Watch everything

Darius and I arrived to see Nelson this afternoon to find he had packed all his things up in piles on his bed again. Naturally, being an inquisitive 2 year old, Darius started to play with the piles of things which distressed Nelson and so we convened to the front verandah.

Nelson must have been quite tired as his language wasn't all that good for most of our visit. Having said that, I am sure there is some improvement. He named my mobile phone pretty much straight away when I asked him to. I've also noticed him referring to Darius by name in conversation which is new in the last week or so.

He remembered that he had had some visitors and managed to recall details after some prompting. He said it had been really great to see Peter & Linda and said he'd had a great conversation with Julia and Rob. He recalled talking about Rob's "new car" and agreed it was a motorbike after my questioning. He said, "They really caught me out" (since he woke up to find them there), and that they'd gone away and come back.


He does seem quite down about things which is certainly very understandable, and told me he doesn't know what he should do. I went over the constructive things that he can do, including finding the brain exercises that John left on Tuesday. I offerred to do therapy with him each time I visit, but I am not sure what he thinks therapy actually is, as he didn't enjoy it and tried to avoid engaging in it while he was in hospital.

In my conversation with him today he expressed distress and disappointment that there seems to be no rehab therapy at the home. His idea is not to try to come home with us, but to go "somewhere else" which sounds like he may be thinking of a rehab unit. I explained to him that there are actually some activities at the home - which he currently refuses to engage in - that might well help him (like "Brain Teasers", tai chi and art) as well as more opportunity to get physically fit.

Sometimes it is very clear that he has a bunch of ideas or concepts in his mind that he just can't logically join together properly. I keep on going back to Giles' suggestion that Nelson probably experiences life a bit like we do when we are in a vivid dream and things seem quite normal although when we recall them later on we realise they defy logic - like an Escher drawing!

I asked him to try to make sure he does several basic things each day: clean his teeth morning and night, put moisturising cream on his legs and feet, and try the "brain teasers" activity at the home at least once. The conversation got pretty haywire after that. When I pressed him to recall what I had asked him to do, the answer came back, "Watch everything, just to watch everything".