{Karlton Bontrager}

Last night marked three weeks since Karlton’s accident on Friday, July 5th. What a world of progress he has made since then! At the time, there was little reason to hope that he would survive the incident. First came one neurosurgery, then another one two days later merely to save his life.

A week later, Karlton’s cousin had the website up and running. It was clear by that time that Karlton would live. I was able to report that he was sitting up in a chair, and people across the room were able to observe the head nods that Karlton made to answer our questions. He got a real shampoo that day. He also moved out of ICU into the High Dependency Unit. Keeping his lungs clear was still a major objective.

A week ago he was back in surgery again. This time, thank goodness, it was not for neurosurgery but for repairs to his face and nasal sinus. Soon afterwards he was eating solid foods, and not too much later he was cracking jokes and occasionally being inappropriate.

Yesterday marked another milestone. Karlton moved out of the medical hospital and into the rehabilitation center. Just as I suspected in yesterday’s update, the open slot at ISIS was a factor that outweighed the neurosurgeon’s cautions. He and Choy-Lang were taken there in an ambulance while I was still at the Univeristy sending out the update.

Like Dunedin Public Hospital, the new facility is part of Otago Health Care. Yet the two entities are more like separate systems than a unified one. Despite all the physicians’ notes and nurses records made at the hospital, the staff at ISIS knew altogether too little about Karlton. (Why does this sound so much like systems in the United States??) We had to start from scratch with the dietary department–yes, he’s a vegan; no, he doesn’t eat milk products; yes, he eats eggs; and by the way, he eats fish. The nurses seemed not to know that he needs help moving his left leg and arm. It’s good that we were there to troubleshoot some of his problems. He spent a lot of his time sleeping, but he still wants us to take him to his room.

The first time that Choy-Lang and I visited Karlton at Hamilton, he had shaved his head. It took some adjusting to get used to his loss of that thick, black hair, but we did eventually. I’m thinking more and more that it’s time to go back to that look. The hair on the right half of his head was shaved for surgery, but it’s nearly 1/4 inch long now. In contrast, the right half is bushy, with an unruly lock in the front in the style of Tin-Tin, the French cartoon character. The large C-shaped incision in the scalp has healed and is increasingly hidden by the growing hair. It’ll probably be a comment from an age peer–certainly not one from his parents–that will motive him to alter the ‘do. Here at the university, on the other hand, so many people wear knit ski caps on their heads while indoors. Maybe he’d be amenable to adopting that style.

The C-shaped scar is sensitive to touch. Choy-Lang assiduously applied a jelly to it to help it heal and clear up. But Karlton loudly objected if anyone touched it. He even said something to the neurosurgeon when she had a feel on her rounds one day. He did take my hand and guide my touch yesterday. He also had me feel the lump above his ear. It is a space between the scalp and the cranium where blood has collected. Like so many other things, it will take time to go away.

That about wraps it up for now. The various therapists have the weekend off, and Karlton will welcome the chance to sleep in, I’m sure. We hope you have a restful weekend as well.