Spinal team meeting

Balancing skills, pick up the peg and peg it on the rack(photos in reverse order)





Tuesday 30th June.
We started our day with a meeting with the Spinal Team which consists of Dr Bowers,Alex from physio, Alanna from occupational therapy, Catherine the social worker and Lucy a Clinical nurse specialist.It was an informative meeting looking at how Stuart's journey had began with his accident, the surgery and where we go from RNS, to the rehab centre in Ryde.......the time frame for this is anywhere from 6 to 8 months or more.They are very happy with Stuart's progress so far.
At 2pm we went around to physio. Stuart spent most of the session working on his balance as his knee was still to sore and swollen, he was also hindered by the IV cannula near his elbow that made it difficult to bend his arm. He is really happy that he can now transfer (with a little help from the nurses)from the bed into his wheelchair and does not have to use the patient lifter/hoist.Alex was unhappy with the placement of the cannula and had it removed when we returned to the ward, will be replaced tomorrow as/if needed.
Nandi and I headed home early to do some shopping for Stuart!!!! And he had some younger visitors, Meaghan after work and Brett from Wagga who was in town for Tafe classes.

Stuart and Nandi

Rest Day

Monday 29th June.
No outing to Chatswood today as Stuart's right knee was blown up like a balloon and very painful. He was unable to bend his knee and therefore not allowed up today. He had 20mls of fluid drained from the knee under ultra sound. They feel he may have twisted his knee when transferring to and from bed and he has started on an anti-inflammatory medication.
The girls were happy with his wound today and he now no longer needs to have a dressing on the suture line.
Nandi, his Grandmother and I flew back today with Rex and I was amazed at how good Stuart looked. He appears to have put on a little weight and his colour had definitely improved AND he was in great spirits.
He also had a visit from Peter and Kian from Canberra.




Stuart having his ventolin nebulizer with his new beanie!!!!!!

Rest day

Sunday 28th June
Quieter day today, with no outdoor adventures but lots of visitors."Pink" has brought a few friends to the city......AND as well to see STUART. Cousin Luke and Sarah as well as Alex and Emily (all from Wagga) found their way to 7D. Jess flew in from Wagga Wagga and she and Tom from Tamworth had lunch with Stuart, once again dining on the fine cuisine for the kitchen at 24 Keston Ave. They then went up to the 12th floor to check out the view over the city and Darling Harbour.
The temperature continues to fluctuate and Stuart has a sore, swollen right knee which will hopefully settle.

My first offical outing

Saturday 27th June
Hey Mum,

        I had a great day today, Dave came up from Wollongong at lunch time and didn't leave until 9pm.Tom and Marg also came for a few hours which was nice. Tom asked me a serious question today, he asked "how did you manage to last 20 hours?". I thought for a minute or two and just said, "I knew that I would be found, I had a goal that day to crawl to the road, try and get near the bike no matter what. I was not going to spend another night outside! I kept thinking postive like I am now, I know I'll walk out of this hospital". We then ventured down to the AFL oval on the hospital grounds where we just caught the last few minutes of Ben's game, but stayed to watch 1st grade play. We then made our way back up to the hospital and got a coffee downstairs. By the time we all finished coffee's it was dinner time, I transfered my self back into bed and managed to get my own shoes and pants off which was such a great feeling. We sat watching Slumdog Millionair whilst waiting for the France Vs Aus game to start, Dave stayed until half time It was good to have him here today. I spiked another tempreture again, hit 39.2 degrees tonight, but I still feel ok, no headache or high blood pressure, Hamish the good doc came and checked on me, said it could be my bodies tempreture control not quite working as it should. He said it starts at the top of your spine and runs the whole way down the spine. He also said that he has never seen it before, but his boss has seen it in other patients so hopfully its that. They are going to take blood again in the morning to run more tests. I hope they can work out what it is soon.

Physio and Outdoor skills

Friday 26th June

Change of routine today. Stuart went to physio at 11am so that the girls and Iain could come along as well. They were amazed at the variety of exercises and equipment that the physios had the patients working on and how hard many simple things that we do daily become so difficult when you have lost that balance, muscle control and and strength from your waist down. Things like touching your toes and undoing your shoe laces when sitting in a chair,dressing yourself, rolling over in bed, getting in or out of bed/chair....the list just keeps going. Today Stuart managed to transfer from the plinth to his wheelchair without the slide board. He also got onto his hands and knees with some help from Alex, he was able to balance himself for a short period. Alex then put an exercise ball under his abdo...he was drapped over the ball This exercise he found to be a little painful on his ribs. He seems to enjoy any position that gets him off his back
We then ventured downstairs for some lunch together prior to the girls and I heading home to Wagga Wagga. I felt quite sad leaving and strange leaving him, we have had quite a journey over the last week or so. It will be great to get home and spend some time with the girls and of course Muscles the dog.
Stuart's bit
It was good to get out side today with Alanna, she taught Dad and I how to roll down gutters and how to get back up, we worked well as a team. Soon Alanna is going to look at my wheel chair and see how she can make it easier for me to push up hills and balance on two wheels. Once you master that you can go anywhere!!!!
Well I'm off to bed now, spiked another temperature......

Long day at the office

Thursday 25th June

Thursday started much the same with a shower etc. He was then seen by his Doctor and is to start on another IV antibiotic tonight to try get on top of the fevers at night, he feels the infection is in his chest.Stuart not overly enthusiastic at he thought of another cannula.
We then had a surprise visit from Rodney and Mary(from Newcastle). Rodney and I left them and wandered down to St Leonards station for a coffee. Stuart got himself around to physio after the 1.30 lift round, but got caught short and had to go back to the ward and get transferred onto the commode. After along sit he eventually got back into his chair but he missed both physio and his OT appointments.
We had a consult with the dietician. This was very successful as he will go onto a full diet and increase his calorie and protein intake. She informed Stuart that his seruum(blood level) protein was low.He will now get more options on his menu and between meal snacks, plus protein drinks.
Amy arrived from Woollongong and we headed downstairs for a smoothie, but alas he had to scoot back up stairs again and transfer to the commode, he is thinking that he might reduce his aperients to once a day.
Iain , Jessica and Maggie arrived from Wagga Wagga at 5ish and we had a lovely hour together.We left him ready to settle for the night. The girls and Iain keen to join Stuart at physio tomorrow morning.

Stuart moves a muscle

Our day started with an 11.30 appointment with Catherine Stuart's social worker. We covered lots of topics and discussed many options available for Stuart in the future. She also gave us the paperwork to complete to get Stuart registered with Centrelink.
He was then seen by Joanna Diong a PhD student who is doing a study into muscle/tendon contracture and stiffness following a spinal cord injury. She confirmed that he has very stiff hamstrings.......Iain will enjoy helping him stretch them while he is here over the weekend.
At 2pm we headed around to physio where Stuart transfered onto the flat bed (known as plinth) and spent 15 minutes moving himself around the edge. Lifting each leg along and then moving his bottom through and trying to keep his balance. Stuart then told Alex about the controlled contraction all be it small that he could do with a muscle in his right groin. Alex was very excited with this and promptly got him on his back and suspended his leg so that he work on the muscle and move his leg inwards...make it rock. He also did this with the right leg and had a little movement there as well. He then spent some time on his tummy, the first time since his accident. The last time he did this was when he was lying on the side of the road. His six pack is on its way back, he can tighten his abs a little.
He the continued around to OT to work with Alanna on his transfers to and from the chair to the plinth. He also worked on rolling over in bed and getting into a frog position which will enable him to dress himself in bed.
All and all we have had a great day, finished off with carbonara brought in for us by Meaghan and we are watching the State of Origin.
Amy has just come and taken Stuart's temperature and it is 39, he had a septic workout at 6pm when his temp was 38.3. This involves being reviewed by a Dr, blood cultures, urine for culture. the funny thing is he feels Ok, did not even feel like he had a temp.

Tuesday the 23rd.
My day started a little earlier as I met Annette Links at St Leonards Station at 10am for a catch up and cuppa. Stuart's day started with a chest Xray, followed by lunch and then up out of bed at the 1.30 lift round. getting faster in the wheelchair each day, I am now having to walk quickly to keep up. We then went to physio and today Stuart spent 30 minutes on an arm weights machine and then transferred himself with minimal assistance to do some more balancing exercises, playing catch and then learning to lean forward without overbalancing and touch the floor. A rather difficult exercise at the moment. The highlight of Stuart's day the news that he no longer has to have the IV cannula and he has started on oral antibiotics. They had 3 painful goes at resiting the cannula this afternoon and he was not a happy camper. He got back to bed at 4.30 and is now enjoying his evening meal (a curry).....yet another from the kitchen at 24 Keston Ave.

Janet Hume

The first two weeks.

On Saturday the 6th of June Stuart came off his motorbike at 2pm on the Junee to Wantabadery Rd. He was returning from Junee to the finish line after doing corner duty in Junee for the McDonald's Cycle Classic.

He was found by Alanna, who saw his motorbike and thought they should check to see if all was okay. Stuart was found at 11am on Sunday morning he had spent 20hrs alone at the side of the road. Unable to move his legs, with no mobile service, neither 000 or 112 working. He spent the night watching the moon cross the nights sky and waiting for the rain showers to get a drink, unable to hail the passing cars.

He was transferred to WWBH and then onto RNS (Royal North Shore) spinal unit in Sydney by air ambulance.

CT and MRI scans showing that he had thoracic vertebra fractures. Also fractured ribs which resulting in a collapsed lung requiring a chest drain, which was more painful than the fractured vertebra.

At 0800 Monday the 8th Stuart went to theatre for a spinal fusion and bone graft. The surgery went very well and he was back on the word by 2pm. Iain, Maggie and Jess came from Wagga Wagga and Newcastle that day.

Amy was able to come up Stuart's friends David and Andrew from Wollongong on Tuesday. It was great to have the family together for a few hours.

Our phones were running hot with calls from family and friends - thanks to all! Also thanks for the meals and offers of help back in Wagga Wagga.

Over the next week Stuart progressed really well, had his wound drains and chest tube removed and was able to shower on a shower bed by Saturday. He remained NBM(nil by mouth) only allowed ice to suck until the weekend when he commenced on clear fluids......he enjoyed his first meal on Monday just so much, he was starving and was over jelly big time.

Tuesday the 16th Iain and I were here to see Stuart get up in a chair - he had a massive head spin, which settled quite quickly and is common especially for lanky young men. We then rolled around the ward to the physio in the wheelchair and occupational therapy unit to see what happens and get a feel for the place. He managed to stay up for 40 minutes.

Wednesday Stuart showered himself on a shower chair and then got up at 1:30pm and we ventured to the physio room for a 40 minute workout with passive leg pedaling, arm weights exercises and arm pedaling machine. The chair he was in had a high back and I had to wheel him - no independence yet. We ventured downstairs for a coffee on Thursday after he got fitted for a self propelled wheelchair. Not easy as he was too tall for most of the chairs.

He went for a VQ scan (nuclear isotopes injected into the body to check the lung function, picked up on a special camera) as he had some chest pain and a temperature on Wednesday night. Scan was clear, he is have antibiotics intravenously for a chest infection.

On Friday Stuart got up back to physio with Tristan to do some balancing exercises and ball games - catch Stuart catch.

The three of us then escaped into the great outdoors and went around the block and found an old cometary nearby! He managed over 3 hours in the chair - A great effort

Saturday Stuart was up and 12:15 and had his first meal out of bed at a table with friends from Wagga. There was no physio over the weekend but we had lots of visitors from Wagga Wagga, Canberra and locals to keep us both busy.

Today Monday, another good day visitors in the morning from Newcastle and then up at 1:30 for physio. Stuart Did some transfers from chair to exercise table, balancing skills with peg board and 2kg medicine ball and then the highlight PING PONG against Alison with ball girls. We had to a visit to Occupational Therapy to set his programme for the next week. Stuarts Number 1 goal is to be able to transfer from bed to a chair, to give him some independance. We then went the hairdresser and he looks like a new man, even the nurses think he looks very dapper. He continues his IV antibiotics and nebulizer, awaiting a chest x-ray, hopefully the chest infection is clearing up.

Janet Hume