Rob drove himself to Broomfield yesterday and had a good meeting with the consultant plastic surgeon and the rest of the team etc at the burns unit yesterday … they are so pleased with him … photographs of his arms and torso were taken as his case is being written up for a medical journal, and he answered lots of questions from medical students training to be burns specialists around the world.
The team are amazed at his courage, determination and level of fitness and said that because he’s been ‘doing stuff’ so early he seems to have rebuilt a lot of the muscle tone lost when his body ‘went into shock’ and has escaped the generalised long term weakness that can so often affect burns victims. They think he’s on course to return eventually to the level of fitness he had before the accident, which is just amazing.
The plastic surgeon says that because of the rigorous application and massaging of the cream into the grafts, and his higher level of activity than most patients, he’ll be ready for laser treatment on the scarring sooner than in most cases - hopefully in around 3 months - and they should be able to reduce the lumps and bumps of the scars on his hands and arms, and give him more flexibility in his right elbow joint. He’s still wearing a splint on that arm every night … and this is adjusted at each visit by the OTs at the burns clinic so that it pushes the joint wider and wider as time goes on. Not a very comfortable way to spend every night, but he’s doing it and showing that it works.
He told the consultant that much of his progress was due to the specialist burns OT team’s toughness with him and thanked them in front of everyone.
I’m just so proud of him and so thankful to our wonderful NHS and all his friends and colleagues and everyone, known and unknown, who have contributed to keeping him feeling positive and determined to get back to his version of normal. 🙏 💙
I’m local to Broomfield and their burns unit has a well-deserved worldwide reputation as a centre of excellence. I’m glad they are helping your son. Clearly he is working hard to maximise his recovery, sounds so positive.
Brilliant news @Dovefromabove thank you for the update. It is an amazing story about surgical skill, nursing care, the grit and determination of one special man and the love of a closely knit family. Well done to you all.
Sending my wishes for a lovely Christmas/Yule or whatever, to all of you wonderful people who gave us such amazing support during those very dark days earlier this year.
My son continues his remarkable recovery and is scheduled for a laser op on his grafts in January which should make it possible to get his right arm straighter. 🤞
It’s been a hellish year … some of you will know that not only did we have my poor son to worry about, but I also lost my younger brother in August … HOWEVER thanks to the remarkable East Anglian Air Ambulance team and the wonderful NHS at West Suffolk and Stoke Mandeville Hospitals and the Broomfield Burns Unit 💙 we still have Rob and he will be celebrating his birthday this Friday 22/12 … a birthday that so nearly didn’t happen … I have so much to be thankful for 🙏
This family will be eternally grateful for the incredible kindness of strangers, without which he would not have been able to start putting his life back together… although he still lives with us, he has a car, goes to work every day and has replaced his guitars and a lot of equipment and, after a lot of hard work, he is back playing guitar as well as ever. None of that would’ve been possible without the amazing generosity of people like you.
Wishing you all a marvellous Christmas and let’s hope for a peaceful and healthy 2024 for everyone, everywhere 🎄 🙏
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Happy Birthday Rob, and Merry Christmas to the @Dovefromabove family. All that going on, and you still find the time to be on here sharing your knowledge and experience, and chatting too.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
It has been a hellish year, so many people I know have suffered dreadfully through accidents and illness, but no story is as extraordinary as Rob's. He sounds a truly remarkable person, as do you.
I wish him a wonderful birthday and a fabulous 2024 to knock this year into a distant memory.
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Perfectly worded @AnnaB
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I wish him a wonderful birthday and a fabulous 2024 to knock this year into a distant memory.