Day 1183 - 1189. Monday 14th July to Sunday 20th July 2008
An exhausting week, lack of sleep remaining the main issue and starting to cripple kp. Some fun times, some real low points.
Monday and the OT came with an assistant who is going to be taking kp into town and getting her out and about whilst a new support worker is recruited.
Tuesday was due to be physio, but Steve was ill, so it was cancelled. kp was disappointed, but please to have a day off at the same time.
Wednesday was kp’s official day off. She had planned a full day. The friendly local taximan picked her up and took her to the hairdressers to get her nails and hair done. She then got another taxi to take her to see Marie in Middlesbrough. Marie had a new dog called Strike (lurcher) and he went missing once but was found. Well, this time he jumped from a first floor window and has never been seen since. Marie has took in a new dog called Tye. He is a gorgeous (AND STRONG) cross between a German Shepherd and a rottweiler (I think).
He is VERY strong. Michelle also visited Marie’s to see the new dog. Apparently, he nearly pulled Michelle over when they were playing “Tug of War”. And at one point, Tye got a hold of Karen’s coat and both Marie and Michelle were up like the gun had gone off at the 100m sprint, to stop him pulling kp over. kp was very amused.
I went straight to Marie’s from work to pick kp up.
I think kp overdid it a bit on her day off as she was knackered.
Thursday consisted of some muscle stretching exercises with Steve’s assistant (Joanne) and then in the afternoon, she met me at work and we went to our counselling sessions. We then had an appointment at the doctors for a few things. Whilst there, I copped a glance at the computer screen which detailed the cost of Karen’s Fentanyl patches. I was gobsmacked. Each day, we put 2 x 100ug patches on so that’s £40. So, that’s £280 per week !! Nearly £15,000 a year ! Thank God for the NHS.
Friday and kp had some more accupuncture from Steve and she beat her record on the treadmill at the local fitness centre. Well done kp. That night, Adele brought the kids over (Abby (11) & Louisa (5)) to stay the night.
They were so excited. It’s the first time for at least 3 years that Abby has stayed over, and Louisa never has. I met them from work at the local fun factory. Before, I had got there, kp had took them there (in a taxi) and later she recalled that she was a scared by the experience. Imagine 2 very excited kids entering somewhere with kp, constantly asking kp questions, and then entering this really bustly place with 50000 other kids in there all shouting. It was too much for kp. She couldn’t work it all out. Thankfully, Abby was great. At 11, she has a very caring nature and I get the impression she helped a great deal. Thankfully for kp, they wouldn’t let Abby (at 5ft 1in) into the fun factory, so she made sure kp was ok. Abby was a bit disappointed.
When we got home, Abby wanted to play on the Wii-Fit. She was mad on the Hula-Hoop one and when she got her good score, she wanted me to try and beat it. The Hula-Hoop one involves swivelling your hips and looks very funny. So the girls were amused at my hip-swivveling.
Before the accident, kp enjoyed having the kids over, but they were soooooo noisy, she was keen to get a bit of a break, especially after the fun factory saga, so she went for a bath. Using the bath buddy, she went down herself and I checked she was ok which she was. So then I went to swivel my hips with the kids.
About 15 minutes later (I got really engrossed with trying to beat Abby’s high score), I heard shouting from the bath (Abby heard it too, Louisa didn’t). I ran through to beat greeted with a kp in tears sitting in an emptied bath next to a half-inflated bath buddy.
kp:- I am stuck and noone heard me.
Lots of bawling ensued and I gave her a big hug in the bath and apologised for not paying more attention. I was really kicking myself.
It was absolutely heart-breaking.
It was so noisy with the kids I hadn’t heard her at all.
The bath buddy is working out to be absolute pants. She keeps sliding off when she is halfway out. And that’s what had happened. Without the water in (she had let the water out), she can’t work out how to get back on. So sad !
I got her out of the bath and made sure she was a bit calmed down before kp told me to “get back to the kids“.
kp:- I’ll be fine.
Abby was looking at me in a way that I knew she was aware what had happened….
Abby :- Is everything ok ?
I explained that kp was stuck in the bath and she had got a bit upset.
So, it was a really sad evening. Louisa was colouring in and totally unaware of what had happened.
The following day (Saturday), we were all due to go to “The Forbidden Corner”, but first we had to walk the dogs.
kp had had yet another awful night’s sleep, not coming to bed until about 7am. I got up about 7.30am to find the kids watching TV in the front room, so we went to walk the dogs, kp went to bed.
The kids absolutely loved it and the dogs absolutely loved the fact the kids (and I) went down to the stream with them, something we don’t normally do, ‘cos kp couldn’t get down the bank.
Here is a foto (crap I know) of the kids holding a dog each.
Once back, we got kp up so that we could go to “The Forbidden Corner”. “The Forbidden Corner” is a wonderful place to visit with kids. It’s hard to explain what it is, but it’s like a maze of weird things and lots of things kids and adults would enjoy. Some scary bits, some hilarious bits. Well worth a visit. It’s near Leyburn so was a canny hike.
We went to pick Adele up first (in Middlesbrough) and kp slept (and snored) pretty much the whole way to Middlesbrough and then to “The Forbidden Corner”.
We had a great time there. kp and I had to stop halfway through as she was too tired. So, we went for a snooze in the car. kp slept the whole way back AS DID THE KIDS !!! Adele and I found it very funny to see both kp and Abby snore in exactly the same way. It was like “Stereo Snoring”.
Very funny.
And the best bit for me was when we got to Adele’s. kp stayed in the car as I helped Adele and the kids into the house with all the stuff in the boot. kp woke up to give them all the kiss.
And by the time we had got to the front-door, Abby looked back to see kp nodding off again.
Abby (shouting at the rest of us) :- Look at Karen, she is falling asleep again.
Well, kp woke up at hearing this and started laughing at herself, which had us all in stitches too.
kp (laughing) :- I can’t even stay awake until you get to your front door !
It was probably one of those things you have to be there for, but I am still smiling now, thinking about it !
We had a quiet Saturday night, turning in quite early, as kp just couldn’t stay awake.
She was up most of the night (as per usual).
Today, we did a short walk, ‘cos she was knackered (especially one of her knees) after yesterday and she has been asleep on and off most of the day.
So, some real low points generally, but kp is doing her best to remain positive and latching on to the little funny’s that come along. We had planned to book a holiday today for when I leave work, but kp’s been too tired.
Pizza night with a film tonight, so we should have a good night.
Day 1176 to 1182. Monday 7th July to Sunday 13th July 2008.
Well, much better week this week. kp was on fire yesterday (Saturday) and was picking ME up !!
Monday - NOWT ! kp had her first day off which she thoroughly enjoyed !
Tuesday - Marie, the dog walker, was on holiday this week (apart from monday), so we had arranged for Adele to come up every day so she could take the dogs with kp. It worked out well. In the afternoon, kp went to physio at the local recreation centre with Steve (the physio). I think she said she did treadmill and bike and enjoyed it as per usual.
Wednesday - We went to see Jane and Steve (our psychologists). One of my favourite sessions so far (for me) and loads of things slotted into place. Karen enjoyed hers too. I am quietly surprised at how helpful they have been to me and I KNOW kp finds them similarly helpful. Following that, we had to hot foot it to Ponteland for an appointment with Dr/Mr Yellowlees (an anaethetist who specialises in Pain Management). He was excellent. We told him all the meds kp was on and in a nutshell he agreed that it was the right stuff. He couldn’t comment on the anti-depressant and suggests we see a Psychiatrist for that. The interesting thing he said was (in response to something kp had said)…..
Mr Yellowlees - “You shouldn’t be taking pain medication (analgesics) to control pain ! You should only be taking them to ensure you can still function”
Well, we hadn’t heard that before so we were intrigued. What he meant was that kp will have SOME pain, but you need to throttle back on the pain meds until the pain is so much that you can’t function as much and then keep it a bit over that amount. He stressed that kp MUST still keep up the rehab and not reduce them so much that it affects that. So, in a nutshell, kp has to gradually (very) reduce the morphine patches (Fentanyl) and the Gabapentin. This has to be done gradually.
So, over the next couple of months, we are going to shave a little off both of them.
Thursday say kp take a taxi to the recreation centre to meet with one of Steve (the physio)’s assistants to do some arm-stretching and other Physio work.
Friday and kp went again to the recreation centre but this time for accupuncture with Steve. The accupuncture was to relax kp and to help the pain. She didn’t have that much faith in it, but was going to give anything a go, but she hasn’t half seemed better on the pain and mood front over the weekend, so maybe it has worked.
When I suggested this to kp, she said “It wouldn’t work so quick”
Saturday and I had a real down day. I can’t 100% put my finger on it, but I was rock bottom. You’ve heard the expression “Got out the wrong side of the bed”. That’s really how it felt. The moment I got out of bed, I felt rough (mentally). I think the thought of booking a holiday for the end of the month (which was the job for the day) was too daunting. I hate arranging holidays. It takes sooooooooooo long to find the right hotel etc etc…….
But even after that was over, I still felt rough and there was NOTHING to assign it to. Everything in our lives is looking up, kp’s feeling good at the moment and positive, so am I about the future, yet I couldn’t pick myself up. I just wanted to go back to sleep.
kp was absolutely brilliant. She was “ON FIRE !”. She was so positive and was making me laugh and everything, but nothing would pull me out.
Anyhow, I woke up this morning feeling 10x better and back to normal. Very strange. It literally is like I got up from the wrong side of the bed and I never have had that before !
kp had a bad sleep last night, not going to bed until about 6am. So she is having an afternoon snooze. She got up about 11am to walk the dogs with me. On the dog walk, which is normally very quiet, we were walking along and then all of a sudden about 100 people (all ages) came towards us (walking) along this narrow path. It was very weird. We were laughing, because none of them had seen our 2 dogs (as the people in front of them blocked the view) and when they saw them, most of them visibly shook at the sight of 2 German Shepherds. Quite a few put their hands down to stroke them then thought better of it. Comical.
So, very good week really. kp and I are both excited about the future.
Day 1169 - 1175. Monday 1st July to Sunday 6th July 2008
Awful week generally with some good bits.
Monday and Rachel (OT) came over and kp made a loaf of bread (with her left hand). It looked and smelled great. No comment on the taste.
Tuesday and kp (and I) attended a medico-legal appointment in the centre of Newcastle for the ongoing legal case. The consultant wanted to see me first and then kp (on her own). He saw me for about 3/4 hour, and then kp for about two. kp’s sleep is still to pot, and after 2 hours of tests she was done in. The tests weren’t complete, so he is going to have to reschedule for another date to complete the tests.
Wednesday and we both went for our counselling sessions. I enjoyed mine much more this week, probably feeling more relaxed with the psychologist, but I still remain sceptical, but certainly talking, being heard and thinking about things from a different angle are all helping me.
kp’s went well too. One of the things that the medico-legal neuro-consultant had said previously to me (and Karen) was that it is too much for a person with a head injury to be expected to go the whole day without any rest, which is what she was trying to do to correct her poor sleeping patterns. He suggested breaking the day into 3 chunks (morning, afternoon and evening) and in each of the chunks ensuring that there is some physical and some mental activity AND some rest. This “felt” right to me and kp. We mentioned this to kp’s psychologist Jane and she agreed that the other well-practiced method wasn’t reaping benefits for kp and to scrap it as kp was getting too down over it.
Another of the things that Jane had suggested is that kp ensures she has a DAY OFF each week. This is a day without ANY rehab and it is for kp to do what she wants with, ie visit family in Middlesbrough etc etc… This was music to our ears.
The medico-legal neuro-chap also had suggested kp attend a sleep clinic so I expect something will come of that in the future.
We went for a Subway sandwich for lunch before kp went to her physio session (taxi) and I returned to work. Steve (physio) had kp doing exercises at the gym, one of which was the bike.
kp has been on the bike before, but it always left her in too much pain with her needing to take morphine tablets to keep on top of it.
This time was the same if not worse and this was the start of a hellish end to the week for Karen. Not all of the following is related to the Bike exercises, but the week just went downhill from this point onwards.
The following day Syd (Case Manager) came for a couple of hours for a catch-up. kp’s pain was on the increase and she was popping the morphine tablets.
We had been trying separate beds for a couple of nights to see if it improves kp’s sleep and it did a little probably because she could watch tv in bed (or read) without disturbing me and it was easier to just fall asleep.
Thursday night, kp didn’t feel just right and was scared to sleep on her own (very unlike kp). She had had a headache / migraine since the bike exercises.
The following day (friday) and we had a 10am medical appointment in Newcastle. kp was all showered and ready to go and just as I got the car out, she decided that she didn’t feel upto going. I cancelled the appointment and all the taxis which were going to take her back home, so I could go into work. Bonus for the lads at work, ‘cos they weren’t expecting me until 12pm
She went to bed for the rest of the day needing a dark room. She had some of the best sleep for ages (which was great !).
That night, I was due to go out with the lads from work for Nigel, John and my leaving doo. We had it all planned down to the taxis, Nigel staying at our house etc etc….
Work was REALLY busy. One of the lads was on holiday - things were going wrong with a few customers IT solutions and then at about 3.30pm I got a call from a customer whose credit card processing system had been hacked. 30 minutes later as I tried to juggle lots of IT balls, kp rang. She was in tears. She was vomiting and a few other issues were making the matter 10x worse. kp is a pro-vomiter. She could vomit for Britain and not even bat an eye-lid, so for kp to be upset, things must be really bad !
I had to go ! I phoned my boss and he took the “hacking” problem off my hands which was great and then I dashed home. kp was in a right state when I got home. She was very frigtened about everything that was happening. One of her concerns was that all of the sickness/migraine stuff was down to the problems that have been predicted (to her endocrine system) because of all the morphine she takes.
My gut was that she had caught some virus and the pain was leftover from the bike exercises. I put her to bed and gave her what I thought were the right meds to sort her out. Certainly, things were better in a dark room.
She remained frightened and didn’t want me to attend the leaving doo, which is very unlike kp. She normally just battles on. Of course, I wouldn’t have gone anyway with her in this state.
I cancelled my attendance at the night out.
The weekend that ensued was awful. kp remained rock bottom mentally and physically, not eating and very down. She was in the bedroom 90% of the weekend until 1pm Sunday. We tried anti-migraine tablets (Hemicraneal) which normally sort kp out. We tried Solpadeine (which I use and they guarantee a headache goes for me), but nothing worked, and kp’s worry escalated. I had suggested a few times that we get the Doctor out, but kp wasn’t having it. She has an understandable big fear of doctors/hospitals now. This morning, I had a brainwave. Let’s try aspirin. And SUCCESS ! They have improved the headache to what kp calls a “normal headache”.
The relief is tangible around the house. The house felt really low, but now we are talking about watching the Wimbledon Final. Wahey !! I hope and think we may have turned a corner !
She has also eaten (and kept stuff down) for the first time (for a few days). It may only be a bowl of cornflakes, but it’s a start and it’s inside kp, not down the loo !
So, pretty awful week (or it feels it).
On the work front (for me), it’s come to the time where appointments are getting in the way of work, so we have come to a suitable arrangement which suits both sides. I am leaving the full-time employ of my company. They have been great with time off but it’s just getting a bit too much for them now, and although I am leaving full-time employment with them, I feel sure they will use me as a contractor and it also allows me to work for other companies on a contract basis, which suits our circumstances better.
So, bad week overall, but a happier week in sight.
Day 1162 to 1168. Monday 23rd to Sunday 30th June 2008
Better week this week.
Monday and Karen had her session with the OT (Rachel). They went to town to try and get kp out and about. kp enjoyed it and got some lovely biscuits from M&S.
Tuesday and Steve (Physio) and Karen did some work at home. They did some work on kp’s balance with the Gym Ball and then on the Wii Fit. The Wii Fit is awesome for Karen as it really encourages her to better herself.
In the afternoon, we had our counselling sessions. It was timed so I could sit in on Karen’s as well. I was up first with my chap. It was good to just talk about how the accident has affected me and how I am coping with our new life. It didn’t feel like we solved anything, but I don’t think that was to be expected after just one session.
Karen enjoyed hers as well and I feel sure she is getting somewhere which is good ! After that, I took her to Whickham Villa for 90 minutes in the flotation tank. Perfect for me as well, so I could go back to work for an hour and then return to pick her up.
Wednesday and kp had booked a taxi to drop her off in the village to get her hair and nails done.
Thursday, there was nothing on, but kp did her best to stick to the schedule we have draughted up, here is an example of how busy kp is !!!
The reason we drew up this specific timetable is because kp gets confused with when she has some time off to do normal things (like see friends, watch tv etc…) and when she had it as one big list with things like “Do this 3 times a week, do this twice a week two times daily), she couldn’t work it all out, so this has helped her a lot and has took the pressure off.
She also made Lasagne for tea and it was delicious. That works out quite well. kp can make certain dishes, but the problem she has is bringing it all together to be served. ie timing the cooking of the Lasagne, the potatoes and the veg all to be ready at the same time. It’s too much for her, but that’s why we make a great team.
Friday and another physio session, this time Karen took a taxi to meet Steve at the local gym. She had a great day, doing some bike work and some time on the cross-trainer. After that, they did some more Gym Ball and Wii-Fit at home. I think Steve enjoys the Wii-Fit too as he beat my high score on the Ski Jump ! 
His new record didn’t last for long though !!! Read it and weep Steve !
Friday and I went straight from work to pick Ethan up. He was coming to stay the friday night. He was great and VERY well behanved (MOST OF THE TIME!). He never stopped talking and I think, at times, it was a bit too much for Karen. He kept talking when she was asking him a question and she was a lot more irritable than she would have previously been. Even Ethan noticed it.
We had a great Saturday though. Ethan and I went to buy him a football and then we all walked the dogs.
Here is a photo kp took…..
Saturday night, we watched “Full Metal Jacket” but it wasn’t as good as the Sky Star System made out. It had 5 stars (the most a film can have). We would have given it 2.
Late night and early rise this morning (for me), but kp was up most of the night AGAIN (sleep still remains the main issue and all the things she is supposed to try) aren’t reaping any benefits yet
She still stayed up when I got up (at 7.15am) and has managed to get a second wind which should last the day out.
We have done some gardening this morning and done a cracking job too.
On another note, I was called into a meeting with my bosses about the amount of time I have been taking off for all Karen’s appointments etc… They have been superb and very understanding but I think they are looking for things to become more “normal” now. I explained that it was a particularly bad time at the moment with no Support Worker and with me having weekly counselling as well as Karen etc, and that an end was in sight (when we have a new Support Worker), so hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement.
There is more to discuss this coming week I expect.
So, in summary, generally kp is heading in the right direction, but sleep is pulling her down. She is surviving on between 2 and 6 hours sleep a night (but not in one straight stretch unfortunately).
We’re keeping positive.
Day 1155 - 1161. Monday 16th June to Sunday 22nd June 2008
Very bad week for both kp and I, but it ended heading in the right direction.
It all started on the Sunday night. We were watching TV and something sparked a conversation that went further and further downhill, until I was absolutely distraught (I can’t go into any more detail than that). I was sobbing like a baby and to make matters worse, it was dark and I didn’t realise that the distress had caused a huge nose bleed. You know what it’s like when you cry and your nose gets all blocked up, well I had that with this flooding nosebleed, but I didn’t realise it.
When we finally switched the light on, you’d think I had been beaten up. There was blood everywhere. All over my PJ top, all over my face and neck. I just couldn’t stop crying. Once I realised I was having a nose bleed, I went into the bathroom and held my head over the sink and it was just gushing. What’s worse (for Karen) was that all my upset was still there so I was bawling into the sink. Poor kp - she was upset that I was so upset.
What made matters worse was that I couldn’t see a way out of the conversation, and my thoughts inevitably turned to suicide. I’ll whap a few morphine patches on, drink a bottle of brandy, go to the car, put some hose into the window etc etc…. I had planned it all out in the short time I had a moment to think between sobs !
Thankfully, by the end of the night, we had reached a sort of impasse, but neither of us were comfortable with how it had been left and there was some disturbed sleep that night.
Unfortunately, the following day (monday) was the MDT (multi-disciplinary team) meeting. This is the meeting where all the specialists and the lawyers from both sides come to the house to discuss kp’s progress. But, I don’t think anyone could tell that we had been to hell and back the night before.
The MDT went vey well. No tears from kp this time. It was very positive and the Norwich Union people were good and supportive of some further actions that will help kp.
The bath buddy arrived. This is like a seat of air that goes in the bath and kp sits on and then deflates to get her in the bath, and then inflates to get out. kp has a bath every night as she feels it helps her aches and pains, but normally, I stand in first and then lower her in. When she wants to get out, I get in and lift her up. But it means she is reliant on my presence to have a bath. This will give her some independance back. We spent most of the week practising this instead of me lowering her. But haven’t cracked it yet. I let kp do everything herself. But little things confuse her ie. one day the power cord to the bath buddy was on top of the place where you have to plug the air hose in and she couldn’t work out how to undo it.
Anyway, we got past that, but haven’t successfully used it really despite about 4 attempts. She keeps sliding off after she has been lowered down, which means when she inflates it, she falls off into the bath - NOT GOOD !.
I think the position of it is wrong - we are going to try a different position next time. I think and hope we’ll crack it.
Tuesday saw Steve come for Physio. kp wanted to go through the routines she has to practice which they did and then they did some more Wii-Fit stuff, which she really enjoys. What a cracking thing for balance improvement !
Wednesday and we both went to visit Jane at the Lansdowne Clinic. The sleep improvement strategies aren’t really paying off yet, but she did say it could take months, so kp will stick at that. kp now wants to focus on her low self-esteem. So the next sessions will relate to that. Also, top of the list, was ME ! It had been suggested before that I needed counselling, but I couldn’t really get my head around it. To me, if I can’t help myself, how can someone else help me - that’s my thought process. But after Sunday’s upset, I was raring to go for anything that will improve things (for me). I have accepted that I need help too. Jane put it really well……paraphrased…..
Jane (looking at both of us) :- I expect before the accident, you (plural) used to be support for each other. When you were down Karen, David would support you and when he was down, you would support him. But, since the accident, it’s probably been David supporting you most of the time.
Karen :- Definitely
And that rang a real chord with me. I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders, but if asked to name one pressure on me, I couldn’t. I suppose I feel dead inside, I am existing, but not really living. I have no idea how anyone can help me, but I know I have to give it a go, for Karen, but most of all for me.
So, that night, I emailed Syd (Case Manager) and by noon the following day, I had 10 sessions booked with a Psychologist from the same clinic. So, when kp goes to her sessions, I will go to mine, which works out great. I am actually looking forward to it, even though I can’t see how it will help (ie if I can’t help myself).
After the wednesday session with Jane (with no Doreen to take her home), I took her to Whickham Villa. It’s an absolutely marvellous place for people with brain injuries. It has a flotation tank, a hydro pool, a jacuzzi and offers lots of beauty/massage treatment. It’s a real gem that you wouldn’t know about unless someone told you about it.
The idea was that kp would do a flotation for an hour or so, while I went back to work (very close). It worked out really well. I helped kp get in the flotation tank and left her floating for about 90 minutes at gas mark 4. When I returned at around 5pm, she was nicely relaxed and took some waking up. We then both went into the hydro pool and jacuzzi. It was a really good afternoon. We tried to get kp swimming again and had a real good laugh ! She was very frightened of swimming, but eventually she had enough confidence so that she would try with me supporting her from her tummy. And she gave it a good go. But what was evident (when she tried to swim) was how much stronger the right arm is (than her left). Basically, she just went around in circles, which we found really funny.
Thursday, the car got serviced. Angela (fellow car crash victim) came to pick kp up and from all accounts, they had a fantastic afternoon. kp came back glowing. It was good to see she had had such a good afternoon. 
Friday and it was physio time. Steve came to the house and they did some more Wii stuff. There’s this one thing on the Wii where you stand on the Wii-Fit board and have to balance as your chap (on the screen) walks a tight-rope. Well, it records how far you get ! kp thrashed my record !!! Well done love.
Now, I don’t mind kp thrashing me, but what perturbed me more was that Steve had beat my ski-jump record ! Syd, please can we get another physio for Karen !
Yesterday (Saturday), we walked the dogs in the morning and just got back before the heavens opened. A lovely relaxing day, pretty much mirrored today.
So, bad week overall, but ended very positive.
Day 1148 to 1154. Monday 9th June to Sunday 15th 2008
Well, a real contrasting week this week. Some real good mood changes for the better, but some real lows too.
Monday and no sooner had Doreen arrived that the girls took the dogs for a walk to make the most of the good weather. Rachel (OT) came at 1.30pm and Rachel and kp discussed starting to go out to places to try and build kp’s confidence up.
Tuesday was an interesting day. Doreen had supervision which is basically a session with her boss to discuss how things are going. In a nutshell, various things were discussed, the upshot of which was that Doreen resigned her post with immediate effect. When Karen heard the news from Syd, she was pleased and it had a significant positive impact on kp’s mood for the rest of the week. The downside is that losing the support worker means it’s much harder for kp to get out and about and walking the dogs is off the agenda. It’s a real shame it didn’t work out, because Doreen had done some great work with Karen around the house and the garden.
Doreen and kp were due to meet up with Steve at the local fitness centre, but instead, Steve came to pick Karen up to take her to the centre. This week they had a Balance Assessment to do. Things like a timed run of 20m, a safe fast walk on normal feet and tiptoes (no heels), over an obstacle (steve’s shoe) etc etc…..It went really well by all accounts and Steve was amazed at Karen’s tiptoeing. What’s a little bit weird is that for the very first time on the previous weekend, we had walked the dogs and kp had thought to herself “I wonder if I can run”. Anyway, she gave it a go and my answer would be “not really”.
When she did it with me, she was laughing at herself and I believe she was in hysterics when she was showing steve her “running”. Really good that she can laugh at herself. I think she ran 20m in 7 and a bit seconds, but she couldn’t be 100% sure this was the time recorded.
Matt (the speech therapist) came later in the afternoon and they worked on more role plays for telephone conversations. It was his last session and kp was sad to see him go, because he had really boosted Karen’s confidence on phonecalls and given her some practical tips to make things better when dealing with people on the phone.
Wednesday, kp and I went to see Jane at the Lansdowne Clinic. kp’s homework was to maintain a Sleep Diary. This had shown the sporadic nature of kp’s sleep all week. One of the things it highlighted was how many times kp woke up with nightmares and/or cold sweats. So, to help with this Jane gave kp some practical advice on how to deal with nightmares. She also suggested moving one of the tablets that could cause sweating, to earlier in the day as a trial, which we have just started doing as I type this. I will try ad report back on this in next week’s blog.
Thursday and Syd came. Unfortunately, kp had incorrectly set her alarm for 9pm (instead of 9am), so Syd was waiting in the car for a while. Marie, the dog walker (who has hearing difficulties) had arrived to take the dogs for a walk and came to wake Karen up. She was shouting “Karen, Karen, Karen” which woke Karen up. Karen came out of the bedroom, to see Marie, shouting Karen into the cupboard where we keep the towels. Marie had thought this was a bedroom.
kp was in stitches when she told me this on the night-time. LOL.
Anyway, kp called Syd in and they discussed the advert for the new Support Worker. kp was keen to stay motivated generally and made sure she completed all her exercises and tasks from all the professionals. Well done kp !
Friday - Steve (physio) picked Karen up and took her to the fitness centre to carry on with the next level of assessments. Today, she had to try hopping and skipping. Well, it’s fair to say she couldn’t do either. Steve demonstrated skipping to Karen, much to kp’s amusement. I had a go on the night-time, and there’s something not right about a grown man skipping. I can see where she found the humour.
Unfortunately, there was a bit of an incident on the way home. Steve had to brake harshly and kp fell to pieces. She was in tears and very shook up by it. Steve did his best to console her and on the way back kp did her best to talk about various things, but she described herself as “talking rubbish”. Steve was clearly concerned and recommended they carry on doing some more physio to take her mind off it, but kp’s mind wasn’t on it. Fortunately, Adele and Louisa had come over and that helped distract kp.
Once they had all left, kp’s mind came back to the incident and she fell apart again. But, the good news is that even just a couple of days seems to have improved kp’s mindset on this
Saturday and kp and I went to Newcastle Airport for my helicopter lesson (kp’s xmas present to me). I absolutely loved it !!! It was a “never forget” kind of experience. The instructor (Scott) let me do some flying and initially I was a bit too rough with it, but after about 10 minutes I felt comfortable with it and flew us home - Thankfully, he landed it !
kp took this amazing picture !!
Here’s another one……
Last night, because we had had a late breakfast after the trip, we skipped Pizza. We watched a film and Big Brother.
Another bad night’s sleep for kp (par for the course)
Today, we walked the dogs, but there was something not right with kp’s body and we managed only about 1/2 a mile and the last 1/2 of that she really struggled.
She had a migraine in the afternoon, so went to sleep for a bit. Film and Pizza tonight.
Tomorrow we have the MDT. This is the meeting where all the specialists come to the house, plus the solicitors from both sides. Should be an interesting day. It should be really positive, because kp has done so well !
Day 1141 to 1147. Monday 2nd June to Sunday 8th June 2008
Quieter week this week.
Karen’s pain is generally under control as long as kp doesn’t overdo it, which she did this week and had to pay the price for.
Sleep remains an issue but we are making more headway thanks to Jane from the Lansdowne Clinic. It’s early days.
Monday saw Doreen and kp go to Matalan for some retail therapy.
Tuesday - Rachel (OT) and Steve (physio) came to the house as they wanted to do a combined session to be sure they were working on complimentary rehab.
Wednesday saw kp and I attend the Lansdowne Clinic to meet with Jane. Sleep is Karen’s biggest issue at the moment (affecting her daily life) so Jane started working on that. Lots of good tips and a schedule that kp has to stick to.
- No drinking tea before bedtime.
- Recapping the day and what is planned for the following day an hour before bedtime, the idea being so that there is nothing on kp’s mind.
- Going to bed at a reasonable hour (11pm) and she has to allow 30 minutes to fall asleep, and if she doesn’t, she has to get up for 20 minutes (and read something borning) and then try again.
- Etc etc…
Lots of good tips.
She also has to keep a sleep diary for a couple of weeks.
That night, she slept from 11pm to 1.30am, 1.50am to 5.10am and 7.30-9am. So it’s broken sleep (no change there), but much better than previous sleeps.
Thursday, kp told Doreen not to come and she spent some good time with Adele (kp’s niece) - they walked the dogs together.
Thursday night - 11pm - 1.30am (woke up dripping with sweat), 2.10am to 3.30am (another sweat), 3.50am to 6.50am and 7.10 - 8.45am.
Friday - kp and Doreen went to the gym and they did arm and hand stretching. kp also went on the rowing machine and the gym bike, but that proved to be a costly set of exercises. kp really enjoys the physio sessions as well, so it’s a shame. The price she paid was lots of pain in her right leg and right hip. She had to take a couple of morphine tablets on the night and she missed most of the night’s tv and had an awful night’s sleep.
Saturday, she was still done in, so I walked the dogs on my own. In the afternoon, we went to see kp’s family in Middlesbrough, and took Adele, Abby and Louisa to the fair which was lots of fun. It has been a while since we have seen the kids and they haven’t half shot up. Abbie (11) is taller than Karen, although to be fair, there are some garden gnomes bigger than kp.
Good Saturday’s night tv watching the film Shooter (thanks Adele).
Sunday (today) we have had a cracking day. Lovely dog walk in the glorious sun, followed by reading outside (for me), and kp had a LONG conversation with Ronnie on the phone and then we did some gardening at the front. Really nice !
- vdfromboro on Day 1169 - 1175. Monday 1st July to Sunday 6th July 2008 said :- Hi ya Karen, I just wanted to blog to let everyone else know that even though last week was really difficult …
- vdfromboro on Day 1114 to 1119. Tuesday 6th to Sunday 11th May 2008 said :- Hi ya Karen, I know that you are building on your mental strength whilst putting your body through it at the …
- loopy n dippy on Day 1065 - 1071. Monday 17th March to Sunday 23rd March 2008 said :- hey pet. just another quick one….the photos look fab…great time had by all… billy bob and the rest are saying hello too, …
- loopy n dippy on Day 1065 - 1071. Monday 17th March to Sunday 23rd March 2008 said :- weeeheeey kp…… were at work and were blogging…we must be multi skilled….hahahahahah well thank god there was movment in the end …
- vdfromboro on Day 985 - 991. Monday 7th January to Sunday 13th January 2008 said :- Hi ya Kp I took Irene out shopping today as it will be her birthday while we are away. I …
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