Bloody Mondays...

So the weekend at home was like a holiday and Luke was lapping up some home-cooked dinners, sleeping in a proper bed instead of a hospital cot and being connected with technology again.  

Its like living in a bizarre time-warp at the rehabilitation centre; no cellphones, no laptops, no televisions, no radios all in the middle of no where!!!  The reason behind is its too much light and sound stimulation in the early stages of the brain tissue repairing (or something like that).  But being cut off from the world and all means of communication would drive anyone bonkers after a while!

His coordination and communcation is better and better every single day but as can be expected so early on, still gets dizzy spells and feels unsteady on his feet at times.  He explained to me that the best way to describe how he feels is like being permanently drunk; you're conscious and you know whats going on but you know you're not as quick as you would be if you were sober like everyone else in the room and walking in straight line isn't always a sure bet!

The doctors continue to be blown away by his amazing healing speed, and the next two weeks can't pass fast enough for either of us.  While the weekend was a treat, I have a feeling this week is going to be even harder for Luke to stick it out in rehab now that he's had a taste of freedom... 

Talk soon,

Katy

Home For The Long Weekend!!!

Mr. Impatient woke me up at before 7am this morning; making sure I couldn't sleep if he can't and that I wasn't go to be late to the 1pm meeting today.

The meeting went really well and they are releasing him home for the long weekend!!!! So I finally have a happy chappy but now tomorrow can't come soon enough for him and I think we are all going a little crazy after hearing "I just wanna go home now!" only about a million times.

I would write more but I am busy busy tidying up and getting everything ready to pick the lad up first thing in the morning, who will probably start walking home if I'm not on time!

Talk soon,
Katy

New House

Finally, after days of sleepless nights Luke has been moved from a small windowless, locked room, to a house where he has his own bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and lounge. You will all be glad to know, he is out of amnesia and into the 'Injury Recovery' period of rehabilitation. We all though that meant he was ready to return home but apparently not!!!

This morning we went to a 'Brain Interest' group meeting, which is like a class that teaches you about brain injuries; which parts of the brain are affected and what happens when they are injured. I had noticed in the last couple days that Luke sometimes talked about a couple of things at the same time, which sometimes came out not making too much sense. The psychologist explained that this is because after injury, the brain struggles to switch from one topic to another and get jumbled up in the process.

It was so helpful to be able to talk about it in a group as I wasn't even sure if anyone with brain injury was aware it happened to them but after the meeting I learnt it was really common and easy to solve.

Luke got 100% on his physiotherapy tests today and his physio said he didn't need to come to any more seesions as he is fit enough - no surprises there!

In the new house, I have been warned that one of the female residents has aggression issues towards females; (and especially will feel threatened by a girl like me, whatever that may mean) and I shouldn't take it personally if she yells at me or call me names! If she is abusive or aggressive towards me I should try not to retaliate (as if I would!!!) or, if she makes me feel physically threatened, I should remove myself from the situation and inform a staff member!

So visiting time just got a whole lot more exciting!!

Tomorrow we have the family meeting where hopefully they me Luke can go home....

Talk soon,
Katy

Rest at Long Last

If the last week has taught me anything, I've learnt to celebrate small achievements. The last two nights we've been in rehab the staff have allowed me to stay here with Luke, and for the first time since his crash he has slept through the night without being sick or needing more pain relief.

From the first day at A&E I knew he was going to make a full receovery.  The first words he spoke to me, when he was restrained to the table with a neck brace and oxygen mask, covered in wires and tubes and monitors and head covered in blood was 'Love you...Can you get in here now please!'  He was barely conscious but already making jokes, or maybe he was serious but either way I knew his personality was strong enough to pull him through the other side.

That week in intensive care was the longest week of my life.  I don't think any of us (his Mum, Dad and Sister) got a wink of sleep.  The days felt like an eternity as we watched him like a hawk waiting for the slightest flicker of change or do what we could to talk to him when he was in pain.  Watching his eyes roll around in his head was both a comfort and agony for us to watch; thank god he can open his eyes... will he be like this forever?  

None of us said it but it was these harrowing 'what if's' that tormented us all as we tried to be strong for one another and will Luke to get better as if we could force him to mend by sheer force of love.  Since then its been slow and steady progress, sitting, standing, walking with a walker, walking with two assistants; you can't possibly imagine how ludicrously happy it makes me to watch him brush his teeth!

So at long last Luke is sleeping properly and so am I.

Talk soon,

Katy

And the bad news just keeps coming

We've barely been here a day when the brain speacialist doctor comes in to see Luke.

He sat us down and told us how lucky Luke is to be alive and how fast he is progressing towards rehabilitation.  He said he is aiming to have Luke released home in a month  or maybe two at the most; which as I understand it is pretty fast for a place like this.

He then went on to say his release was conditional on three things.  One: no alcohol.  Not a biggie, no drama there.  Two: he is not allowed behind the wheel of a car for at least 18mths.  That one was a little hard to swallow but still, can be dealt with.

Finally, he went on to say that because Luke has already suffered a brain injury before and each subsequent injury causes multiple times more damage to the brain than the last, and, that because the this injury is what they call a 'severe brain trauma' he cannot sustain another blow to the head as he wont come back from it at all.

We sat there in stunned silence and waited for it to sink in.  It still hasn't really.  As if he hasn't had enough to deal with this week, why would they put the stress of thinking about what he's going to when he gets out of here now?  Couldn't they wait for a more appropriate time?

It's so hard to know the right thing to say but Luke is so multi-talented and good at so many things I know he will make a success of anything he tries.  If he was going to retire at 30 anyway, what difference does a couple years make as long he's alive and not a vegetable for the rest of his life?

Day One at the New Pad

So we finally left intensive care yesterday to move to a residential rehabilition centre. Yeya!!! This place is set up like a house and Luke is loving the fact I can make him real meals here (instead of sneaking him reheated dinners I made at home!) and that he has a bell to ring if he needs anything at all!

We must have met about ten different people who form a team to work with Luke to get him home again. There are physio's, occupational therapists and dieticians and every kind of specialist you could possibly imagine to help him get better fast. They are all really wonderful people and I know they the best people for the job.

There are all kinds of people here being treated for brain injury and it really makes you appreciate exactly how lucky we are to have Luke alive at all. No matter how bad things seem; there is always someone else in a worse situation and when one door closes another opens. Luke is down but is in no way out for the count! He has been blessed with a second chance at life and he is really giving it his all.

Please feel free to leave a message here for me to pass on to Luke as I update him every day with all the people who are wishing him well.

Talk soon,
Katy

Lukes Condition - Update

Hi all,

Katy here, Luke's girlfriend and the quiet half of Moto Mayhem. In case you're wondering why I'm writing this update instead of the main man himself, Luke is in intensive care at the hospital. On Saturday the 10th of January he was practising hard for all his upcoming shows at a friends new riding spot when the front brake on his bike locked. He crashed into the landing which threw him from the bike to the flat, landing on his head and shattering his helmet.

He was knocked unconscious and quickly rushed to the hospital where he, me and his family have been ever since; in a high dependency neurosurgery unit. He has no major injuries except to his head. He has what is called post traumatic amnesia which is a common thing for people who have severe head injuries. What it means is he is very tired and sleeps nearly all day and his memory is a bit confused. He gets headaches a lot but who wouldn't when you fall 6 stories onto your head?! He may not remember much but trust me the personality is still all there!!!

I know a lot of people are worried about him and I will keep the updates going with how he is progressing so you know how your boy is doing. It will be a slow road to recovery but I think they say that good things take time don't they? Thank-you so much for all your love and kind support, it really helps to get through the hard times knowing there are lots of people out there willing him to get better. It is really appreciated and I know Luke would be happy to know so many people care. Thank-you again. Talk soon, Katy.