Hi all, I finally got to visit Adam tonight, it's been a long wait for various reasons but it was quite an occasion.
It was a strange feeling going in as I was a little nervous about what state he would be in, but I was also extremely confident about Adam's resolve & strength - I know Adam very well & I know how strong he is, even when I first heard the news about what had happened & he was given a 10% chance of surviving, I genuinely thought "that's ok, that's all he needs".
So, Adam has now been moved out of a high dependancy ward, onto a 'normal' ward, there is still a risk of cross-infection so hygiene controls have to be adhered to. So gowned & gloved up, me & Katie went in there & I've got to say, he looked pretty flipping good considering!
We had already been told he'd had a hard day of therapy, activity & stimulation & so would be tired & not to expect too much.
Me & Katie sat either side of his bed & talked to him about random stuff like we normally would, I was sat on his right & Katie on his left. At first I held his left hand & was definitely getting squeezing responses, his eyes were also moving beneath his eyelids & at various times he was definitely trying to speak, he obviously couldn't but there was a lot going on with his lips you could just tell. He was trying so hard, his face was sweating.
I then took his right hand & Katie had his stronger left while we did some arm movement exercises for him. I was a little concerned because his right arm & hand was completely lifeless & had been all the time, I was asking him to focus on it but getting no response.
As we were saying our goodbyes, I leaned into him & told him how proud I was of him, to stay strong & to keep fighting it - at which point Adam lurched his whole upper body towards me leading from his right shoulder & arm. It was amazing & totally took me by surprise. It must have taken a supreme effort.
I spoke to the nurse afterwards & she said that he needs to be responding directly to commands about specific movements, but nevertheless, I know Adam & this was a definite connecting moment between us. I know he wants to communicate & could almost sense his frustration but he certainly communicated as we were leaving. It's only just hit me what an intense moment it was.
I've been proud of him throughout this & I'm still proud of him, Adam is a fighter & I've always believed in him. He's gonna get though this.
It was a strange feeling going in as I was a little nervous about what state he would be in, but I was also extremely confident about Adam's resolve & strength - I know Adam very well & I know how strong he is, even when I first heard the news about what had happened & he was given a 10% chance of surviving, I genuinely thought "that's ok, that's all he needs".
So, Adam has now been moved out of a high dependancy ward, onto a 'normal' ward, there is still a risk of cross-infection so hygiene controls have to be adhered to. So gowned & gloved up, me & Katie went in there & I've got to say, he looked pretty flipping good considering!
We had already been told he'd had a hard day of therapy, activity & stimulation & so would be tired & not to expect too much.
Me & Katie sat either side of his bed & talked to him about random stuff like we normally would, I was sat on his right & Katie on his left. At first I held his left hand & was definitely getting squeezing responses, his eyes were also moving beneath his eyelids & at various times he was definitely trying to speak, he obviously couldn't but there was a lot going on with his lips you could just tell. He was trying so hard, his face was sweating.
I then took his right hand & Katie had his stronger left while we did some arm movement exercises for him. I was a little concerned because his right arm & hand was completely lifeless & had been all the time, I was asking him to focus on it but getting no response.
As we were saying our goodbyes, I leaned into him & told him how proud I was of him, to stay strong & to keep fighting it - at which point Adam lurched his whole upper body towards me leading from his right shoulder & arm. It was amazing & totally took me by surprise. It must have taken a supreme effort.
I spoke to the nurse afterwards & she said that he needs to be responding directly to commands about specific movements, but nevertheless, I know Adam & this was a definite connecting moment between us. I know he wants to communicate & could almost sense his frustration but he certainly communicated as we were leaving. It's only just hit me what an intense moment it was.
I've been proud of him throughout this & I'm still proud of him, Adam is a fighter & I've always believed in him. He's gonna get though this.
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