Boxing Day

Last night after our Christmas lunch, we spent a long time with Jim. He appeared to be in some pain, and so the "pain team" at Auckland hospital assessed his levels of pain medication. Last night he also had a CT scan to see whether his discomfort was being caused by any new bleeds in the brain.

This morning at midday we met with the neurological registrar who told us that the scans looked good and that the bruising on some of the frontal part of Jim's brain had appeared to go down. There was no sign of further bleeding. The doctors has also decided to monitor his pain levels more closely, and try and calm Jim down with some anti-convulsant medication. The problem with too much pain relief is that it might delay the recovery process, not to mention the risk of morphine addiction. It was a good meeting, and reassured Brigie and me that Jim was in capable hands.

This evening's visit was also reassuring. Jim was asleep when we arrived, but woke after about 15 minutes. He was very agitated at first, but we seemed to establish a connection with him that was absent last night. It was almost as if he had finally found the resources to pull himself together and face the ordeal ahead. Now instead of writhing in discomfort he squeezed a rubber ball, and controlled his limbs. We are very proud of his courage.

Signs of Jim's affectionate personality are also emerging momentarily through these difficult sessions, and they renew our confidence that he will recover.