Thanx for the email (this is addressed to Tina). Please excuse me for not responding immediately, but it's a bit rough at the moment.......
Claudine is doing well at the moment, all things considered. The operation (ED- on her throat) was a success, and now she can breath so easily! Is wonderful not to hear her gasping for breath when she walks a few steps.
She's been very weak for the past few days. She's shaking, has a fever, and cannot sit up for long. I think it's an after effect from the anaesthetic. They had to use a different type of anaesthetic, as they couldn't put the usual breather pipe down her throat which normally would keep the patients windpipe open and push in oxygen, as they were operation on her windpipe. But it's over and done with now, and it went well. May the Lord be with her so that she has the strength to get back to rehab.
She's starting to move her right arm a bit, but it still just hangs loosely next to her when we walk. if I hold her tightly around the waist, she walks quite nicely now, although her balance is still very poor. I had her back at the neurologist last week for more x-rays of her arms and shoulders. Her left shoulder is 13cm long, as opposed to the right one which is 11cm long. I asked what the cause was, and they explained it's the Mitosis in her muscles, and atropie in her right arm and muscles under her arm. The Doctor then instructed the Occupational Therapist and physiotherapist to give that specific problem more attention. The Myositis has put her back a lot, and has caused her mush pain. he repeated his word and said that Claudine is a miracle child of God! And that we must never forget that she was very badly injured.
We must not try to push her to do well / better, as it;s not as if she doesn't want to, it's because it's difficult, and painful. Patience and prayer is all we have to offer..... She is no longer the happy, sunshine child she once was. (ED- this will change. Anyone with as much courage as Claudine has will recover and become the person she was, in character and personality if not in body - don't give up)
She's very tearful, cries easily, and gets very despondent. it really bothers / disturbs her to be in a wheelchair, and to see herself like that. Whilst she sleeps at night, I sit and watch her, and cry my eyes out...... I'm giving her my all. Time is running out, and I'm only here for another 6 weeks, and she has another 8 weeks of rehab / therapy to go. Then she's flying to Austria to come and stay with us.
(ED- a section here has been deleted as it is repeated further down in the photo section)
I'll have to check which therapists I'm not too happy with (100%) and cut them out. it costs R800-00 per day and it's no joke. Uncle Henko is paying thousands of rands for the therapy, but what can we do... Thank you again for the funds we received for Claudine. It's all used up, but helped a lot. We appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts. I managed to cover the costs till November with that money.
The medical aid paid nearly R700,000-00 to doctors and hospital costs!!!!, operations and x-rays. We had to pay in approximately R30.000-00 for radiology and labs (for blood tests) and antibiotics which had to be ordered from France when nothing else locally would work, and she was turning in the jaws of death....., after the medical aid had been exhausted, and rehab was R26,000-00 for Nov-Jan. Eish, you can't believe that something like this can hit you.... Our lives have turned over completely....
Tina, before I forget:-
We have thought over and over about what must be done with the Claudine's goods which are still with you. She has to rebuild her life, and "put up house" once she's independent again,and we're hoping it will be in the next year or so. She will have to start everything all over again, but it's going to be a nightmare to try and get her stuff here.
I have had offers from some people who are willing to go and fetch her stuff, but it's not worth it. The cost of petrol, and trailer hire, and then having to look for a place locally where we can store the stuff, it's just out of the question.
Henko and I have decided it will probably be the best if you could dispose of (sell) the goods, and pay the monies into her fund. Then it will be out of your way, and the money will be kept to be used as a deposit for the new stuff she will need next year when she sets up anew.
(ED- I have left out some description of goods to be sold and disposed of, no relevance to the readers)
Claudine keeps telling me that there is more stuff which is hers, and that she wants to go and show me.... but it hers and Johan's combined goods, and I'm not going to cause any animosity here with trying to sort it out. So, the goods must be sold off, and this chapter series closed off.
Please accept my apologies for giving you and your mom more work to do, but I'm asking you for this last favour for Claudine. Ask the workers on the farm if they are interested, and have a jumble sale, and sell the goods off as you see fit. I will save the money for her future requirements when she returns.
Thank you very much, Lot's of love to you all. Thank you for your love.....
Alta
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 8:47 PM
I'm attaching 2 photos of Claudine who started today with "Horse riding" therapy! (ED-Sounds like fun at last!) It went so well. This is to teach Claudine to balance again, and to strengthen her hips so that she can learn to walk again. And her balance was so good!
It did her a lot of good, and she really enjoyed it so much. So now she's doing this horse riding therapy twice a week. So, Mondays and Fridays I take her to one rehab hospital for physio therapy and Occupational Therapy and Tuesdays and Thursdays at another rehab hospital for speech therapy, Occupational Therapy and physiotherapy, and then Horse riding therapy Monday afternoons and Wednesday mornings. Then she still has the swimming therapy on Saturdays.
I'm giving it my all, ensuring she gets all the therapy she can to help her.
May the Good Lord bless her, and the therapy!
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