Sleep and exhaustion are pulling kp down and I fear the start of a downward spiral, but the week wasn’t without a few good moments.

Monday was uneventful. kp most definitely needed a day like today.
Tuesday and Doreen took kp to Whickham Villa where they had a bit of a pamper day, with some physio mixed in. Steve (physio) met them there and they went into the gym and did all the Steve stuff out of the water and with Steve they then went into the hydropool and did a variety of exercises. Then it was relaxation and pamper time. Karen went into the flotation device. From kp’s description, it wasn’t like your normal flotation device where you get in an enclosed pod. This was more-suited for rehab patients. kp was winched in. And then they turned some heat lamps on that heated kp from above. They then left her on her own. The idea being that you don’t have ANY stimulation, no light, no sense of hot/cold, no noise etc…. Karen really enjoyed it and bizarrely didn’t fall asleep (not sure I fully believe that one). The girls then had their nails done. It was a lovely day overall. They were certainly there most of the day, and they didn’t come back until after I had got back from work (approx 6.30pm)

Wednesday – Rachel (OT) came and brought a box of stuff for hand movements, rice, elastic bands, playdoh, etc…She showed Doreen and kp some warm-up exercises, and left them with the suggestion of making a schedule up. Doreen had the afternoon off as Angela (fellow car crash victim) was visiting. Lots of catching up to do as it had been a while since they had last met and again they were still in full gossip mode when I returned from work.

As I am writing this, it is dawning on me that I am not writing down Karen’s lack of sleep. I started to record (ages ago) kp’s sleep patterns, but I have fallen out of the habit. But, suffice to say, that a typical night’s sleep is as follows :-

11pm – kp to bed (with dp)
12am – kp up, stlll tired, but unable to sleep.

5am – kp comes to bed and sleeps until
6.30am

6.30am – dp gets up to watch some tv and have breakfast, kp gets up to have a cup of tea
6.45am/7am – kp goes back to sleep when I go to work and sleeps until about 9/9.30am and is then up for the whole day

Not good – in fact, I am really worrying about kp now, but I’ll go more into that later.

Thursday saw kp and Doreen go to a place suggested by Rachel (OT) to look at bath aids. I think they found a much better (and safer) way of getting kp in the bath. Currently, I lower her in which isn’t so bad, but then I lift her out and it absolutely knacks me in. But, the old chair we had left kp 6 inches out of the bath (small exaggeration !)

Friday and the physio session was at Seaham leisure centre. The last visit to Seaham Leisure centre had been a bit of a debacle. I am pleased to report it was much improved with Steve having a room booked with the relevant kit.

Saturday and Sunday have been a bit dire. Normally, we go for dog walks and do something together, but this week kp has been exhausted. She just wanted to stay around the house. I went out with Dave (diving buddy) to get some diving gear at a dive shop in Whitley Bay on Saturday. I left the shop over £800 worse off (and that’s after discount) – YIKES ! Why ? Because I am going t’Egypt in a week’s time aboard a liveaboard boat for a week to do some diving in the Red Sea with Dave – can’t wait. Ronnie is kindly staying with kp for a week and I believe Jane is coming over as well, so some MAJOR girl’s talk (or surgery) as they call it will be going on.

For kp, saturday and sunday have seen kp sleep most of the day with the usual treacherous night’s sleep. I wrote the following email to Syd today in the hope that something can be done about various things….

Syd

I hope this email finds you well.

I am writing about Karen. I am concerned.

I think she is starting a bit of a downward slip and I think we have the chance to nip it in the bud. Karen doesn’t know I am writing this email.

Tiredness – Karen is struggling with exhaustion at the moment. She is probably only getting 2 to 3 hours sleep per night, despite all the work she is doing with Doreen, Matt, Rachel, Steve etc….This is affecting a number of things ……

1. Her mental state (and this is the most worrying). I feel she is on the verge of a downward spiral unless we nip it in the bud.
2. Her speed of thinking – I am finding that on the evenings (with me), Karen is getting increasingly slower in conversation and although (since the accident) I have always had to pause and resume tv programs to explain the storyline and what’s happened, this is most definitely on the up. Obviously, this IS NOT a problem to me, but it’s a sign about kp’s mental health.
3. Her zest for life is definitely on the wane. Before, she would be looking forward to doing things on the weekend (with me) ie visiting family, going out – walking the dogs etc…..I am finding she just wants to stay around the house – this maybe just her way of recovering from a week of activities, but it’s not a move in the right direction (from my perspective).

Another area of concern (after discussion with kp) is (certain specialist (name deleted)). I don’t feel Karen is “connecting” with her. Karen thinks she is good at her job, but when kp used to leave Pip’s sessions, she was, without exception, positive and had a new lease of life. Karen has said she should give her another session or 2 to give her chance to win through, but I don’t get a good gut feeling.

For the first time, at about 5am this morning, kp said she just wanted all the rehab to end and for people to accept how she is. This is very out of character for kp as she is biggest fighter I know, but it’s another example of how exhaustion is pulling her down.

So, way forward – well, I think you’re the expert Syd and would welcome your comments, but my gut is the following……

1. Crack the sleeping problem (easier said than done I know)
2. Get Pip back on the case (losing (certain specialist))

Now, I know kp won’t necessarily agree on point 2. But, I am just telling you my opinion on the right way forward.

I do think there is a little time to stop a big fall in kp’s mental state, but we’re not talking months, more, weeks to sort it out.

I feel better for sharing my concerns, but we need action to prevent major issues.

dp

PS – tamazepam – for the past 8 weeks or so, we have been getting kp weaned off Tamazepam (sleeping tablet). It’s going really well. She was on 2 x 20mg a night sometimes 3. By reducing them 1/4 of a tablet per week, she is now down to half a tablet a night. Karen occasionally takes more, but only on a sporadic basis, when she is absolutely desperate for sleep. I know it’s easy to say that this is why her sleep is worse, but the sleeping problems were there before we started the gradual reduction.

So, not the best of weeks. Here are some photos (courtesy of Dave (diving buddy))……

Here is a shot of the hotel….We were in one of the groundfloor apartments in the distance.

Here is a picture of kp, me and Helen. This was taken on the last day at a restaurant by the sea.

Here is a picture taken when Dave and I were diving. In the background, you can see one of the beautiful, but designed by the devil, Sea Urchins. This is the thing that I put my finger on and got some sea urchin lodged in my finger and couldn’t get it out. PLUS in the foreground a spider crab which crawled on my hand on a previous dive.

Here is a picture of Brad Pitt, or is it me…..

Here is an angel shark. Dave was in front of this and due to some unfortunate timing he missed the full frontal picture of it swimming towards him, but managed this one of him getting away.

Here is a picture of a cuttlefish. This is the one that moves itself along by moving it’s skirt like a snake.

One of David’s best pictures of the holiday. A close-up of a Moray Eel.

All the above pictures are copyrighted to David Kingdon.