was holding his hand. Probably reading too much into what are involuntary movements, because as the doctor and nurse said today, there has still been no response to their tests.

Now he is on this ward it will be possible for friends to visit if they wish, bearing in mind that he is very vulnerable to infection. As I said it is High Dependency and there is a limit to 2 people at a time, but Roger, Margaret, Dave and I are sure you can all help us make a difference and hopefully trigger some memories and help Dave wake up. I am sure you appreciate that he is still very ill and it may be necessary for the Ward Sister to refuse any visitors if he not up to it, but I am sure he is looking forward to hearing from friends as a change from his nagging sister! Roger doesn't nag.

Visiting times are 2.30 - 4.30 pm and 6.30 - 8.00 pm. Hopefully our paths will cross with some of your visits. The hospital is Frenchay Hospital which is on the north side of Bristol.

Rendezvous!

This was a visit with a difference,Margaret is staying in Bath at the moment attending a meeting to do with her work.So having spoken to Val a rendezvous point was arranged for Margaret and I
,this being the Somerfield car park in Keynsham!!After a couple of phone calls we spotted each other across the car park(it was a big parking area).
The car was left,the van was switched to auto pilot and of we went up the ring road.
Dave was still in ITU due to the re-occurence of an infection. Although it appears likely that he will be moved at some point soon.Not much to report I`m afraid,Margaret and I found plenty to talk about, Dave`s good eye was open quite a bit,I`d like to think he was hearing what we were saying, but I`m not sure.
Thanks to Peter and Sylvia for the nice card that we read him and also Ron`s message that we passed on.
I`ve just spotted the time,so till next time goodnight.

Not moving just yet

Having telephoned ITU before visiting this evening, we were expecting to see Dave on the high dependency ward and set off down the long corridor past the IT Unit. However he had not arrived and was still in ITU.

The nurse had, not long before our arrival, noticed that Dave had a high temperature and another infection is suspected. Samples of his blood, cerebral spinal fluid and sputum have been taken so they can establish where it is. Meanwhile he was being put back on antiobiotics and will remain on the Unit for the time being. Dave (my husband) thinks he may have caught a cold from having his beard shaved off!

Thanks Jilly for your blog (and Maggie's bit). Rog and I are wondering what surprises are in store for us regarding our brother - he's always seemed so quiet! Now we are hearing about possible paternity suits, accidents with bedside tables and bunks. This is getting exciting.

Thanks also for the card and photo from Mandy & John of Escape Adventures and Dave, Elysia and Joseph, the Tanzania trip leaders. Dave had been so looking forward to his trip but it sounds as if Maggie will have plenty of photos for him to see.

Moving on ?

Val and I visited Dave this afternoon, looking out for nurses brandishing beard trimmers ( I don't want to lose mine yet)! We were able to have a chat with the Doctor who said that as Dave is now breathing for himself and does not require as much life support equipment, now is the time to move him on to a high dependency neurological ward, probably tomorrow, but we must not be surprised if he has a setback and subsequently returns to ITU. There is considerable concern over the fact that he is not yet responding as they would like, but all we can do is wait patiently. The Doctor stressed that Dave is extremely vulnerable to infection at the moment. When he has settled in to the new ward, perhaps the visiting situation will be able to be reviewed. We would like to thank you all for being patient on this one, we realise that it must be frustrating, but it is in everyone's best interest. Thanks to Trevor Frid for his kind letter and card, which we read to Dave along with Jilly's last comment from the blog.

Well Done

Nice blog Jilly,glad you have got the hang of this and pleased you had a good ride to Lulworth.Keep on enjoying your cycling.

Wot no beard?

As Roger said yesterday, the nurse had given Dave a beard trim - today when we went in he was clean shaven! I almost didn't recogise him! Apart from his moustache days, he seems to have always had a beard. Obviously it is much easier for hygiene reasons and as the nurse said 'it will soon grow back'.

Maybe some subtle change today in the way he was looking at me - he had his eye open for quite a while. Otherwise the nurse said he had not responded to the pain tests they use. He needs to hurry up and throw a six so he can start up the ladder - he always used to be pretty good at throwing them if I remember rightly.

Roger and I will be seeing a doctor tomorrow for a further update.

Read the last few messages to him today, thank you.

Weekend update

Today, there has been some progress in that Dave has been weaned off the ventilator and put onto some (it sounded like) Drago Bellows, because he can breathe for himself- but still needs some assistance to make sure that his lungs inflate properly, especially at the bottom.His turban has also been removed and replaced with a dressing, which again is labelled 'no bone flap' and the pressure monitor has been taken away because his pressures have remained stable for a few days. These are all steps in the right direction, but unfortunately he is still keeping us waiting as far as waking up goes. As the staff nurse said yesterday - sometimes patients can take up to a week and during their recovery may take several steps back, so we must be patient and remember that it is still early days.Faye, his nurse for today, has given him a beard trim, because it was all getting a bit long and in the way - she was a bit wary to start with, but soon got into the swing of it and said that she had quite enjoyed it come the end. She has made a very good job of it too, it's not easy when your customer is lying down and has tubes coming out of his throat and nose, just where you need to go with the trimmers!

Sorry

We didn't put anything on here yesterday because there was still no real change. It could take a week or so for him to wake up apparently. More news later we hope following our visits during the day.

2 weeks on

There isn't a lot to report today other than to say that Dave is slowly being weaned off the sedation and is still receiving some support with his breathing.

Some more cards had come in the post today, so we read them together with the comments from the blog, thanks to everyone for those. Sounds as if he is going to be busy when he is better, pushing some of you up hills. Amazing isn't I must have missed out on that gene - I usually get off my bike and walk up even the merest slope.

Birthday Boy

Big brother reaches 60,good grief who would believe that the way he goes up hill!!
As Val said, not quite the way to spend it.The meals on hold Dave.
We visited today armed with all the cards and messages and read them to Dave,thanks to all of you for those,we do appreciate all your support.
In the early hours of this morning Dave had further surgery,which involved returning to the earlier op site to collect a sample for testing,due to an infection.This will be cultured and could take 72 hours to get a result.From this they hopefully will be able to find the correct antibiotic to use.Mean while he is on life support so we are back to the position we have been in before,but once again the surgeons are doing their utmost.They will slowly start to reduce sedation as before so it will be a while before we know how Dave is doing.
This experience I liken to the game Snakes and Ladders we used to play together,I`d get almost to the end then that horrible long ladder would take you nearly back to the beginning but the challenge was to climb up again, so here we go!!
By the way, Dave is now wearing a lovely white turban with red writing on which says NO BONE FLAP this is a piece of bone that has been removed to be replaced at a much later stage. Once again thankyou everybody.

Next procedure

Dave did not have a lumbar puncture yesterday evening after all and has remained on sedation and fully ventilated today. The results of a recent brain scan show that there is an infection in the area of the craniotomy he had last week so he is due to go down to theatre again sometime this evening/night so that the surgeons can reopen the original wound and remove the circle of bone that was cut last week. A culture will then be grown so that the infection can be treated. The piece of bone will not be replaced at this stage.

No doubt we will know more in the morning when we ring up for an update.

Dave's 60th birthday tomorrow - I am quite sure he was not intending to spend it in a hospital bed!

Day 12

When Roger and I visited this afternoon the doctor spoke to us about the current situation with Dave. He had been down for another scan this morning which meant he had been slightly sedated again and was on the ventilator to help with his breathing. He has a temperature so they believe he may have an infection in the cerebral fluid round his brain and just after we left they were going to do a lumbar puncture to draw off some of the fluid so that they can grow a culture. They are also concerned that he may have an infection elsewhere. He was going to be put on antibiotics this evening and sedated again. So several steps backwards.

When they do their pain tests there is no response from Dave and we asked if he was in a coma. The doctor says he is in a very deep one so we both came away with heavy hearts. As the doctor said it is Day 12 and the earlier the patient wakes up the better.

However we are hoping for a miracle and having read your comment Paul, although the situation seems to be bleak at the moment we mustn't lose hope. We would all love to see Dave back on his bike again.

Old mates

As I promised,here is the news regarding Jeff Bowler. He managed to get hold of me last evening.It turns out he like Ray archer used to ride tandem with Dave, in fact I should say they raced on tandems,but not all at once if you see what I mean!!!
It seems that they had only in the last couple of years made contact with one another again.Jeff said they had enjoyed a meal together, when David was in that neck of the woods staying at a youth hostel.
David did actually work with Jeff for a while when he was in his building bike frames mode.You can see from this not only does he know how to ride a bike he can also build one from scratch, he knows bikes inside out.
Visited Dave with Val today, leaving the blog update to Val this evening,she`s older than me, so I don`t argue!

No real change

Dave's sedation was turned off yesterday at 2 pm and since then his pressures have remained stable and he has not needed to go back on it at the moment. When Dave and I visited this evening the ventilator was supporting his breathing, although the nurse said he has been breathing without it for quite a while today.

However, he is still asleep and at the moment he is not responding to their tests. It looks like it is going to be a long haul.

Weekend visit to Dave

Hi Everyone,
At last I`ve managed to get round to adding to the blog.Margaret and I visited Dave yesterday and again today. I wish I could report better news but he is still critical. At the moment they are doing what they call Medical Management which is trying to take him off the sedation, unfortunately every time they try, his pressures increase,consequently they have to sedate again, hopefully for the injury to heal.This may continue for a couple more days following which they will reassess the situation and decide whether more surgical intervention is required.
I have managed to make contact with Ray Archer in Derbyshire.He used to ride tandem with Dave back in the seventies.So word is spreading far and wide.I`m hoping to be in touch with a Jeff Bowler (Mercian Cycles)following my chat with Ray,I`ll keep you in touch with that.
Returning to the hospital, I must mention the staff, who are doing their utmost for Dave and us. It is truly remarkable what they can do and he is in the best place to receive the the care he needs.

Quiet day

Overnight Dave's pressures went up so he was put back on sedation. However he was taken off again this morning and so far the pressures have remained much lower. He is still on the ventilator.

There has been no real change during the day between our visits, slight movement of right arm and leg, but no eye movements today.

Slight improvement

Roger and I visited together today. Dave has been taken off the sedation today, his pressures are more stable and he was moving his right arm and leg a bit. He is however still fully ventilated at the moment.

When I read out your message Roger (Nash), and Roger (brother) told him who had been in contact with him since yesterday, Dave's eyes moved as if in recognition, at least that is what we thought! He even lifted his right arm as if to wave us goodbye when we left. Probably a coincidence but that's how it felt.

I'll pass your good wishes on tomorrow morning when we go in Fran and special thanks to Faith and Vic for the lovely card we received today. We've promised Dave that as soon as he opens his eyes he will be able to see the card you have sent him with the picture of Brixham.

Thank you to everyone for their support, Dave is lucky to have so many good friends. We know Dave has a long way to go yet but Roger and I feel much more positive than we did yesterday.

Setback

Unfortunately overnight the pressures in David's head continued to give cause for concern and his monitor was changed in case the other one was giving faulty readings. The readings continued to be high and so he was again sedated, given drugs to help and the mattress cooled to help bring the pressures down. Having gone in this morning hoping that he would be a little more alert than yesterday, this was a shock.

The consultant told us that the next step was to take David down to Theatre and insert a drain in his head, which would remain for approx. a week or so.

The operation took place this afternoon and when Roger rang at 4 pm, he had just come back to the Unit. He will now remain sedated overnight and we will see how he is tomorrow. Roger and Margaret are visiting him at the moment.

Tracheostomy

David has had a tracheostomy this afternoon so there are no longer any tubes in his mouth, which the doctor says will be more comfortable for him and will allow the ventilator to continue helping with his breathing, but via his lower throat. Because of the op he's been sedated again and we are hoping that when we see him tomorrow morning he will be a little more alert. As we were leaving he was beginning to come round slightly and was initiating some breathing himself and moving his head from side to side.

The best bit was being able to see his whole face without the tubes covering his mouth and beard.

He again opened his eyes this morning for the nurse and continues to move his right leg quite a bit and his right arm occasionally. Nothing yet on the left side. The pressures in his head are still causing them some concern.

A different nurse today, Rachel. The day shift seems to be from 7.15 am - 9.15 pm which is quite nice for continuity (from our point of view anyway).

Shall I wake up

Slight improvement today - Dave has come off sedation and is breathing on his own, although he is still connected to the ventilator. He is beginning to wake up and has made some movements with his right arm and leg. He has a chest infection which is being treated with antibiotics. The nurse says he has opened his eyes when she has shouted at him!

He keeps yawning and his nurse for today, Vicky, can't believe that after 5 days of sedation he is still tired!!

We're hoping that when we visit tomorrow, he will be a little more awake and responsive.

We understand that a few friends have tried telephoning, but at the moment the nurses are unable to give anyone other than close family, any information about David's condition. So its best to WATCH THIS SPACE or telephone Roger or myself. As soon as he is able to receive visitors we will let you know. Hope everyone understands.

Monday 1st Sept

Having come off his pushbike on Friday morning on his way to work, Dave's condition is still critical, although stable. He is still sedated and on a ventilator, although his doctors had hoped to begin waking him up today. Maybe tomorrow.

Hope this method of communication will be helpful to everyone.

Dave's friends are going to play an important part in his recovery.

Welcome

This blog has been created to allow the friends and family of David Pitman to keep up and comment on his recovery.