3 Months on

I had a lovely week with Val last week although the weather prevented too many outings. On Friday afternoon I had the best physio session I have had to date. Unfortunately this was not with my regular physio and I don't want to offend anyone by requesting a change! We also tried the circulation booster on my feet but only cranked it up to 40. One of the nurses here has tried the machine on 80 and it made her legs jump off altogether so I don't think I'll try it that high. It was great to see Darrel on the weekend, he got pulled up by airport security for having three mud crabs in his hand luggage but they let him through when they were assured that the crabs were dead...very tasty they were too. Daz also charmed some of the other patients and nursing staff with crab and avocado biscuits, he is very popular in PAH:-) Yesterday we had the family meeting with the doctors, physio, OT, social worker and nurses. Doctor Polly Tsai gave a full description of my injuries and subsequent treatment and a preliminary estimate of my release date (20/11/12). After this I will proceed to transitional accommodation in Brisbane for 4 to 8 weeks before returning home to Townsville. During this time I will probably enroll in the Walk On program http://scia.org.au/walk-on . The assessment of my apartment by the Townsville OT rep indicates it is very unlikely that the existing access could be made suitable for wheelchairs. Norm is going to get Jon Larrazzabel from www.i4architecture.com.au to do up some sketches of an alternative access, this would be via a catwalk ,from the garage, across the roof of the rear building to my apartment building and a lift through the roof into my place. It should be really fun to see what response this elicits from the heritage building commission, Townsville City Council and the body corporate and any further response from the disability discrimination act enforcers:-) Realistically it is unlikely that I will be able to return to my apartment in the near future so Ky, Val and Darrel are looking at other options for me, including The Dalgeyy, Altitude, Mariners Peninsula etc. I wonder how much money the bank will lend me when I am on a disability pension? Some of the good news is that the MRI report was able to diagnose both shoulders with bursitis, the bad news is that the recommended treatment is a guided cortisone injection in each shoulder. I had so hoped for a magic pill instead! Will let you know how it goes. Some of you may be interested to know that my blog has been blocked in China (just like Facebook). Unfortunately I doubt this means I can sell it for billions of dollars! Instead I have decided to pursue a career in politics, as the new member for Dobell as I am inherently crooked (I cannot sit straight in the wheelchairs). I am sure either major party would be pleased to have me:-) I have decided to take out third party insurance for my future power chair given my progress in learning to drive it. It will be interesting to find out what premium I will be charged. Ky has figured out a way that I can use my kindle withou needing the use of my hands to turn the pages. This is great news as the new Charlaine Harris book is out so please don't expect any more logs in the near future:-). Love to you all, JB

PS. Ron has uploaded the following MRI pics...