Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club

They've shaved his beard off too.

The bleeding has stopped and he has some bruising on the brain in a couple of places - at the point of impact on his temple and at the base of the spine.

Thanks for the updates. in relation to the above, did you mean base of skull?

Oops! I meant top of the brain stem.

Neither Christian nor I have locks either. Perhaps we can get a table out the front so we can all ogle our bikes?

Or continue giving me grief over my handlebar width or lack thereof.

Greg remains unconscious in ICU….still. He has had the pressure gauge (or whatever it’s called) removed from his head as the Drs believe swelling is no longer an issue.

Tash and Sue have been quite “assertive” in their quest to wake him up. They have managed to get him to open his eyes on a number of occasions and lift his hand upon request.

The bruising in his brain remains and I’m told is an impediment to him waking. I’m not sure what the expected timeframe for this resolving is.
The care Greg is receiving appears to be first class, he has a nurse standing at the end of his bed 24 hours a day – he’s in good hands.

Thanks for the dozens of offers of help including someone who offered to take his boat out on the harbour to make sure it’s ok and an attractive petit blonde lady who offered to read him 50 Shades of Grey.

I believe we have the meals sorted for this week.

Greg remains unconscious in ICU but is making progress.

Yesterday he opened his eyes for a few seconds and was able to focus on Sue. Sue was also able to communicate with him via hand-squeezes. “Are you in pain? One squeeze for yes, two for no”. She received two squeezes.

There was also positive news from the Neurologist who felt that the scans suggest the areas of his brain that affect personality and intellect appeared to be uninjured. He is likely to have some mobility issues on his left side but this can be improved with physio.

He’s likely to be taken off intubation and given a tracheotomy. Apparently this is an improvement though it doesn’t sound like one. Intubation should happen for only 7-10 days otherwise it can cause damage and increase the chance of infection.

He will still be assisted with his breathing via the tracheotomy but he will be moved off ICU and into a high care ward.

On the downside he has a bit of temperature which isn’t ideal, they’ve taken blood tests to see what the problem is. Greg apparently tried to kick the Dr in the head when he stuck the needle in – good to see he’s still making friends and influencing people.

He is still wearing a neck brace. They have scanned his neck and think it’s uninjured but as he can’t give them feedback re pain etc they are taking a final set of comprehensive images. Once the radiographer has looked at the images and given the all clear they can remove the brace.

Greg remains largely unconscious in ICU.

He has opened his eyes on a couple of occasions for a minute or 2 and his eyes follow the nurse around the room. He has been able to answer questions using hand squeezes such as “ How many kids do you have?” and “ Let me know when I say your address”.

He’s still struggling with his breathing. This is related to the injury to brain stem area which controls the core functions of the body. As such he’s had a tracheotomy today which should make him more comfortable – the breathing tube now comes out of a hole in his neck rather than his mouth.

His temperature is back to normal which is good.

I’m picking up his Mother-in-law from the airport today – that should encourage him to get better.

More updates as they come to hand

Might I say, I don't know how all these people who can't cook manage to get a quality diet to keep riding!

Not too much of an update today.

Greg had his tracheotomy yesterday. It’s a fairly invasive procedure so he was heavily sedated when I saw him yesterday. After all the acrobatics he put on for everyone else over the last few days I was expecting a good show but he just did the lying still routine.

He looks much more comfortable without the tubes in his mouth and Sue seems quite upbeat.

I just spoke to Sue and it would appear Greg has emerged from the coma…..

He stays awake for a few minutes then falls asleep again but was awake for about half the morning. He has been looking around the room, checking out his scabby knees, trying to sit up for a hug and a kiss, trying to speak (not a good idea when there’s a tube in your throat) and even having a crack at smiling. Sue hasn’t seen the Dr but she was over the moon. Greg almost broke Sue’s hand when she asked if he wanted to see Chloe.

He’s also off the respirator.

It’s been a good morning with a tear or 2 shed around here….

Have a good weekend

Paul

Greg is making progress, it’s slow progress but he’s heading in the right direction.

He’s had a number of visitors over the last couple of days with those that see him early in the day feeling he’s making wonderful progress and those that see him later in the day feeling he’s closer to the description I gave earlier in the week. I think that during the recovery from such a massive injury he will get tired easily and perhaps this shouldn’t be a great surprise.

So on Tuesday he was given an Ipad and after a few unsuccessful efforts he typed his first word……………Coke. He hasn’t had a drink for 3 weeks and is desperately thirsty.

On Thursday, despite have the tracheotomy still he was able to say a few words and could follow conversation. He did drift in and out a little bit but was I’m reliably informed that when given the form guide and asked to pick a winner “He verbally picked number 4 (Human League) , but declined to pick the first in Goulburn as he would "have to research",”. Human League was scratched.

He was also sitting in a supportive chair yesterday morning and the nurses stood him up and whilst heavily supported took a step or 2.

He has also been taken off all oxygen for increasingly long periods of time. Hopefully the tracheotomy will come out on Monday and he can have a drink.

On the downside, he’s still very uncomfortable and still has very limited facial expressions and limited movement on his left side.

It’s also likely that he has post-traumatic amnesia so is quite confused at times which must be quite distressing for him. This is apparent in nearly all head injuries and should improve over a 2-3 week period.

The hospital have indicated that he’ll start physical therapy next week which is great news.

That’s about it. Thanks to all who have visited, I’ll try and accommodate those of you who’ve requested visits ASAP, it will be easier when he’s out of the High Dependency Ward.

Have a nice weekend, I’ll update you next week.

Greg has been transferred from St George Hospital to Royal Ryde Rehab Hospital today. So that’s a pretty speedy transition through ICU, High Dependency, Neuro Ward and onto the rehab hospital – he’s only been awake for 16 days.

He continues to make good progress. He can almost walk unassisted – not very far, but considering he could barely move his left leg or arm 2 weeks ago this is really great. His speech and vocabulary are pretty good – a bit slurry, he sounds likes he had a few but not completely drunk. He can read but struggles to concentrate so anything more than a card is too much for him at the moment. He still comes up with some crazy stories – on Saturday he claimed he played for the NQ Cowboys and also rang Sue to let he know he was stuck in a Korean hotel and needed someone to come and get him. Overall his cognitive ability has a long way to go but is improving.

He hates being in the hospital and is bored and sick of lying in bed. I think he’s feeling a bit down in the dumps (who could blame him) but hopefully the move to a hospital where they will be more focused on setting him some goals rather than waiting for him to improve will improve his mood.

Before Greg crashed his bike, he was training for the 3 Peaks ride, 230kms over Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and some other big mountain. The ride was yesterday and Simon Hogg and Dave Langley rode in his honour. They tied some of Greg’s shredded cycling jersey from his crash to their bikes. Despite record temperature David finished in less than 9 hours and Simon finished in an Ambulance. Simon did manage to complete over 200km but he was dehydrated and vomiting continually and ended up on a drip. I have now banned all Balance Recruitment employees from riding bikes.

I’ll give you an update tomorrow once I’ve visited Greg tonight. He should be able to receive flowers, cards, mags, coke, beer etc in the Hospital. I’ll confirm tomorrow.

Greg is now ensconced in Royal Ryde Rehab Centre. I believe it’s Sydney oldest building or maybe the interior designers went for a Dickensian theme.

Apart from the décor the place is great. He has a full program of Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Physio, Counsellors. There is even a Karaoke Group to help with speech and a breakfast club where he has to help cook once a week.

His improvement over the last few days has been outstanding. The delusions are going, only once in 3 hours did he get really confused – “how was your flight from France?”. And he’s starting to become aware of his situation. He feels bad about putting Sue through a rough time, can’t believe he almost died, wants to know about work and asks about his insurance policies. This is a massive change from the garbled gibberish of 2 weeks ago. I even asked him some work questions (how much should this person get paid? What’s the difference between these two jobs?) and he was able to answer correctly. He also still knows all the words to “Bust a Move”.

He can walk, not in a straight line, but he can walk. Not bad after a month in bed. His legs are now skinny like a chicken.

He saw the Dr when I was there. He examined Greg and choosing his words very carefully said “it’s very likely you’ll make quite a good recovery”. That’s sounds quite promising.

If you want to send him something the address is:

Chicken Legs Pankhurst
Room 8
Brain Injury Ward
227 - 259 Morrison Road
Ryde 2113

Due to his injury he can’t drink alcohol for a year (yes a year) so please don’t send him any beer – even if I did suggest it would be a good idea in my last email.

He’s only allowed 2 people in his room at once but they do allow him to escape into the grounds where he can hang out with larger groups. Hours are 3 to 8 on weekdays and 10 to 8 on weekends.

Please let me know if you want to visit and I’ll try and make sure it’s not a feast and famine for him.