{Karlton Bontrager}

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 Rehabilitation Assistant at the Otago Museum at 10:45. That way I would not have to run up the hill and then come back down again. I did not realize that Allan Court Motel was just a block away from the museum, so I dashed out the door to find myself way too early, so I walked to DPH and up to the ICU. Some of our favorite people were there … Jane, Maree, and Ellie, who was the nurse that went on the helicopter and brought Karlton from the mountain. It was great to catch up with them again.

As I headed back to the museum, it was raining cats and dogs, and it was very windy. I saw the assistant taking Karlton’s wheelchair out of the car, and by the time I got to the entrance, it had stopped raining, and I was able to get Karlton out of the car easily. First we had to go see “Eric”, a very big pale colored fish from Indonesia. Apparently, the museum had rescued it from a pet shop where it was kept in an aquarium too small for it to move at all.

A new permanent exhibit called “Southern Land, Southern People” had opened at the museum, and that is what we had gone to see. What we enjoyed most was the film of Dunedin and the environs which was speeded up. The history/time line of the fauna and flora were all there, but it seemed poorly lit for my eyes. Karlton was not overly excited. Instead, he was telling me how hungry he was, and wanted me to get some pizza for him. I told them to go back to ISIS first, and I would pick up the pizza for him.

Karlton said that before he left for the museum outing he had physio, but all he could remember was that he went on a trampoline. He said it was very difficult to keep balanced. I asked if he did anything else; he said: “When I have to concentrate on doing something physical difficult, I can’t think of anything else, and I have a hard time remembering.”

By the time I arrived at ISIS, Karlton had finished a bowl of soup and a salad platter. He was quite indignant that there had been some bacon bits and some slices of salami on his “vegetarian” plate. He did not hesitate to dig into the pizza and was half way through when Lee, a nurse, came and told us it was time to go to the dental department downtown. Karlton got his bright yellow mouth guard which he had been waiting for very impatiently.

Karlton was exhausted by the time we returned. I could tell by looking in his eyes that his energy was completely gone. He fell asleep instantly, and although he asked me to wake him up in half an hour, he just could not wake up when I told him it was time.

Thank goodness Helen came by after dinner. She is so wonderfully giving … and she gave Karlton a back massage and worked on his feet. Thank you, Helen, for all you do for Karlton.