Gerard is out of hospital

Last Monday 31st August it was a year ago that Gerard was admitted to ICU at the Austin hospital following his week in ICU at the Alfred. It has been a long and challenging year (plus a week!) and Monday was the day he finally left our Austin family to go and live at VASS. Exactly one year to the day since his arrival there. How weird!

The team were sad and happy to see him go. (there were tears and a fabulous group photo- see attached, Gerard1) We popped back in there today to say farewell to some we didn’t get to see before leaving. What we thought would be half an hour took 2 and a half hours as they came from everywhere to see Gerard. It was like a celebrity had arrived. They are missing this music (played in the morning during the shower routine which most days had them singing and/or dancing) Gerard and his brain teasers and his company. He was often a confidential ear for many of the staff and has certainly made a mark on many- one commented that he had reignited her passion and helped her remember the reason she went into nursing in the first place.

Three nights down at VASS and so far so good. I stayed in the room next door for the first two nights and we both slept really well. It is so quiet and in the morning you can hear birds, and see trees (and not hear MET calls and see concrete) Gerard’s room has been painted in the colour of his choice and is now all set up with his furniture. The carers cook whatever he wants to eat whenever he wants, so we shop and put the ingredients in his fridge and then leave it to them. I stayed for dinner last night and they even cooked for me- a very nice treat and delicious too. There are 3 others that live in the house with him- all aged between 20 and 29- so dinner time in the dining/lounge area is filled with chatter as there are also 4 carers there as well.

It is such a far cry from where we were 12 months ago when Gerard’s heart would stop each time they turned him! He recently did the ASEA test again where they test for movement and feeling. Last year he scored 0, this year he scored 4… so he is heading in the right direction. He now has a small amount of movement in his right thumb and fingers and feeling down to his collar bone on his left side. He has spent a lot of time working on this and we work on moving his hands and fingers every day. Who knows where that will go? Worth a shot we have decided.

All things being equal, Gerard shouldn’t have survived (when you hear of people who die from smoke inhalation that couldn’t be revived) It is just amazing that he is still here given the extent of his injuries. We are forever grateful to Hugh and Helen and Emma for jumping the fence. The CFA, SES, Eltham Police and Ambos for arriving as quickly as they did and for reviving Gerard. Professor Pilcher and his team at the Alfred, Dr Steve Hill, Rita our social worker (who would not take no as an answer to Gerard not being able to go to VASS) and the entire team of nurses, spinal technicians, physios, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, who work in the Spinal unit (3 North) at the Austin. They have done an awesome job on getting Gerard to where he is today. And thank you to you all for your support which has come to us in so many different ways. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We think you are all awesome too.

Our next challenge is to get the internet connection sorted- just 10 days in the making so far- and Gerard will be back on the air and doing some more work- with fewer interruptions (they don’t take obs at his new place and no one comes into his room unless they are invited)

His latest article in Faculty magazine has been released : http://pub.lucidpress.com/FACULTY_VOL2_ISSUE2/#mqL46GRPKQU4

And our first training video which we made with the Austin speech pathologists is also almost complete and we are all booked ready to film the second video in the series. So in true Gerard spirit- onwards and upwards and here’s to the next adventure from his new place.