{Karlton Bontrager}

Karlton was very despondent and down when I arrived at ISIS Saturday morning - 14/IX/02. He did not want to do anything and just sat in his chair. Even one of his favorite nurses could not get him to budge. Finally, another nurse was able to talk to him, and he started talking to her. [...]

Friday, the 13th. The day started looking nice and sunny, but soon it was pouring rain outside. Then the sun came out, then rain, and later hail, and by the time I left ISIS at 9:30 pm there was a coating of slush on the car.
It was prearranged that I should meet Karlton and a [...]

Thursday, 12th September, I stopped by the bank to get a certified deposit slip for ACC and also got an add on phone card for Karlton before I went up the hill to ISIS. When I arrived, a student nurse was with Karlton asking him all kinds of questions - I must ask her what [...]

Wednesday September 11th was moving day for Karlton - just the third time at ISIS and 9th time overall! When I arrived that morning, Karlton announced that the nurses had told him he was moving to another room, but the nurses would do all the moving. I was relieved to hear that because I just [...]

Tuesday, September 10th started out on a slow note. The cranial-sacral treatment must have really relaxed Karlton, for he was able to sleep till about 9:00 am. After his shower routine and breakfast, he was ready for the physios.
He walked to the gym and got on a stationary bike. This time he was able to [...]

Monday morning I stopped in at Mei’s Traditional Chinese Medical Center in north Dunedin - not too far from the motel I am staying. I talked with the acupuncturists and explained to them of Karlton’s accident and his present condition. They were quite certain they could help Karlton in his recovery and encouraged me to [...]

Sunday started as a beautiful day. I was hoping to take Karlton for a drive as soon as his friends came to visit him but by noon, dark clouds had moved in and soon it was raining quite heavily. Nina and Sam and Karlton had plenty to talk about while I came to the computer [...]

Weekends at ISIS are very relaxed and slow. So on Saturday Karlton spent time in the dining room shooting the breeze. After lunch Holly (a friend from Queenstown) and I took Karlton to the Botanical Gardens in the north end of Dunedin. We pushed him in his wheelchair for a while but decided it would [...]

Thursday was a busy day for Karlton. He went for a walk in the building with a different PT in the morning because his PTs had a workshop to attend. Then Karlton had a dental appointment at the hospital. The dentist thinks Karlton grinds his teeth at night and that’s why he has pain in [...]

When I arrived at ISIS, the PTs were getting ready to take Karlton to the gym. He walked all the way there by himself, that is, not holding onto anyone’s hand. A PT walked close to him in case he lost his balance but Karlton did all the walking by himself! Yeah!
Karlton sat on a [...]