It's not been a good few days. The water infection that began earlier in the week has caused Martin to feel very ill. It took a couple of days for the type of infection to be confirmed so he could be given the correct antibotics that wouldn't interfere with the treatment for the Guillain Barre.
He really gave us cause for concern, any progress he'd made seem to have been lost. He developed a high temperature and was in a lot of pain. We had to restrict the visits as he needed to rest. Even his speech, which had started to become clearer returned to being very laboured and slurred and was totally exhausting him.
It was a reminder that even though Martin had previously made a lot of progress, it's still a serious condition which will take some time to recover from.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I visited him today, but I was amazed at the improvement in 24hrs. He had a better colour (apart from the Turkish suntan ;-). But the biggest suprise was his speech, not only had it become far clearer than it's sounded to date...it actually sounded like Martin again!
Nearly all the monitoring and feeding equipment has been removed and he's started to eat although it has to be liquidised...no roast beef and yorkshires just yet!
Just before he had his dinner we heard that a bed had become available on the neurology ward and he'd be moved once he'd finished eating.
It caused mixed feelings, the care and attention Mart has received on the critical care unit has been excellent and knowing and experiencing this ourselves helped all of us to deal with the trauma of a very distressing situation.
But he said himself that being moved would help. Any decent sleep had been difficult due to the constant care and monitoring that both he and all the patients needed. Besides which it was a good indication that he'd progressed enough to leave the critical care unit.
When I visited him tonight it was yet another reminder that he's still very ill. The move had drained him. It also raised our concerns again that the level of care available would not be enough to support him as he still needs to be fed and helped to drink. He hadn't even got the strength to properly use the buzzer to call for help if he needed it.
Seeing him like that it was again very hard to leave him tonight especially as he'd been in quite good spirits earlier. Hopefully he'll be able to get some decent sleep tonight and tomorrow will see him settled in and continuing to improve.
Perhaps the best advice we've had is to look on any progress over the course of a week rather than on a day by day basis. That's certainly been true given the ups and downs of this week. We also know now that his sight is likely to be the last thing to return as this was one of the first senses to be lost.
I think this is the time when family and friends support will be as critical as the nursing care and therapy he'll receive.
Give him a real boost. Leave a message and I'll make sure he knows how much everyone wants him to get back to the Martin we know as soon as possible!
So this time last week, I along with the rest of the family were still coming to terms with the devastation of just how poorly U.Martin was and the heart break of seeing him in hospital. An image I will never forget!
ReplyDeleteWow... What a difference a week makes, don't get me wrong U.Martin is still in a very poorly way but to see him this week compared to last, I was amazed.
So amazed at the change in his speech, the movement in his arms and legs - so incredible to see. I'm glad to say U.Martin hadn't lost his sense of humour!
U.Martin quite clearly stated, as soon as I'm fit enough I'm out of here! Good for him - determination and a positive attitude, something we all as a family and friends should carry on feeling too because... Positivity breeds positivity!!
Very proud niece, Kate x