Tuesday 6 July 2010

HEALTH BULLETIN NO. 2

We move on and it is All Change. John flagged up a point to Mairi to clarify things about the cracked vertebrae. Indeed, it is not the cervical vertebrae involved, it is the thoracic vertebrae. The numbers I do not know but it doesn't matter; we are looking at an injury not at the neck.

He does not have a lung infection. He has fluid in the lung (lung cavity?) and is to have a drain inserted this evening. He has come off the drip but still uses oxygen. Hopefully he will be more comfortable after the chest drain does its work.

He is not sleeping very well. The main reason is that he wakes up with the feeling that he is falling. Mairi, a clinical psychologist, is familiar with this post-trauma phenomenon. We know that people who get caught in an avalanche have similar experiences. It eventually goes away.

The other reason is that the pipes (oxygen) at his head and the next bed's pipes keep him awake. I told him that his pipes used to keep us awake so now it is his turn to thole them.



Maggie and Brian came to the rescue today. He wanted a cyclist drinking container with the drink tube that comes from the resevoir to your mouth. It is called a Platypus Drinking System. So Brian got one at an outdoor shop. I arrived at Maggie's tonight for my tea - along with Innes and pal - and was completely revived with a big plate of chilli con carne, rice and salad and glasses of apple juice ... Nick Nairn look to your laurels, is all I can say!


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