Will’s Birthday

On the 2nd February Courtney came in early to spend some time with me. She wrote this in the family diary:  “I came in at 9:30 to find all the curtains closed around you. You were with the Neurologist and his team. I find it hard not to think the worst when the curtains are…

Angels Really Do Play Harps

I was on the stroke ward of the hospital because I didn’t need the ICU anymore but I hadn’t been approved for the rehabilitation ward yet. Now that my trache had gone, it was time to try to get to rehab. It had been arranged for the Rehabilitation consultant to come and assess me. Dawn…

Fun and Happiness

Being out of ICU gave me greater opportunities to access therapy. On my first day on the Stroke Ward, the Occupational Therapist came in for an hour. We worked hard on improving the movement in my right arm. I went to the gym for Physiotherapy and saw the Speech Therapist about my upcoming trachy removal.…

Progress – Move to the Stroke Ward

I have spent months putting off posting this because nothing ‘interesting’ really happens. I’m determined to just get it done now so that I can continue getting my story on paper. I’ve found that my memories of events back this far are starting to fade a little. The day to leave ICU had arrived. This…

Return To Writing

The Covid-19 pandemic has rocked most Australians this week. Last week social media was flooded with jokes about panic-buying of toilet paper. This week the implementation of stage 2 restrictions combined with the rapidly  increasing number of confirmed cases, has many of us scared.  This week 2 of my family members have tested positive to…

The Road to India

I’m calling this post “The Road to India”. Let me explain why. We want to go on an overseas holiday at the end of next year. Our children are getting to the age where they spend holidays with friends, girlfriends/boyfriends. That is the natural progression in their lives and I am happy and proud to…

Preparing to leave ICU

My final days in ICU were spent readying me for the rehabilitation Ward. I hadn’t been approved for rehab yet, but that was my hope and the plan of my medical team. The rehab Ward won’t accept patients with tracheostomies. The nurses in rehab are not experienced enough with the care of tracheostomies, nor do…

GRATITUDE

When we think of gratitude, many of us think of it as simply ‘being thankful’. Thankful to someone for what they have done for us. But gratitude is so much more complex than that. Gratitude is about feeling and expressing appreciation for everything we’ve been given and all that we have (big or small). It’s…

Drawing Strength From the Love Around Me

My stroke is the worst thing that has ever happened to many members of my family and me. My beautiful sister-in-law lost her dear Mum suddenly after complications arose from fairly routine surgery. And my Dad lost his Mum in a terrible accident when he was still a boy. Other than that my family had…

What A Girl Will Do For Botox

After 6 weeks in ICU, I was well and truly medically stable. The only thing keeping me in ICU now was my locked jaw (and the need for a GA everyday to clean my teeth). Keeping me in ICU longer than necessary was bad for many reasons. ICU is often full and I was occupying…