tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823192227164454912024-03-13T13:25:40.266-07:00Stevens DiaryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-7277884928426437132015-05-22T06:15:00.001-07:002015-05-22T06:15:39.294-07:0022nd May 2015Once again, no real changes, but life goes on. After several sessions of laser hair removal therapy over the last year, on Wednesday 20th May, Steven finally had his “plastic surgery” on his tracheotomy scar. The operation took just over two hours. The following day, the surgeon told us that the surgery was complex. Basically, he had to remove the scar skin from the trachea to which it had attached itself, then he had to make three separate folds of the skin to create strong skin, and then seal it with fine stitches, making a scar about two inches long which should join in naturally with the folds of Steven’s neck. No skin graft was required. The surgeon explained this as he removed the dressings, and the result is indeed remarkable. Steven looked in the mirror and was immediately overwhelmed. He had a totally flat throat for the first time since the accident over 4 years ago. The scar is being protected by a smaller version of the special dressings designed for breast implant surgery, to minimise permanent scarring. After two days in hospital he returned home, and immediately went to see friends, who all noticed the improvement in his manner, and his stance. He was no longer embarrassed for people to see him talking. Steven can talk normally and without interruption with swallowing. He can drink a full drink instead of sipping, and he can eat normally. The tracheotomy scar really did cause him some problems without us realising it.
Steven has many issues remaining particularly with his general attitude and lack of body co-ordination, inability to feel the need to eat, body temperature control, and the continuing pain down his left side, but he continues to be positive, and is content with his injuries and the future.
Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-51063982816067703192015-01-08T06:43:00.003-08:002015-01-08T06:43:44.710-08:008th January 2015Not many changes over the last two months. We have all been on a cruise around the Mediterranean and to the Canary Islands, allowing Steven to “disappear” in an effort to cope by himself on the ship. He did this very well. Continuing the theme of giving him more independence, Steven has bought a motorised quad. With a disability label issued by the local Police, he is now able to get about locally and use disabled parking bays in town. This has boosted his confidence and well-being enormously. He can visit friends, and he can do minor shopping. He can make his own way to his gym and his massage therapy. The difference to his general demeanour has been amazing, and this can only go on to make him act and feel better. Steven has had a third session of laser treatment to remove hairs around his throat. He still hasn’t had any notification for his tracheotomy scar removal. Recently whilst walking, he tripped on a step, badly spraining his left ankle, had to be the left, that’s just what he needed to add to the pain!! But, as normal he repaired very quickly. Although initially angry, blaming his walking abilities, he has accepted that everyone has the occasional mishap, along with dropping things, or forgetting what he went into a room for!! There has been no change to his walking abilities, or the general lack of feeling on the left side of his body. Unable to fully control his body temperature, he is feeling the cold this winter. But he takes all this in his stride rather than sit about doing nothing. He even tried to live with growing a beard, but that faded after two weeks. He does everything he can to lead as normal life as possible, and we’re so pleased with his continued progress.Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-50401723070898230662014-10-31T23:52:00.001-07:002014-10-31T23:52:26.370-07:001st November 2014The results from the blood samples were all negative for toxins and infections. We await further instructions regarding further treatment. Steven has continued his exercise regime at the gym, reaping benefits that are obvious to his friends and family. He has had a second application of laser therapy around his tracheotomy scar to remove hairs, and he has to have a third very soon before the operation to disguise it. He is still in pain down his left side, but keeping himself occupied goes some way to alleviate this. He has visited a “foot doctor” who cleared up a few “ulcers” caused by his inability to move his toes in his shoes, and has had moulds made to wear to separate his left toes. (His toes have a habit of curling under each other making walking very difficult). He has been considering having the smallest toes removed due to pain and discomfort, but has been advised against this. Steven will try anything to return to as normal state as possible. To that end, he tried riding a friend’s pedal cycle. He found the experience refreshing, but difficult. Going downhill wasn’t a problem, but pedalling back up a hill created a problem of co-ordination between his right and left leg, basically, his left leg pushed out at an angle creating more pain, especially to his hip. But overall he enjoyed it. So, we purchased a dual pedal/electric cycle. Immediately he could see the benefits of fresh air, independence, and exercise. This gave him a boost of confidence and well being. For three days he did what he wanted, and went where he wanted, not without it’s difficulties, but he coped admirably. Remember this was a worrying time for us, because it was as though he was growing up again, and being sent out into the big wide world on his own. Then one day whilst stationary at a junction, he just lost balance, and fell to his left, his foot trapped in the special shoe on the left pedal. According to Steven it was a slow-motion movement, where he just fell to the floor, landing on his hip and elbow both locations of operations. Fortunately he was only grazed and bruised. People nearby who knew of him, ran to help him, for which he is grateful. Within minutes, a local ‘bus visited that location, the implications of that are obvious. Steven’s confidence was shattered, and he has given up the idea of riding a bicycle. But at least he tried.
We look back now to 4 years ago today when we were told his recovery was bleak. Steven and his family and friends have worked incredibly hard to get to where he is today. Those who have followed this journey will understand that. People who saw him in those dark days will understand how proud we are of Steven. He has never once given up without a fight, and I suspect he’ll continue. The biggest problem we have as a family is that sometimes we seem to forget about other people. We don’t do this on purpose, we have so much to think about. Now and again it’s good to be reminded that there are many people far worse off than Steven. There are many families out there who have to cope with similar situations to ours. Those families have their own stories to tell. I just hope that people newly affected will see that there is light at the end of the tunnel in many cases. It takes a lot of dedication and perseverance, and we have been privileged and grateful to come this far.
Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-89124604424394593692014-09-11T03:30:00.000-07:002014-09-11T03:31:25.584-07:0011th September 2014Steven continues his long journey to recovery. He knows he will never be the same as before the accident, but that doesn't stop him or us from doing the best we can to get him close to his previous life. To that end, Steven has started and continued a fitness regime at a local gym which specializes in the treatment of similarly handicapped people. This has resulted in him developing his muscles, and he does eat more. He is beginning to "bulk up" and looks well. A recent visit to the UK for his cousin's wedding resulted in many people commenting on his overall improvement. On a separate visit to UK, we attended the Queen's Medical Centre at Nottingham University Hospital, for an evaluation by pelvis and hip experts. We went expecting them to say that Steven needed another operation to correct his walking action, and help remove the intense pain he suffers at all times. Having looked at Steven's scans and x-rays, the Doctors stated that the hip replacement operation, in their opinion, was first class, and should not be causing the problems that Steven is experiencing, so a new operation was unnecessary. Due to Steven's ungainly gait, and the poor control over his left leg and left foot, they likened it to a baby learning to walk. They firmly believe that Steven's problems including the pain, are caused by severe damage to the sciatic nerve, and that this may take a long time to repair itself. They came to this conclusion because Steven does actually have some control over his leg and foot, if he had no control at all, the nerve would probably be irrepairable. They are confident that, in time, he will regain more and better use of his leg and foot. We left the meeting in a good frame of mind, and were grateful for the input and advice. In the meantime blood samples have been taken to discount any infection or any absorbed metal from the new joint. We will know the result in a few days. The Doctors may recommend pain management, but we have gone down this route before without success, unless there are new ways of pain management other than acupuncture, hypnosis, and botox. Steven will continue with his gym work and exercises at home, encouraging muscle growth, strength, and fitness.Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-1658195998551107462014-07-06T09:59:00.002-07:002014-07-06T09:59:59.616-07:006th July 2014Another small update in Steven’s recovery. After yet another visit to hospital to see another doctor regarding the recurring pain in his left elbow, he and we received yet another opinion about the reason for the problem, and for once, this opinion seems to be correct. He was advised that, after seeing scans, there were small pieces of calicification “floating” around the elbow. The recommendation was no an operation, but was to work the elbow through the pain, to remove the calcification. Steven informed his trainer at his gym, and they came up with an exercise programme. As a result of this, and despite initial intense pain, Steven is beginning to straighten his elbow, the feeling in his fingers is returning, and the pain is subsiding. The result of this is that with one less pain to worry about, his general health is improving, to the point that he is actually putting on a small amount of weight, and there is a definite improvement in muscle definition. Whilst at the hospital, Steven also saw a “plastic surgeon” with a view to repairing or improving the look of his tracheotomy scar. From there we visited another surgeon who gave him two options for the repair. One was to remove muscle from his chest and place this into his throat, the other was to extract fat from his body to put into the area of the scar, and then hide it with a skin graft. Steven decided on the second option since he didn’t want any more scars. However, he was told, that during the operation, if that didn’t work, they would have to go for the first option whilst on the operating table. In the meantime Steven has made another visit to the hospital for a session of laser hair removal around the throat area, which was far more painful than he expected. He has to go for another session of hair removal in about 3 weeks, and then a decision will be made about the date of his throat surgery.Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-14389066824174464652014-06-07T10:05:00.002-07:002014-06-07T10:05:56.791-07:007th June 2014It’s been quite a while since my last update of Steven’s progress. The reasons for this are many, concerning us, his family, as well as Steven. Steven has made a remarkable recovery over the 3½ years, but he has reached a “plateau”. We and he still haven’t stopped fighting for his recovery and justice, but at the moment there has been very little change in the last few months.
He continues to be mobile, he continues his treatments of massage and exercise, but he still suffers from all manner of pains to his left side, particularly his elbow, hip and pelvis. His stress or patience levels are improving, his emotional outbursts are diminishing. Steven has stopped going to Elche hospital for physiotherapy because the regime was becoming repetitive, and having learnt so much there, he can do the same exercises at home. He has continued his massage, heat therapy, and acupuncture.
He has recently started at a local gym specialising in recuperative therapy following accident or illness. This is already showing slight improvement in muscle tone and general fitness. After a long delay in getting appointments, he again saw a Doctor about his elbow. After x-rays and consultation, it was decided that an operation was not necessary. According to the Doctor, Steven has to endure more pain by vigorously exercising the elbow to remove “floating” calcification. In time this should relieve his elbow pain, and restore feeling to the fingers of his left hand.
Regarding his hip and pelvis, we have decided to obtain advice and help from England. We were able to send excellent scans of his pelvis and hip to an English hospital, where experts agree that the pelvis is now fully healed, but in the wrong manner. These Doctors are also loathe to re-break the pelvis to restore it to its original state. The Doctors believe that Steven is not getting pain from the actual pelvis, but from the muscles surrounding the hip and pelvis. But these Doctors also discovered that when Steven had a hip replacement, it seems that the hip joint was replaced without taking into consideration the displaced pelvis. Their opinion is to re-do the hip replacement, and twist his leg into the correct position with the damaged pelvis. This will then hopefully put all the bones and muscles into alignment. We visit England in September for personal consultation rather than the up to now informative e-mail exchanges.
As well as Steven’s health and his constant visits for treatments, we have had a large number of other problems, none of which help our own stress levels. After much deliberation between our solicitor and the taxi insurance, we have reluctantly accepted an offer of compensation. However this compensation falls short of what we feel is fair. The compensation was ordered by the local Court according to Spanish Law. The alternative would have meant paying a solicitor about €15,000 up front, and a potential delay of up to 15years to get any further compensation, and even then, there was the possibility of still receiving the Court’s amount, from which we would then have to pay the insurance companies costs. This is David versus Goliath, and was an incredibly difficult decision to make, and one we didn’t reach lightly.
Then there was a battle with the Spanish Social Security. After a vast number of Medical examinations, and reports from all sorts of Doctors, Steven was awarded a Spanish disability pension. Despite all the Doctors stating that Steven would never have the capacity to learn, and would never work again, the Social Security gave Steven a disability rating of 52% Total and Permanent Disability.
Ten months before Steven’s accident, he was in full time contracted work, which meant he was able to legally obtain a Social Security pension. He bought his own house with our help. As normal when buying a house with a mortgage, he and we took out the usual mortgage protection insurance. So, armed with the Social Security report, we approached the Bank’s insurance company, with a view to claiming on the insurance for the mortgage to be paid. After several weeks the decision was given that Steven did not qualify for this payment, because it was only payable on Absolute and Permanent Disability.
We returned to the Social Security to appeal their rating, and after yet more examinations they increased Steven’s rating to 55% Total and Permanent Disability, but would not give Absolute and Permanent Disability.
We appealed to the mortgage insurance, but they were adamant that the rules said Absolute and Permanent Disability. This basically means that Steven would have to be virtually fully paralysed and totally helpless before any payment was made. To us, the insurance was worthless. Steven cannot work, that’s agreed by everyone, but he still has to pay his mortgage. Further, the insurance papers actually give the insurance company the right to come to their own decision despite any Doctors or Social Security reports.
When the house was purchased, as is normal in Spain we paid all relevant taxes. However, whilst Steven was in hospital we received notification that we had underpaid €6000 in taxes, and they wanted their money, as if we hadn’t got enough problems. We went to our solicitor as soon as we were able, and appealed the alleged unpaid tax. In the meantime the tax authorities fined us €400 for not paying the disputed amount on time, something they shouldn’t have done whilst an appeal was in process. Unbelievably they then embargoed our bank accounts and removed the €6000, again in contravention of the appeal papers produced at Court. After another year, we won our appeal, successfully proving all taxes had been paid, and that the embargoed monies to be returned. Despite numerous letters and telephone calls this took a further 18months before our monies were finally returned.
All the above battles with officialdom required many travels to offices, telephone calls, e-mails, letters, and all were and still are very debilitating. All these problems had to be dealt with at the same time as maintaining 2 houses, including normal life’s duties from shopping to cleaning. Steven is spending more time in his own house, but still needs help around his house from cleaning to making his bed. So, as you can see, we have been extremely busy in all manner of things, causing a lot of depression and anger, at a time when all we wanted was for Steven to get fitter and better.
Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-79745068520436485002014-02-05T02:52:00.002-08:002014-02-05T02:52:25.712-08:005th February 2014It’s been a while since an update, but the changes have been minimal. Over the last few months Steven has gained a little more stability in his walking. This was achieved by staff at his clinic making him walk, blindfolded, and carrying his walking stick in both hands out in front of him. The staff would then “knock” the walking stick, similar to being nudged in a crowded street. Steven has then had to regain his balance, not knowing where or when the next “knock” would come. This was frightening to begin with, but helpful. Steven has also been made to hold onto a bar with both hands and then jump with both feet. This was extremely difficult due to co-ordination of both legs, lack of control over his left foot on landing, and the pain, but he did jump about two inches. Though small, this is regarded as a small victory. This and other exercises learned at the physiotherapy clinic are replicated regularly at home. He has had another medicine change in the hope that it will minimise the pain, and he also has pain patches on his left leg and left foot, for about 12hrs overnight. This is helping, but the pain returns gradually over the next 12hrs. Steven’s general attitude is changing in that he now knows when he is stressed and angry, and takes steps to minimise this, or at least immediately apologize when he does/says things wrong. He is beginning to accept that anyone can make mistakes, and it’s not always caused by his brain damage. He does feel that he is returning slowly but surely to “normal”. He has continued with regular massage in the hope of returning muscle fibre to where it should be, and to compensate for the lack of general exercise. On the bureaucratic front, after many examinations by several doctors, including re-examinations by the same doctors, Steven has been given disability status by the Spanish Social Security, and is now in receipt of a small pension. We started this process in January 2011 at the suggestion of Social Security representative at Steven’s hospital, due to Steven’s poor prognosis. We are grateful for this, but cannot understand how and why this has taken so long to achieve, and cannot understand why the claim hasn’t been back-dated up to 3yrs. Every doctor’s report, and there have been many by different experts, shows that Steven will never be able to learn any trade due to the brain damage, and will never be able to work again due to mobility and pain issues. We understand the need for validation, but when it’s done by the same doctors checking their own findings, we find this most strange. Steven has had another brain scan which confirmed that the damage was still there. He has had one of his scan pictures printed and is now on display at home in a frame!! There have been many visits to the local Court in an attempt to gain compensation for his life change, and there will no doubt be many more. The scans, the x-rays, the doctor’s reports are all there to be seen by the taxi insurance company, it is now up to them to make an offer to Steven, although no amount will be sufficient, but we understand the realities of the financial world. As we have proved by badgering the Social Security, we will continue to fight for what we believe is right for Steven. We will not be brow-beaten, we have to ensure Steven’s future.
Best regards TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-61462725772824469832013-11-07T02:57:00.000-08:002013-11-07T02:57:23.236-08:007th November 2013Steven has tried to live life as normal, as much as he can. He is learning about his abilities and limitations on an almost daily basis. He recently tried two things. One was a day out at a local nature/animal park, where he discovered that his walking abilities are somewhat limited due to the pathways being up and down hills, and around many bends. The path surface was good, but the changes in orientation were difficult, and with few seating areas. A tiring day but with good memories. He also tried a holiday away from home with a friend. This holiday was in a rural area. The problem here was the reverse of the day out trip. The surfaces were uneven and with many unseen obstructions amongst grass. His friend, though able in his own way, was unable to help Steven in the way that he relies on us for his walking and manoeuvring. This resulted in Steven not straying too far from his lodgings, but he found peace and tranquillity in his surroundings. We give Steven credit for at least trying to regain an active life, but it’s only in this way that he will learn and ultimately accept his limitations. Every day to him is a challenge.
Yet another examination by Doctors, and following discussions with Doctors of various expertise, it has been confirmed that Steven’s pain is coming from the messages being sent and received by his damaged brain. During tests, he is having high sensitivity to pain in places such as neck, shoulder, ribs, left arm, pelvis, left leg etc, where there should be little or no pain, and no obvious reason for pain. The Doctors agree that his pelvis is misshapen, and that even if the pelvis was adjusted by removing small sections of bone to help “line up” the pelvis, this would not stop the pain. It may help his mobility but not remove the pain, because the pain is not coming from the pelvis. Pain-killing medicines by their very nature, cause drowsiness, so Steven is trying several different medicines at different strengths, to find something suitable for him. We will investigate the possibility of some sort of operation or “gadget” that could interrupt the signal from the brain, but as yet, not apparently possible or available. This aspect of Steven is so difficult to explain to people. To look at Steven, no-one would ever think that he had any problems, but the brain damage was extensive as previously described. Remember, the prognosis in the early days was not very good for Steven’s future. Unfortunately from our own experience, there are people who, if they cannot see disfigurement, or blood, or bone, are unable to accept that there are problems.
Best regard TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-90464029584286919042013-11-01T10:06:00.002-07:002013-11-01T10:06:14.367-07:001st November 2013Once again there is little change in Steven’s condition. He continues with his treatments in Elche and massages in home town. He has been given a different regime of pills to help with his anxiety and pain levels. The pain from his hip is getting worse. What we, nor he knows is what is causing the pain. It could be the damaged section of brain, it could be the increased sensation of pain, it could be the extra exercise he is doing, or it could be his damaged pelvis. He has had new x-rays and an MRI scan in the hope that the cause of the pain could be found. We await the report. Steven has received a report from his Doctor in Murcia, which states that in his opinion Steven is 90% disabled. This report will be shown next week at the local Court, as part of Steven’s claim for damages. We have still not received any notification from the Social Security regarding his claim for benefits. Steven and us will continue to fight for his rights. Whatever needs doing, whatever steps are needed to enhance his recovery, we will do it, we will not give in to the big organisations. The scan and x-ray revealed no spinal abnormalities, but there was the possibility of excess calcium growth around the pelvis, and the hip replacement. We await a Doctor’s decision as to what to do about this. Steven’s attendance at Court was very emotional, since it seems that any damages paid would be according to Spanish law. It is doubtful whether the sums mentioned will be enough to ensure his future. The Court now has all relevant documentation regarding expenses paid for operations, medicines, Doctor’s reports, private Doctor appointments, x-rays and scans, living expenses, and house modifications. On top of that will be monies for injuries sustained, scars, days in hospital, days in treatment centres. This isn’t a finite list, just a generalisation. Steven still awaits confirmation of his disability status, and whether or not he is entitled to a pension. Dealing with bureaucracy is hard work, and stressful to all of us. Today is the third anniversary of Steven’s accident. Halloween and today passed without incident, but with lots of painful memories.
Best regards
TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-85115177736070373812013-09-11T05:40:00.001-07:002013-09-11T05:40:21.645-07:0011th September 2013The recovery continues, with continual visits to the clinic at Elche, where they are concentrating their efforts on his ability to walk, and to reconcile any problems he has with the functions of his brain. He has received Botox injections to his lower left leg, and to the sole of his left foot. This is to relax the tendons which have “forgotten” what to do. He has also had medical tape put on his left leg from his knee down to and under his left foot. The idea with this is to make the foot fall flat on the floor. These efforts will take time, but first results are promising.
Steven has been given many “brain” exercises, such as Sudoku, and other logic problems. He also has to speak in English for at least an hour with the nurses, to improve his vocabulary.
Having built up his weight last winter, over the summer he has lost half a kilo, and is now 65kilos. But the staff at Elche are happy with this.
Steven continues to live his life as best he can. He is generally happy, and copes admirably with his disabilities. But what he cannot do is shake off the pain. He can try to be busy in the hopes of “forgetting” the pain, but it isn’t easy. He recently had an appointment to see a Doctor in the hope of getting some sort of benefits from the Social Security. This is getting to be difficult due to the precarious position of the Spanish economy.
This report is what we wrote for the benefit of the Social Security team for evaluating Steven’s disability. Some of which may have been written before.
He suffered catastrophic injuries which still affect him today. He had extensive in-operable brain injury which has affected him in so many ways, and he and we are still learning what extra problems he has.
The most difficult part of Steven’s life is convincing people that he has serious problems with pain management. It is felt by Steven and us as his carers that people seem to think that because Steven looks so well, that everything is fine. It is not. Steven’s biggest problem is just that, he looks so well, but he has a multitude of problems. He does try to cope with his disabilities but it’s difficult. The brain damage was, and presumably still is, extensive, affecting every part of his life, from morning to night-time, and even when asleep. His life is almost intolerable. He has to concentrate on whatever he is doing. If he gets interrupted, he has to stop what he is doing, and re-plan his next move. This is most important. He cannot do two things at the same time, or as we say, he cannot multi-task. In other words his mind is in constant turmoil, having to think about everything he does and react accordingly.
He cannot feel the whole of the left side of his body. He only feels pain, and very little control. The concentration pain diminishes his ability to do almost anything. This is foremost in his mind. He has to deal with the pain at the same time as he tries to control his body.
For a simple example he cannot clap his hands together in time. He describes his left side as wooden, or not belonging to him. He cannot dance, despite practicing, because the left side will not react as quickly as the right side.
He finds it very difficult to speak, both in formulation of words and sentences, but also in maintaining a continuous conversation. He has to think about what he wants to say before he can say it, even then he has to often pause during speech. He was able to translate from Spanish to English to Spanish very quickly, but now he cannot do it as fast. He cannot interact in a group of people all talking. He was able to translate Spanish or English music to English or Spanish words, in order to sing-a-long, but now he cannot.
He cannot concentrate on any particular subject for a great length of time, he is also very forgetful. If circumstances do not meet his expectations, he gets distressed, angry, and depressed.
He feels hungry but finds it difficult to actually eat food.
He cannot control his body temperature particularly when it’s cold. Also his hormones are not correct, he sweats very easily when warm, meaning that he has to have several showers.
Working in bars he was accustomed to loud noise, but now he finds background noise irritating. He especially gets very upset when he hears children crying or screaming. This is a reminder of the screams from children and adults at various hospitals. This does not mean he does not like children, he does. It is the crying he does not like. Due to these sights and sounds experienced at various hospitals he gets upset easily when seeing people in a similar position to him.
Steven finds it difficult to sleep due to the constant pain throughout his body, just catching his toes on the bed sheets causes pain. He also has nightmares of the accident and what he has had to experience during his recovery. Waking in the morning is difficult and slow. Often when he wakes up, he realises that this is his new life, having dreamt that he was living an ordinary life, this is particularly distressing.
During the early months of his recovery he was in a state of horror, unable to tell us of his pain, problems, or feelings, and even now he is reminded of the pain, inconvenience, and embarrassment of this every time he shuts his eyes.
He has had one hip joint replaced, but the pelvis is permanently twisted. This causes pain and discomfort whether sitting, standing, or walking.
He has had two operations on his left elbow, but that still causes him severe pain.
He is suffering pain in his left ankle, and this is believed to be excess calcium growth, which will probably mean another operation. This is a new problem and is yet to be investigated.
He is uncomfortable with the look of his tracheotomy scar and is considering “plastic surgery”.
He has permanent muscle pain down mainly his left side from his neck downwards, probably due to lack of use whilst in a coma and subsequent long recovery in hospital.
He still does not have full control over the use of his left foot, particularly his toes, because they regularly curl under his foot when walking. He used to experience severe pain every time he tried to put on his shoes. The pain now is at least manageable.
He has terrible scars and muscle wastage on his left leg from the accident and the insertion of a metal pin in his lower leg.
He is a very bad passenger in a car. There are many drivers who drive so badly, or leave it to the last minute to stop at junctions, or especially drivers who fail to stop at red traffic lights, creating almost a state of panic in Steven.
He can walk, with the aid of a walking stick, but only in a straight line and with no obstructions such as people, street signs, animals, high wind, or rough surfaces. This is the most difficult part of Steven’s problems. He has to be constantly vigilant. When walking he has to tell each and every part of his body to move in the correct manner. He has to monitor the way he moves every part of his left side in particular before he puts his foot down. He is constantly aware of his surroundings, and has to plan each move ahead. Any deviation from this plan can cause problems such as stumbling. He cannot put his left foot flat on the floor, because he has little or no control over his foot. When walking he puts all his weight on the right side, because he cannot feel his left side. He cannot walk and talk at the same time. He has tried to walk without the aid of a walking stick, but this causes problems, because other people assume there is nothing wrong with him, and this sometimes results in people bumping into him or expecting him to move out of their way, causing him to lose balance. By having his walking stick, not only does it give him support where needed, it also shows people that he has a mobility problem. He stumbles almost every day, and falls over about once a week due to loss of balance. He drops things on a regular basis, breaking many items of crockery, or spilling food on the floor.
He has had to endure a vast amount of dental treatment being required, due to accident damage, and neglect when he was in a coma and having a tracheotomy.
Steven’s speech is affected due to problems with his bottom jaw, though not broken was no doubt dislocated or jaw muscles affected.
He has a problem with his short-term memory, forgetting very recent events, sometimes relying on messages on his mobile ‘phone.
The latest examination by a Neurologist revealed that due to the brain damage Steven has hyper-sensitivity, this means that all of his pain is exaggerated. A simple gentle touch of his skin can cause irritation and even pain. He has recently started a new regime of medicines plus Botox injections to his left foot. These will allow the foot muscles and tendons to be more flexible and hopefully help alleviate the pain.
A later Psychiatrists report written for the Social Security stated that Steven will never have the capability to study, remember facts or details, and would never be able to work. All these facts are now in the hands of the Social Security. It would be nice to get a positive result, and bring a small amount of closure.
Best regards
Terry
Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-58348666501021336022013-07-25T15:21:00.004-07:002013-07-25T15:21:51.425-07:0026th July 2013Hiya All,
this update coincides with 26th July, the 1,000th day since Steven's accident. I hope it shows the full extent of Steven's injuries, and shows how all our lives have been affected.
Before the accident, we all had such a normal life. Steven had been working for several years, legally, and was enjoying life to the full. He had his motor-cycle. We had recently bought him his own house. He had a long-term girlfriend, and he was enjoying his leisure time at bars, beaches, and dances.
We regularly went out with friends for day trips to Spanish villages for views and fiestas, meals, and many holidays especially along Spain’s coast and islands, and including a trip all around the world.
Steven’s accident stopped all this, affecting all our lives.
He suffered catastrophic injuries which still affect him today. He had extensive in-operable brain injury which has affected him in so many ways, and he and we are still learning what extra problems he has.
He cannot feel the whole of the left side of his body. For a simple example he cannot clap his hands together in time. He describes his left side as wooden, or not belonging to him.
He finds it very difficult to speak, both in formulation of words and sentences, but also in maintaining a continuous conversation. He has to think about what he wants to say before he can say it, even then he has to often pause during speech. He was able to translate from Spanish to English to Spanish very quickly, but now he cannot do it as fast. He cannot interact in a group of people all talking. He was able to translate Spanish or English music to English or Spanish words, in order to sing-a-long, but now he cannot.
He cannot concentrate on any particular subject for a great length of time, he is also very forgetful. If circumstances do not meet his expectations, he gets distressed, angry, and depressed.
He feels hungry but finds it difficult to actually eat food.
He cannot control his body temperature particularly when it’s cold. Also his hormones are not correct, he sweats very easily when warm, meaning that he has to have several showers.
Working in bars he was accustomed to loud noise, but now he finds background noise irritating.
Due to sights and sounds experienced at various hospitals he gets upset easily when seeing people in a similar position to him.
He can no longer enjoy his motor-cycle so has lost all of his independence.
Steven finds it difficult to sleep due to the constant nightmares of the accident and what he has had to experience during his recovery. Waking in the morning is difficult and slow. Often when he wakes up, he realises that this is his new life, having dreamt that he was living an ordinary life, this is particularly distressing.
During the early months of his recovery he was in a state of horror, unable to tell us of his pain, problems, or feelings, and he is reminded of the pain, inconvenience, and embarrassment of this every time he shuts his eyes.
He and we were once told that it would be best to have his left foot amputated, these thoughts cannot be dismissed easily.
He has had one hip joint replaced, but the pelvis is permanently twisted. This causes pain and discomfort whether sitting, standing, or walking.
He has had two operations on his left elbow, but that still causes him severe pain.
He is uncomfortable with the look of his tracheotomy scar and is considering “plastic surgery”.
He has permanent muscle pain down mainly his left side, probably due to lack of use whilst in a coma and subsequent long recovery in hospital.
He still does not have full control over the use of his left foot, particularly his toes, because they regularly curl under his foot when walking. He used to experience severe pain every time he tried to put on his shoes. The pain now is at least manageable.
He has terrible scars and muscle wastage on his left leg from the accident and the insertion of a metal pin in his lower leg.
He is a very bad passenger in a car. There are many drivers who drive so badly, or leave it to the last minute to stop at junctions, or especially drivers who fail to stop at red traffic lights, creating almost a state of panic in Steven.
He can walk, with the aid of a walking stick, but only in a straight line and with no obstructions such as people, street signs, animals, high wind, or rough surfaces. When walking he has to tell each and every part of his body to move in the correct manner. He cannot put his left foot flat on the floor, because he has little or no control over his foot. When walking he puts all his weight on the right side, because he cannot feel his left side. He cannot walk and talk at the same time. He stumbles almost every day, and falls over about once a week due to loss of balance. He drops things on a regular basis, breaking many items of crockery, or spilling food on the floor.
At home he continually exercises, particularly walking, to try to teach the muscles how to work. If he did not do this, no doubt he would be accused of not trying to improve his health. He wants to get back to normal, and he and we will do what’s necessary to do so.
During his continued recovery he has at times been able to raise his left arm above his head, he has had increased mobility in his left leg, and he has been able to move his head side to side. However, this is done after physiotherapy and massage, and under controlled conditions. He cannot do these things normally. But hopefully it shows that the limbs and muscles are working and one day in the future perhaps he will be able to move normally. But there is also the possibility that he will not be able to do it, another source of constant worry.
It was thought that he could drive a car. But if he cannot do two things at the same time, how can he drive, as much as he wants his independence this isn’t going to happen for a long time. He has to recover in an artificial environment, no crowds, no bad weather, no problems. In the real world Steven has a lot of mobility problems, whether caused by poor muscle action, or from the poor sending of messages from the brain to affected parts of the body.
He lost his girlfriend because she could not cope with him in the condition he is now.
He used to have many female admirers but no longer has female company, but he asks himself how can he look after a girl when he cannot look after himself.
He feels very vulnerable to thieves etc on his own, either out taking his exercise, or even staying in his own house.
He has lost the company of a lot of his friends due to being unable to join them in crowded environments such as parties.
He has had to endure a vast amount of dental treatment being required, due to accident damage, and neglect when he was in a coma and having a tracheotomy.
Steven’s speech is affected due to problems with his bottom jaw, though not broken was no doubt dislocated or jaw muscles affected.
The latest examination by a Neurologist revealed that due to the brain damage Steven has hyper-sensitivity, this means that all of his pain is exaggerated. He is about to start on a new regime of medicines plus Botox injections to his left foot. These will help alleviate the pain, and allow the foot muscles and tendons to be more flexible.
Steven has lost over 2½ years of his life when he should have been enjoying himself, perhaps even settling down with a family. All this caused by him being sensible in taking a taxi when he’d had too much alcohol to continue riding his moped.
Steven is still receiving regular massage which is no doubt helping his muscles and limbs remember what they’re supposed to do. He is also receiving other treatment at a specialist “brain” hospital in nearby Elche. Here they’re concentrating on how his brain works, and also teaching him the correct way to move. He is taking pills to help calm him down, and at the same time make his brain work. He finds this is helping. He says that his brain always seems to be active when he is trying to relax, but this is the reaction that the doctors are looking for.
He was paying for his own mortgage for his house, but due to work commitments, was unable to enjoy it fully before he had his accident. He now lives at his house, but relies so much on us for his care. We have to do his shopping. We cook many meals for him. We take away his rubbish to the local bins. We have to take care of his dog at our house. He has to employ a local lady to clean his house. She or we do his washing and ironing. We have to remind him every day to take any medication, or to remind him of what our itinerary is for the day. We even have to occasionally make his bed. He still spends many nights at our house in a bed permanently made up for him. We allow him to stay on his own to give him some independence and privacy. He can have friends to see him, or watch his favourite programmes on television, or play on his computer games.
As for us, our lives too have changed. Whilst Steven was in his coma, we never knew whether he would recover at all, or what disability he could have. We were warned very early on that these two options were the only ones available. After he came from his coma, we still didn’t know whether he had any of his senses. We didn’t know what language, if any, he could remember. We didn’t know whether he would see clearly. We didn’t know whether he would ever walk again. As time went on we watched him grow again as if from a baby state. He had to re-learn everything from eating and drinking, to walking. The difference is that a baby is taught what to do. Steven knew what to do, but couldn’t do anything, and found it very hard to re-learn. He even went through psychological changes such as baby type tantrums and teenage rebellions. That is why on his birthday recently we celebrated it as his third birthday. We cry everyday when we see him bravely trying to act normally at a time when he should be enjoying life. We have to take him everywhere to receive treatment in the hope that he can recover. We will do anything which will improve his life, whether it’s buying expensive shoes, keep-fit equipment, training aids, hospital appointments, massages, occasional meals out, and one fully deserved holiday. All this takes time, effort and expense. We have both lost a lot of weight. We are both depressed at the apparent lack of concern from the car insurance and the Social Security. We are in a constant state of stress due to constant changes in our daily or weekly programme, and the delay in settling Steven’s claim against both the car insurance and Social Security. The Social Security have actually lost Steven’s application for benefits, despite acknowledgement receipts, so we have to go through the whole procedure again. There are monthly visits to Torrevieja Court to see a Forensic Doctor who is assessing Steven’s claim against the car insurance company. Our car has suffered with excessive use, and the expensive maintenance of it. Our house needs extensive decoration and maintenance. But Steven and his treatment comes first. I have said it before, but this caring for Steven is a privilege, and we take great comfort from the knowledge that his life and ultimately ours is improving.
We think that the car insurance company are only concerned with Steven’s ability to walk. The company have totally forgotten all the other serious long term injuries particularly to his brain. We don’t even know if his injury list is complete, since we continue to find new “faults” with his body. Every doctor without fail who has seen his hospital reports and scans of his brain injuries are amazed that he is alive or even functioning as good as he is. According to them all the evidence shows that he should not be alive. This is what we were told immediately after the accident. It’s only his youth, strength, fitness, and now mental strength which has got him this far. During Steven’s recovery, just after coming out of his coma, at the Valencia hospital, a doctor from the car insurance saw him in his wheelchair and asked him to stand, which he did, with difficulty. She said that he was fine. This was before he had a hip replacement and elbow operations, and before the full extent of his injury to his pelvis was known. This was very insensitive at the time.
Steven and we worry about the future. We are both in our mid-sixties, and Steven worries about our health and what would happen to him if something happened to us. We have those same worries. We worry about Steven’s future health, whether accident related or not. There is nothing wrong with the Spanish Health system, but we worry about his future health care, since it will be impossible for him to obtain the private health insurance common to Spanish families.
We try not to be bitter about the whole injustice of this, but are so angry with many people. There are many people and organisations who have done nothing at all to help Steven or us in our hour of need, despite us supporting all manner of sponsorships, collections, and charities over many years. We have been ignored in the street, we’ve had people say hello, shake hands and walk on quickly without even acknowledging Steven, people have crossed the road to avoid us. None of this is an exaggeration. We are no different to anyone else and we have helped whenever we were able. We didn’t expect favours in return, but we now know that the “chain letter” effect doesn’t exist. On the plus side we have received incredible support from many others, including total strangers who don’t even know us let alone know Steven. This support has been wonderful and does restore our faith in people.
We are also bitter and angry with some of the medical profession. We have to bear a heavy responsibility for how we care for Steven. We do what we’re told to do, go where we’re told to go, and still the medical opinions vary so much. We don’t want to make a mistake, we have to put our faith in what we hear. It makes us shiver with fright when we think that we could have authorised the amputation of Steven’s left foot, or have other hat would have been unnecessary operations. There’s no doubt that sections of the medical profession have worked wonders, if it wasn’t for them at different hospitals Steven just would not be here now, and we’re so grateful for them. We just wish that the opinions were all the same.
This whole process has been a huge learning curve for all of us. We hope that what has happened to Steven will give some encouragement to similarly affected people. Just because someone is in a coma doesn’t mean they’re not aware of their surroundings. They may not be able to say or do anything, but Steven has proved with his memory recall that he was aware, and by recalling these things it causes distress to him. We try very hard to be positive and remember that he has improved, but it still hurts. Steven's recovery has been nothing short of remarkable. He's rarely complained, despite having good reason to do so. There's no doubt that his recovery has come from magnificent work by the health services, Steven's relative youth, his fitness, his amazing strength, mental and physical. He is without doubt a hero in our eyes. Also this story shows that recovery is possible albeit slow and long. We have hopes that Steven will regain some of his previous life, we just have to continue to be patient.
Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-85126554608606327472013-06-27T05:56:00.002-07:002013-06-27T05:56:30.122-07:0027th June 2013Steven continues with his new regime of treatment at a specialist “brain” hospital in nearby Elche. We make the 60km round-trip there twice a week for 2 hour sessions. Here they are teaching him to walk correctly. But to do so he has to “tell” each part of his body what to do. For example he has to “tell” his left foot to be flat to the floor and pointing slightly outwards, with his toes spread forward when walking. But to do this he also has to “tell” his knee to lift higher than normal, and at the same time “tell” his hip, leg, and arms what to do. He’s managing to do this, and it seems to be helping but it is very tiring. He is also being given simple mathematics to solve, and also Sudoku and Rummikub, all designed to keep the brain active. He doesn’t seem to be as angry as in the past, he actually beginning to recognise when he is being stressed and tries to control his feelings. But, he seems to be getting more forgetful and has taken to programming his mobile ‘phone for his daily routine. This forgetfulness is probably due to all the extra work he is doing at physio’ sessions, having too much to concentrate on. He and we are determined for him to regain as normal life as possible, and he and we will try anything that may help.
Best regards Terry
Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-21100410601006143152013-05-29T05:52:00.002-07:002013-05-29T05:52:43.041-07:0029th May 2013This is getting to sound like a recording on a loop, but there is little change in Steven’s overall condition. At the risk of repeating myself, it’s a long slow process. There are improvements but so small. Steven’s left arm is getting stronger, he being able to carry a fairly heavy shopping bag. However he can only do this with a bent arm. When his arm is as straight as it can be he has a lot of pain at the elbow joint. He can raise both arms high above his head, and he can scratch his back between his shoulder blades with his left arm. His left leg can now be raised almost normally, and he can bend his knee to his chest. Steven can put his shoes on much easier now because he can move his left toes a little easier. All this is showing his limitations, and then it’s just pain management. The car insurance people seem to think that because Steven can walk easier, everything is coming along fine. They seem to fail to understand the brain injury, which was extensive, and we have to keep reminding them of this. Steven still has major problems with sleeping, then rousing himself in the morning. He cannot multi-task in any shape or form. He cannot control his body temperature. He always feels hungry, but has to force himself to eat, because he doesn’t want to eat. Even he finds it difficult to explain how he feels. We still think the best expression from Steven was when he described that half of his body feels wooden and doesn’t belong to him. He has to think before he speaks to be able to formulate the words, but sometimes he mumbles or has to stop and think again. Yet strangely he seems to be more intelligent in both words used, and ideas. Beginning next week, he starts a new regime of treatment at a “brain” hospital in nearby Elche. He’s already started on a new course of pills to control his depression on the run-up to this new treatment. We all have a lot of confidence that this summer will bring about the big change we all so desperately want.
Best regards TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-26987517505782775592013-04-29T07:42:00.002-07:002013-04-29T07:42:46.907-07:0029th April 2013Hiya all
Yet again another long gap between reports. In reality, not a lot has changed. Steven has now finished his physiotherapy at San Jaime hospital, since they believe that there is nothing more they can do for him. If that is their expertise, then fair enough. But they say that he can walk properly and unaided, strictly speaking that is the truth. But in a physiotherapy room, there are flat surfaces, no obstacles, and no people to interrupt his walking. In the real world it is impossible for Steven to both walk and manoeuvre. He cannot even walk and talk at the same time, in other words he can’t multi-task. Recently Steven visited another private hospital in Elche for a new assessment, but concentrating on his brain injuries and mental capacity. This assessment proved everything that we’ve been trying to tell the San Jaime hospital, the solicitor, and the car insurance. Steven requires more therapy, but concentrating on mental agility, memory, and co-ordination. All this information is added to his Court case, as we continue to visit the forensic doctor at the local court in pursuance of his injury claim. We have all just returned from a 9 day holiday, a cruise from Barcelona, to Madeira, Tenerife, Lanzarote, and Malaga. Our first holiday for several years, and in my opinion well deserved. Steven coped admirably with the movement of the ship, however on sea days he sometimes had to walk whilst holding my shoulder due to the natural roll of the ship. On the minus side, on the ship, a lot of people were so focussed on what they were doing on board, they could see Steven the well built young man, but failed to see the walking stick, and so he was knocked several times, and often without apology. But overall, he and we had a good time, getting lost on the ship, and exploring the islands we visited. Steven took full advantage of the onboard massages, jacuzzis, and saunas. We all came back refreshed. Steven continues with his regular exercises at home, and massages now 3 times per week. This relieves muscle pain, and helps him sleep.
Best regards TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-29583650847551667962013-03-16T07:56:00.000-07:002013-03-16T07:56:11.940-07:0016th March 2013Hiya,
It seems a while since we got in touch, so here goes. Not a lot happening with Steven's treatments. There are small improvements which seem so silly but are important. For example in the last few weeks, he's been able to move his little toe, left foot, he's been able to bend his left foot comfortably to put his shoes on (that's been a nightmare for a long time, such pain!!), he's been able to scratch his back with his left hand, he's been able to kiss his knee, and this week he was able to touch his left ear with his left bicep. All these movements are showing him that his body is okay, and that he can do certain things. His body is becoming more flexible, all he has to do now is gain the confidence to do these things "normally" and without thinking. His walking is improving slightly, but he still has difficulties with uneven surfaces, and people being near him. In other words his co-ordination is still not functioning correctly. His body has really paid for that 6 months of very little movement and a further 18 months of restricted movement. He still gets stressed very easily. If we say or do anything which he doesn't like, even simple arguing between me and Pauline he gets upset, and cannot cope. If he does something silly like dropping his walking stick, that upsets him. We try to tell him that sort of thing is normal, but he replies by saying it's normal to drop something once but not 10 times a day. He gets upset most days simply due to him waking up and realising that he is incapacitated because most nights he dreams that the whole episode is a dream, and waking up brings back the reality of it all. We too are like this and hardly a day goes by when we also don't feel tearful about the injustice of it all, but we cannot show this to Steven. Steven continues to go to regular physiotherapy sessions, and also twice weekly massage sessions. It is these massages which are making the most inroads into his improvement, they benefit him greatly. He's even learned the pressure points on his ears to relieve pain, very strange. It's now been over a year since Steven was given incapacity status by the local health authority, and yet he still cannot get any sort of pension until this decision is ratified by the national health authority, such is the state of Spain's economic crisis. And there is nothing we can do about it, thousands of others are in the same position. This makes us all so frustrated and angry, since the politicians and financiers who caused this economic crisis are still sitting comfortably with their gold plated salaries and pensions.
Best regards Terry
Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-4586589288781789302013-01-25T07:26:00.002-08:002013-01-25T07:26:40.069-08:0025th January 2013Steven had an operation on his left elbow again. Originally the surgeon was hoping to do keyhole surgery, but having started the operation he found a cyst amongst the tendons. This was no doubt a major "help" towards the pain Steven was experiencing, as well as the excess calcium built up since th last operation. The surgeon therefore had to open up a bigger wound, and actually followed the first scar of the earlier operation. Wasn't a long operation, and Steven was immediately allowed home to recover. Within days he was able to use his left arm with more comfort, with only operation pain to contend with, all other pains were gone and with improved mobility of the joint. Steven has proved to be an excellent healer once again, and the bandages, dressings, and stitches were soon removed. Steven's physiotherapy sessions have been reduced, hoping that Steven will work more from home, which he does, by exercises and simply caring for himself as much as he can. He has started regular massage sessions, which are helping with all the misplaced muscles on his left side. Work continues on his neglected teeth, and the brace is certainly making a difference. The Sativex drug has finished, and although it no doubt helped with the relaxation of muscles, and pain management, Steven didn't enjoy taking the drug. He and we were told that the drug did not have all the properties of marijuana, but Steven said he did feel "spaced out" whilst taking the drug. This wasn't forecast and was just another adverse reaction from a drug. Overall the Sativex did make a difference. Steven continues to feel positive about long term recovery, but, having had a second operation on his arm, his worry now is, will other operations have to be repeated?? His walking, though improved, is causing pains to back and hips, so has returned to using his walking stick, and this has helped. Hopefully this will be a short-term measure.
Best regards TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-61281360774514474012012-12-18T08:17:00.001-08:002012-12-18T08:17:18.750-08:0018th December 2012Not a lot of changes with Steven. There are improvements so small but important. His biggest problem is the pain which is permanent, being caused mainly by false brain signals. He's tried many pills, but they either don't work or due to the amount taken, have side effects. So, following a team meeting with the main Doctors, Steven has been prescribed Sativex in a spray form. If you Google this you will see that it's the active ingredients of marijuana, and is only prescribed as a last resort. But there are many issues with this drug, and is still illegal in many places so it took time to actually get it authorised. He obtained this today so we await the results. Also the physio' team are suggesting that Steven reduce his time at the hospital. They say this is to remove the comfort blanket of hospital, and give him more confidence, and encourage him to exercise at home even more. On the face of it, this sounds a good idea, but owing to the slow process of bureaucracy here, Steven feels he is once again being abandoned and forgotten about, and this has upset him deeply. If only the banks, court, insurance, and social security just contact him to say what was happening, he would feel as if he was a person and not a number, but we're getting no information at all, and that's with the solicitor having the same problems. It really is a big thing when Steven gets upset, he doesn't eat nor sleep, and can get depressed and moody even with his close friends, thus slowing down a fragile recovery. Of course it doesn't help us either when he's in this state, it depresses us as well. Steven has continued with his dental treatment, he's had 3 teeth out, about 12 fillings and now has a brace on his lower teeth, total cost about £2,000, and more to come. We will try to claim this from the insurance because there's no doubt most of these problems were caused by being unable to clean his teeth for over 6 months. Today we learned that Steven is to have another operation on his left elbow. The calcification has returned making movement difficult, and more pain. This operation will be early in the New Year, with the pre-operation checks starting this Thursday. Steven is remaining positive. We have just had an amazing long weekend where his big brother Mark came over from UK, and with Paul, it’s the first time they were able to stand together for a very long time. They even went on the go-karts, but Steven had to stop early due to the vibration causing pain, however he did enjoy what he did, and was pleased that he was able to “drive”. This is yet another victory for him, showing that with continued progress, one day he may actually be able to drive a car on the open road. Nothing is stopping him achieve his goal of the return of normality, even if it does take a long time.
Best regards TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-59513751071929832602012-11-20T05:45:00.001-08:002012-11-20T05:45:06.016-08:0020th November 2012Over the last weekend was the first anniversary of Steven leaving hospital. It was Steven who unknowingly reminded us of this, after a friend had said to him that he looked completely different to when he last saw him a few months ago. In that year he's made remarkable progress, and it's only when people see him locally and make comment, that we realise the differences to his looks and demeanour. We see the very small differences that other people can’t see, but other people see the accumulated result of all these improvements.
One day whilst walking with Steven, and approaching someone coming the other way, Steven did a shoulder shuffle without changing his pace. A very small but important change, he's learning to do more than one thing at once. He did this without thinking, and without falling.
At physiotherapy one day, he fell on his backside, hard, on the floor, missing the protection mats. This jarred all his muscles on his left hand side, and put them into spasm, so he's been unable to go to Tai Chi for a while until it all settles down.
Steven has learned that, though he can read, he cannot read out loud, because he can only see and say about two words ahead, but ordinary silent reading he's fine. Not a huge problem, but it does show how he can't do some things together with something else. This is how he is with his Spanish/English translation, he used to be very quick, but now much slower. Things that we take for granted, he's having to re-learn everything, and there's the frustration. I honestly don't know where he gets his patience from.
Best regards TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-47748719298197970392012-10-31T02:42:00.000-07:002012-10-31T02:42:12.935-07:0031st October 2012Tonight is the 731st day, or 2 years, since Steven’s life-changing accident. In that time he has made constant, but exceedingly slow and difficult progress to regain an acceptable level of fitness and good health. From those early days at death’s door, through arduous treatments, to today’s improved mobility, it’s been an incredible journey for all of us. He remains totally determined to return as near as he can to normality. Where he is managing remarkably well, I am still finding it almost impossible to accept that the injustice of it all. I am still burning with anger and distress, despite knowing that I cannot change what’s happened. It certainly makes sense of the old adage to live life as best you can because you don’t know what’s going to happen next. All we can do is support Steven in every way that we can. He spends more and more time in his own house, cooking, cleaning, etc, and mostly enjoying his own company after so long having people around him 24/7. This is giving him limited independence, and adds to his general build-up of confidence. But that doesn’t stop us worrying about him. At times we think he’s coping with the situation far better than we are. Steven still has minor issues with his mind, in that he can get stressed and upset easily, and is frustrated that his Spanish to English translation isn’t as swift as it used to be. His speech whether Spanish or English, is improving in loudness and vocalisation, again due to his increased general confidence. One big downside is that Steven’s pain may never totally disappear due to the disrupted or broken nerve connections in his brain. In other words any pain he is experiencing “may” be coming from his brain, and not any particular part of his body, this is also very frustrating. Hopefully increased activity may help him to “forget” the pain. The hospital staff at San Jaime who have really made a difference to his current health, are pleased with his progress, and admire Steven’s conviction that one day he will be able to live life again. His daily physio’ treatment is being complimented by regular Tai Chi classes, which are helping his stature, his co-ordination and balance, and ultimately his confidence. Plans are being made to teach him to run, and enquiries are being made about him learning to drive in an adapted vehicle. When we see Steven now, walking as if with a sprained ankle or strained back, it’s difficult to realise how this has been accomplished when remembering the early days of coma, wheelchair, hoists, breathing and eating via tubes, cleaning of terrible open wounds, unimaginable pain, and the horrors of the mind. We thank all of you who have followed this story, and thank you for your continued support.
Best regards TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-61306197375513025882012-10-19T03:56:00.001-07:002012-10-19T03:56:15.898-07:0019th October 2011Hiya,
a small update on Steven's progress. Physiotherapy is still ongoing, and the Doctor's are really pleased with the amount of work Steven is putting into his recovery. He is spending more and more time on a treadmill, both freestanding and holding on. We can see the difference it makes to his walking. He's still a little stiff and unsure of himself, but we do see small improvements. Occasionally he does walk with "attitude", that is, swinging his arms and hips, but it's short-lived. He can now look around while he's walking, making it more natural, and it's better than staring at the floor all the time. He has also started lessons in Tai Chi, organised by the local council. He's only been to 2 lessons, and he finds it very rewarding and informative. Tai Chi is helping him immensely with his confidence and relaxation, and that's only after 2 lessons. Unfortunately it brings back memories of his past life as a kick-boxer. But that makes him more determined to improve. He and we have had a very busy couple of weeks, what with physiotherapy and Tai Chi, he's also had an acupuncture session, and several dental treatments. The dental treatments are needed for the amount of neglect after the accident. We were unable to clean his teeth for several months. As well as a wisdom tooth removed, he has had 3 fillings and a very painful thorough clean, needs 6 more fillings, and he's had a brace fitted to his lower teeth, which will need adjusting every month for a year. As if he hasn't had enough pain to contend with. We maintain that the damaged wisdom tooth and the subsequent dental treatment is a direct result of the accident, and have informed his solicitor accordingly.
Best regards TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-37972270667189486102012-10-01T05:41:00.001-07:002012-10-01T05:42:31.289-07:006th September 2012Hiya,
Steven continues to make excellent progress. I recently took him to England for the occasion of his Aunty Linda's and Uncle John's 40th wedding anniversary. He took a long time to decide to make this trip, after being given many opportunities to may his choice. To do the trip there were many hurdles to overcome, the trip to the airport, the trek from check-in to aeroplane, the flight, the trip from the 'plane to the car park, then the journey from the airport to Hinckley. He coped with all this admirably, with help from the airport authorities and different car drivers,(he is still nervous in a car). Only two cousins knew of the arrangement, to everyone else it was going to be totally unexpected and a complete surprise. At Hinckley he met with his elder brother, and his new 2yr old nephew (for the first time), plus cousins and friends. At a later party he met with more cousins and Aunties and Uncles and friends. Of course there were tears all round, but after a few minutes all was fine. He stayed with his cousin to give him a little independance. We did all the usual things on a short trip to UK, we went shopping, went for an Indian meal, had other family get-togethers, and visited Grandparent's graves. The journey home after only 3 days was similar with the obstacles, but again he coped. He's overcome so much in the last 22months and this trip was a huge learning curve, and a complete success. It's given him more confidence to travel and be with different people. At one point he was standing at his Aunty's house, and stood totally relaxed with his hands in his pockets, without even realising what he was doing. Again a seemingly insignifcant step, but before, he's always said that when he stand he feels wooden and can't relax, this was totally different and brilliant.
At physiotherapy, the staff are re-training him to walk properly. Previously he has been told to walk in a particular way by "kicking" his left leg forward, (remember he has to tell his body what to do), now he is being taught to raise his left knee more, and to walk slightly slower. It does make a difference. He's also been instructed in a new way of helping him talk, and that's by way of tapping a leg (or similar) at a speed corresponding to syllables, an old trick used by my late cousin who had a speech defect, to great effect.
Steven has gained enough confidence to meet up with friends for a small beach party, making light of the fact that if he fell over it wouldn't hurt so bad on sand. They were all surprised as to his improvement.
Another day whilst Steven was in town speaking to an old friend, I saw someone who I thought I recognised. I went to him, and in my poor Spanish confirmed who he was. I immediately called Steven, and this man put his hand to his head and dropped his face in disbelief. He, Ricardo, was one of Steven's nurses who looked after him in those first days after the accident, when Steven in his coma, was connected to all manner of tubes etc. The man immediately had "goosebumps" and couldn't believe the condition of Steven. Steven had no idea who he was until I told him, but after a long chat, and laughs, they parted with big hugs and handshakes, brilliant.
best regards
TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-31513157964870242752012-10-01T05:40:00.001-07:002012-10-01T05:40:00.263-07:001st October 2012Hiya,
Today is the 700th day since Steven's accident. In the early days there was much to "write" here due to the treatments and ultimately the progress of Steven. We soon began to realise that this was going to be a long haul, and this has come true. Steven is improving but slowly. Physically he seems fine, it's just a matter of his brain teaching the left side of his body to copy the right side. His determination continues.
Steven is being given different exercises to help him walk. He is spending more time on a treadmill, and is beginning to get some attitude to his walking, i.e. swinging his arms and hips, however he cannot do this for long, and can only get better. Further exercises will include walks outside the hospital on fairly rough and uneven ground. This is because Steven has made it his intention to attempt the pilgrimage walk of the Camino de Santiago. This is a long walk throughout Spain, and is in many separate stages, finishing at a Cathedral in Compostella de Santiago. Steven and his companions will attempt the final section, of about 7 daily stages, of about 20kms each. There is no target date, but the San Jaime hospital will do what they can to get him ready for this, and may in fact sponsor him to do this.
Today Steven saw the "brain" doctor, for an assessment. He was happy with Steven's progress. The doctor confirmed that a lot of Steven's problems are caused by the damage between the main sections of his brain. Basically his emotional side is working faster than the movement side. This makes Steven seem quite abrupt in his speech and actions. This is very frustrating for him. Further, the same area of damage to his brain controls the amount of pain he's receiving. Although he is in constant pain down the whole of his left side, the pain is coming from the brain, not the body. This may not be corrected, however with increased mobility, the brain may 'forget' the pain. When the doctor asked why Steven doesn't show he's in pain, Steven replied that if he did he would just give in.
best regards
Terry
Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-92098202157106645562012-08-13T06:17:00.000-07:002012-08-13T06:17:35.870-07:0013th August 2012Hiya
Another mixed bag of good and bad news. Steven has been able to squat down from a standing position and return, without holding any support. Further, he was able to walk forward, do a 360deg' turn on his right foot and continue walking, without stopping and without support. Another day whilst waiting at a lift, a lot of people came out. Now normally Steven would stand still and let the people walk past him, but this day he immediately stepped sideways to his left. The move was automatic and not planned. These actions may seem small to some people, but to us and Steven it's massive. Amongst this we had another minor crisis when Steven felt really out of sorts, not eating, not sleeping, bad dreams, dry mouth, and irritable. It was Steven himself who suspected the cause was his current set of medication, and when I read the adverse reactions, they were nearly all there. So we/he stopped taking them and within two days he was back to a more natural state. The hospital however said that it was all in Steven's mind. This annoys Steven because he then thinks he's going crazy. Yet again we await a meeting to settle this. Whatever happens he is determined not to have any more pills and do his best to put up with any pain. One worrying feature that's reared it's head is that Steven is beginning to worry about his future, especially in relation to our health. We've had to convince Steven that this is normal within any family, because no-one knows what's going to happen tomorrow. This also came at a time when a friend of ours out here sadly passed away very unexpectedly. It's at these times when we can't make our mind up whether Steven is more intelligent, or as he says, he's aware of how precious life is and he is just more grown up.
Best regards TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-7071499536455417192012-07-30T02:18:00.003-07:002012-07-30T02:18:36.918-07:0030th July 2012Hiya
Life for us is getting more manageable and easier. Whereas before we were busy, or had to be prepared to be busy, 24hrs a day, life is much simpler due to the fewer hospital appointments. Roughly our days start at 7.45am when I have to make sure Steven is awake. He has to be at the hospital for 9am, but we never know how long he'll be there, it can be anytime between 11am and 1pm, so there's little we can do in that time. Also whenever we see Steven we never know what mood he's going to be in. He has a few mental issues, in that he gets stressed and upset very easily, but he hasn't been really upset now for about a month or so. Also, we, nor he, knows what his pain level is going to be, and that depends on his sleep, his household chores, and what they do to him in physio'. Usually now, that's it, our afternoons and evenings are generally free, but we always have to be at close call for any problems. He's doing so well at looking after himself in his own house, cooking cleaning etc. But sometimes he may drop something, and we then have to convince him that we all drop things and it's not his brain damage. He's gradually growing up and becoming the young man he wants to be. It's been very strange watching him grow from babyhood again, difficult to believe but that's what it's been like. He's had crying sessions, tantrums, awkward teenager times. But now he's growing mentally, and the problem there is, that he knows how he used to be and it's upsetting him trying to be that young man again, and it may not happen, but my goodness you should see him try. His stay at the spa was a treat for himself. He took advantage of all the treatments available, full body showers, body and/or foot and/or head massage, a la carte food, and cost a bomb, but it was so much worth it. He will do it again but probably as a day treatment guest. We try to go out for meals with Steven to his favourite restaurants, this gets him used to going out and meeting/talking to different people. One particular night we went into town for a meal, as we did so he walked past many of his old haunts, and he "bumped" into over 20people who knew and worked with him. Their reactions to him were amazing, all knowing what had happened to him. It did give him a tremendous boost. But he does get stressed when there's too many people about, especially shopping. He has to be careful now that he doesn't use a walking stick, because when people see him they see a fit young man, walking slowly, with no obvious damage. He still has problems with change of direction and his balance. So we have to walk in a way that tries to protect him.
The physio' team are really helping him with new exercises, especially for his left foot. He is now able to move his foot, slightly, in all directions, this making his walk much more natural. Still slow but improving. But this is beginning to make us wonder about the many opinions we've received from different doctors, whether to remove the foot, change tendons over, operate on the ankle to make it rigid. But with his determination and the physio' things are improving. He has had another session of acupuncture, this time 24 needles. He swears that it's making a difference to his pain level and mobility. He will have more sessions, and then hopefully he won't need many more.
We are now in possession of all Steven's hospital records from immediately after the accident. Over 40pages of medical reports over a period of just a few days. The conclusion at that time was that his recovery was "improbable". Well he's proved them wrong. There are also over 2,500 x-rays and CAT scans showing incredible damage to his body. He and we have seen the breaks in his neck, ribs, hip joint, pelvis, and leg, the bleeding in his liver, and the bleeding in the brain. The damage is frightening to see, particularly the pelvis and brain. But what these records do show, is that, even though the outcome was doubtful, the hospital staff did everything in their power to "fix" him, and obviously we will be forever grateful.
best regards
TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-482319222716445491.post-3505954106088562952012-07-14T03:36:00.000-07:002012-07-14T03:36:44.213-07:0014th July 2012Hiya,
Monday evening Steven had a revision of his problems and the treatment being given especially in relation to the amount of pain he is in. After this he had an acupuncture session, where 20 needles were put on his neck, back, wrists, elbow, forehead, shins and feet. He only painfully felt one pin in his back, and one near his toes, apart from those he never felt a thing. Almost immediately he began to feel different. He was able to move his head side to side for the first time for months, and other pains were reduced. His frowning stopped and he looked fresher in his face. Overall he was pleased after the 2 hour session, at the end of which the needles just began to fall out on their own, weird. He has another session in two weeks time. This morning he was fine, having had an excellent sleep. It was obviously worth trying, and we will continue to do what we can to investigate any means of treatment.
Steven has had a good relatively pain free week, however this has allowed the physio' team to put him through extra exercises which creates their own pain, he can't win!!. His whole demeanour has changed this week, a combination of good food, the acupuncture, and the physio'. The physio' psychiatry team are also talking to him, and this has brought on new problems. When this hospital initially saw Steven's doctor's reports, they said that if they hadn't seen Steven and just relied on the reports they wouldn't have considered treating him. I think that this has brought more challenges to the hospital staff them having never been able to speak to someone who has had such catastrophic brain injuries and survived. Steven has been able to explain what he felt and experienced whilst in his coma and in PTA. This is confusing the staff and are taking literally everything that Steven says, or not understanding him at all. There's no doubt that Steven has become more intelligent, whether that's as a result of the injury, or being around intelligent people (I don't mean us I mean doctors etc in team meetings) I don't know. Steven speaks eloquently and beautifully about his experiences. This week he tried to explain that even now he still feels "wooden". It's as though his body doesn't belong to him. He knows what he has to do but has to tell his body what to do. The hospital just cannot understand this and it's causing confusion and stress for Steven. Steven explains it in this manner. If for example he needs to open a bottle he knows that the procedure is to hold the bottle with one hand, and the bottle top with the other, he then has to twist the bottle and top in different directions, using the correct amount of strength to do so. To everyone else this is simple and is as easy as going from A to B. However, Steven's brain has to tell the body to go to C then D then E then F then G before reaching B. Everything he does is the same, he knows what to do but everything is much slower due to the route that the brain takes to get the job done. This applies to speaking, walking, everything.
This is particularly frustrating to Steven when it comes to speaking. Before the accident he could, for example, listen to Spanish music or speech and instantly translate that to English. Now, he can still translate, but it's not immediate. Also when speaking Spanish he no longer has the Spanish accent, he speaks Spanish as an English person. It's the same with the English language. In Spanish, every letter in each word is pronounced, you cannot do this with the English language because there are so many English words with unneccesary silent letters, and this is now confusing Steven. To us it's as though Steven is reliving a childhood, and is learning and growing in every respect, but whereas a child has never done these things before, he has, and that's the confusion.
Steven has explained to the staff that whilst in his coma he saw "God". Steven is not religious in any way, but when in his coma, he saw a man with a long white beard and long white hair approach him and be very close to him. In not a religious way at all he could only think that he saw the popular image of God. What happened was, during the night of 6th January, one of the Three Kings in popular Spanish culture visited the patients at the hospital in way that Father Christmas visits English hospitals. One of these Three Kings is black, and Steven gave the staff that King's name by mistake, which the staff immediately thought that Steven's God was black. This created so much confusion to the point of upsetting Steven. He was able to explain it correctly, but we fear now that incorrect facts have been written about him in his hospital file, which I must address.
It's frightening to think what people in comas could be experiencing. Steven was able to see, hear, and think, but was unable to do anything about what he was experiencing. Steven is living proof that family and friends, and even hospital staff must be aware that coma patients are indeed very much aware of their surroundings.
This weekend Steven and us have confident enough to allow Steven to have 3 days at a local Hotel and Spa. Hopefully this will give him extra confidence. He will be in his own room with a different view, eating top quality food, and having all manner of treatments including jacuzzi, hot and cold baths, and massages, all in a tranquil atmosphere. He's only a few miles away and we can be there in 15 minutes if he needs us.
best regards
TerryWeb Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17784045225778246476noreply@blogger.com0