Shock

[Skye]

Just had an awful shock. John had taken Skye out for a short walk. We walk her together in the morning, but in the afternoon John takes her on his own if the weather is fine. We have a cycle track running behind our house, so he doesn't need to go near any roads.

He hadn't been gone long when I saw him running past the window. I rushed to the front door, and found him lying on the drive.

Neighbours helped me get him inside, and he seems to be OK apart from a badly bruised and grazed face. No broken bones, and I'm watching him for concussion.

He can't tell me why he was running - he hasn't run for years. I don't know whether he had a funny 'turn', or whether Skye was pulling on the lead when she saw the house, but either way I don't think I can let him walk alone any more.

So that's another independence lost. Great start to 2007!

On the plus side, his bones must be strong, and I was pleased to see how concerned Skye was. It's the first time she's seen either of us hurt.

 

[jenniferpa]

Oo Hazel, you poor thing (and poor John).

Hope there are no long-term ill effects

Love

Jennifer

 

[KenC]

Hi Hazel,
I am sorry to hear about John. I am not sure if it is the same thing but we have a large park near to our house and when we moved here in the 1960s I spent more time than enough around there because it was relaxing.
However we moved away when I got married in the 70s, and came back again 3 years ago when I became ill with the early signs of DLB. It was lovely, apart from the fact that my mother and father had died, all our old neighbours were still there, and the park had been made bigger.
I started going round there on my own, because it still felt like my old stomping ground, apart from the far end of the park, which I found had been altered.
All was well till I went into the new bit one day, and then I can remembering starting to panick. After this I can remember running out and not stopping till I saw other people , and then I started to relax again.
I have been back since with my wife, and I was fine, but I know I would never go on my own again. I wondered if my brain can not adjust to the changes, that was the only thing I can come up with. I still walk round the park in fact we did our memory walk there, but I would never to the far end again on my own.
Its strange because I spent a lot of time working in the dark and never bothered, but now I am very nervous in the dark, and if I hear a strange noise I lose my nerve completely.
Give him another try, like me he may have just had avery bad day.
Good luck and I hope John is Alright.

Best Wishes.

kenc

 

[Grannie G]

Oh Hazel, What a start to the new year.
I wonder if he felt ill and was running, to get home as quickly as possible. That happened to my husband last year. He felt `dizzy`, couldn`t get home quickly enough, fell and broke his arm. A UTI was diagnosed. I do hope he`ll be OK.
Dogs have some special insight. When my father was ill, his dog, also a Scottie, [Skye looks like a scottie to me] sat outside the bedroom door and would only go out when nature called. Then back he went to the bedroom door and refused to budge.
Please let us know how John is, and also how you are. Love Sylvia x

 

[Tender Face]

Oh Hazel, so sorry..... perhaps one of the most difficult things (aside from making sure John is physically Ok) is that you may never have an explanation as to why or what caused the whole incident and therefore your confidence is bound to be shaken .... Ken's advice sounds excellent to me ....

Thinking of you, love, Karen, x

 

[BeckyJan]

So sorry to hear of your 'shock' - I hope you are both feeling a bit better now. Ken seems to be giving you good advice so hope John can give in another go. (David has not worked alone for over two years so if you have to you will adjust).
Skye sounds wonderful! After a poor start best wishes for 2007.
Beckyjan

 

[Skye]

Thanks for the messages, folks. Lovely to have friends who care.

John seems to be OK. His son came round this afternoon, so that helped to keep him awake.

The left side of his face has swollen up now, and looks a real mess, and he says his hands hurt, so he obviously tried to save himelf. He had thick gloves on, fortunately, so they're not grazed.

As for me, I'm still suffering from shock, feel sick, but I'll be OK tomorrow. Poor John will bear the scars for longer.

Thanks for the advice, kenc. I hope I'll be able to take it. I feel it's important for John to have this little independence - the afternoon walk is his 'job'. I'll see how we both feel tomorrow.

Love,

 

[Grannie G]

Dear Hazel, Do the surrounding neighbours and shopkeepers know of John`s condition? Also does he have ID on him?
I don`t know how you feel about it, but for my own peace of mind, I`ve told neighbours and local shopkeepers about my husband, and that he has our home address and phone number in a zipped pocket in his wallet.
He`s willing to carry this ID, because although he can remember his address on good days, he can never remember the phone number.
It means I`m not so anxious when he goes out by himself, and he can keep that little bit of independence.
Love Sylvia x

 

[KenC]

Hi Hazel,
After looking back through last years memory diary, I found an item which made me wonder about John. I had gone out with my wife to put some flowers on my parents grave one day and as my wife was going to visit our branch office I decided to go home myself which I have done many times.
On this day I walked back on a footpath along side a dual carriage way for about 100 yards before getting back inside the park, but I can remember being panicked and started to run. This was broad day light, and when I got in the house I was terrified. After speaking to the Consultant about it later, I was told that it was probably the noise that spooked me. I used to walk miles through woods now I won't on my own. It appears that the brain can in some cases become more sensitve to noise. Now I know I can at present cope with it but at times it causes a lot of problems.

Perhaps it was something similar.

I hope John is well again and looking forward to his next walk.

Very Best wishes

kenc

 

[Skye]

Hi KenC
Thanks for your interest. I replied to one of your other posts, before I read this.

You could be right about the noise. The kids are still on holiday, and are all riding about screaming (we're in a quiet cul-de sac) on their new Christmas bikes. It could well be that one of them spooked him.

I'll wait until they go back to school before we try again. It will give me an excuse to wait until his wrists are stronger.

Love,

 

[Skye]

Sylvia,

Sorry I didn't reply to your post. To be honest, I couldn't bear to look at this thread yesterday.

Yes' the neighbours do know about John, and I've had lots of offers of help in emergency. He never goes to the shops without me, money is a foreign language to him, and he he only goes out on his own round our own area or on the cycle track.

I thought I'd got everything covered, but you never have, do you?

Thanks for your interest.

Love