Train/Bus/Taxi and Dentist

Janet's blog
What a big day! Stuart was dressed and in his wheelchair at 10.15 when Chandanni and I arrived. We headed off to Chatswood walking down the hill to St Leonards Station.

Suddenly the camber of the footpath and the gradient are of importance. A bit like on the bike, a slight increase in the gradient means a big increase in the effort needed to climb it(chair or bike) the train trip was good, the station staff getting the ramp that allowed Stuart and John to get onto the train. We used the the lifts to get to and from the platforms.





Once we got to Chatswood we were allowed to explore on our own, check out the floor plan, where the lifts were etc. Stuart did some shopping and Chandanni and I tagged along. We caught up with Alanna and the rest of the gang in the food court for lunch, Stuart had a McDonalds burger....shame on him!!! The return journey was by bus, perhaps not quite as easy as the train. But certainly easier for Stuart in the manual chair, was much harder for John to park the electric chair in the allocated space and keep out of the way of other passengers.



We arrived back in time for Stuart to attend the 2pm physio session.....he enjoyed some time on the plinth laying on his back and then his tummy prior to us heading off to the Dentist. We then said good-bye to Chandanni and got the taxi to To Mosman for our appointment. Stuart enjoyed the trip in the taxi today, seemed to feel more secure and relaxed, plus the taxi driver and Stuart talked about rabbits,crows and shooting.
The Dentist was fantastic, Stuart can now smile-he removed the broken part of the tooth and a temporary cap/filling has been formed over the exposed nerve and what remains of the tooth. We have another appointment later next week.
Jess and Tom caught up with us along Military Road, we did a spot of shopping for Stuart's new room mate who is from Coffs Harbour and then caught a cab back to RNS.
I left Stuart tucked up in bed eating his evening meal and checking out Jess and Tom's photos from New Zealand.

Stuart's blog
Today was a bit hectic in the morning as we had to be ready to go at 10:30 to Chatswood. It was so good to be outside again, and Alanna took the tippy bars off so I free to do as many wheelies as I liked! We headed down the hill to the train station in St Leonards, where I learnt how to inform the guards that I need a ramp and to make sure they know where I'm going so they can be ready with the ramp at the other end. Otherwise I'm stuck on the train until it reaches the end of the line...

Once off the train it was a nice downhill run to the Westsfield where Mum, Chandanni and I were let loose on the mall. We headed Myer where I bought a nice set of Bose headphones which will knock out all the outside sounds in the ward and I'll be right to sleep now. It was good to learn how to navigate around the mall, having to dodge signs and other people and trying to get sales staff to see me. We then headed to the food court where I felt the urge for McDonalds for some strange reason. One thing I found difficult to get my head around was not being able to see anyone. Going from being 6 ft tall to about 5 makes it really hard! We then headed back up to learn how to use the bus as a mode of transport. Whilst waiting for the bus a man rolled past in a very flash looking wheelchair. I watched him get into the bus, he just lifted his front wheels up then grabbed the handles inside the door and just pulled himself into the bus. Bring on the time I'm able to do that, I think I need to lift a few more weights to get there. The bus ride was as you would expect, like riding on a bus, just that I brought my own chair.



When we got back to the hospital I headed around to the gym for physio. Alex rigged me up on the plinth so I could do some more work on my leg muscles. She asked me if I could move any more muscles, when asked to move my toes they responded! It was such a relief, unfortunately I was not able to get them to move for mum when she came back. But they moved so I can move them again. After physio I had a dental appointment, another taxi ride, this time I knew what to expect and rather enjoyed rocking around in the back of the van. The dentist was so good, really helpful for me in the wheelchair, much better than I expected. He pulled out the chipped section of my front tooth, he said the tooth was still intact in my gum, which is good news. All I'll need is some route canal therapy and then a crown, much better than a bridge or a plate. He also covered my tooth so I can now eat food without having to cut it up into little bits which is such a relief.



Jess and Tom met Mum and I up towards Spit road where we did a bit of lolly shopping for me and mum got some toiletries for Nathan, a new bloke who only came in at 10:30 last night from Coffs and had nothing with him, bit like me when I first came to RNS. Jess and Tom stayed for a bit at the hospital showing me the photos of their trip to NZ snowboarding.