11 May 2010

In our circumstance, we find ourselves marking significant upcoming events in the diary and preparing ourselves for that time frame. The most monumental of events recently has been Simon's freedom from any head gear.

We were originally told that the Miami J neck brace would be removed on the 10th of May, however, as Simon has repeatedly proved in the past 3 months that he is a force to be reckoned with, he again successfully reduced the time frame of the neck brace and it was removed on the 4th of May. As you can see from the updated, albeit late, photo of Simon minus the neck brace...it's HAPPY DAYS !!

Once he was free, the pleasure of being able to simply have a proper shower seemed to be so huge.

Simon has mastered transferring from his chair to the car and once given the all clear, it was a matter of a smile and a nod (and a couple of phone calls) and all arrangements were made for picking up Simon on Saturday morning. In the car, the look on his face was priceless. He sat in the car, sunnies on with a grin from ear to ear. Although it didn't take him long to tell me I was taking the long way home...because some things just never change.

Simon and I spent some time alone before Macca pulled up to take him to the North Beach Football club. Whilst Simon enjoyed watching the game and catching up with current and past players, he had a chance to enjoy a couple stubbies of the liquid gold that once upon a time frequented Simon's lips on a regular basis. It was good for him to get out of the hospital and to get out on his own.

Yesterday Simon was "kicked out of the penthouse and moved to the shithouse" as he put it. He went from having a private room to sharing a room with 3 others. Good luck to them when the kids come in!

I will be the first to admit that I was completely oblivious to this world prior to 20 February, but every day you don't just learn something...you learn thousands of things. The most important in Simon's eyes is to make sure that his health stays pristine to avoid ever having to go back to Shents for a lengthy period of time. One of the guys in Simon's room has been in a wheelchair for 24 years. He recently clipped his back on the car whilst transferring, and didn't notice, then did some long distance driving and the little clip out of his back became a hole in his back and is now in Shents for 3 months until it recovers. Simon will go insane if he has to do that.

This weekend Simon gets his first sleepover pass. Just trying to imagine falling asleep next to him...and waking up next to him, it all seems surreal. It won't take long for reality to hit once the snoring kicks in. At least it will prepare me for the 22nd of May for the Quiz night and Simon's sleepover pass becomes a weekend pass.

Tune into 6PR on Friday morning, Simon will be interviewed by Simon Beaumont.