Message Thirty One

We are aware that though Liz is showing a lot of resilience, she is very upset by her situation, and so are we.  Today we went back to Critical Care to collect her diary, which has information from us, staff and visitors.  We were a bit bemused when after some time of waiting we were caringly ushered into a room clearly designed to be the room where you hear bad news.  I wondered whether we were about to hear that the diary had sadly passed away.  No, the diary is alive and well, just we can't have it.  As Liz has moved out of Critical Care, the diary stops where it is.  It becomes like 'medical records' and can only be handed over to Liz if she requests it, in conjunction with support and counselling in case she finds the retelling of the story traumatic.  We understood this.  It reminded us that this has been a traumatic time, and perhaps we have been getting a bit too used to it.

Liz had Charlie and Jill, and Dave and James visit her this afternoon.  She showed off her new voice to them.  We met Charlotte, the Speech Therapist for the Brain Injury Unit. She said that in about 5 days the tracheostomy is likely to be removed from Liz's trachea.  She can then try to regain a voice that sounds more like her.