{Karlton Bontrager}

It’s been a little while since an update has been written, mainly because it’s been pretty busy here. I arrived in New Zealand on Wednesday, the 25th of September. It was a great surprise to have Karlton at the airport to meet me. We then went with Mom to lunch at a Japanese restaurant, where Karlton enjoyed quite a large meal.

We dropped him off at ISIS, and then Mom showed me around Dunedin. When we got back to the ward, Karlton was in physiotherapy. He was wearing a body harness, which was clipped onto a safety device attached to a treadmill. The idea was to get him to walk properly on the tread mill, bending his left knee, rather than just pulling up at the hip and swinging his leg around. That proved to be quite a challenge for him. He also had to do some shoulder exercises. It seems as if his shoulder has improved. The physiotherapist told him that he should go in the mornings without his sling, putting it back on during the day when the shoulder becomes sore.

The rest of the day was a little more relaxing, with an afternoon acupuncture treatment, after which we returned to the ward. When it was time to go to bed, Karlton got himself ready and climbed into bed with little assistance. Mom tells me that this was his first time to get ready on his own.

On Thursday, Karlton had a busy morning. He was fitted for an orthotic at Dunedin Public Hospital to replace the temporary leg brace that he is currently using. He was told that he could choose a color for his new brace. Although I encouraged him to try the space-ship pattern, he refused and ended up choosing black. No fun!

In the evening, Karlton, Mom, and I went out to dinner. This, of course, after Karlton had eaten his hospital dinner first. He really enjoys opportunities to have food other than the hospital fare, and the hospital food didn’t stop his appetite at the restaurant. After his second dinner, we stopped by the cafe at which his friend Nina works. He enjoyed catching up with her and a few other friends who were hanging out there. It was quite a long day for him, though.

On Friday, Mom, Karlton, and I met with a physician at ISIS who showed us his CT scans. They were really impressive, considering that I’d only heard about the condition Karlton had been in when he was admitted to the hospital. This was the first I’d seen any of it for myself. Karlton was also very disappointed to be told that he should abstain from alcohol for the rest of his life. I’m sure that when any of you speak to him soon, he’ll bring it up. He keeps asking various staff if there’s any way that he can enjoy the odd beer, say, every six months or so. I’m afraid that their responses haven’t pleased him one bit!

Mom and I wanted to try to see the yellow eyed penguins and maybe some royal albatross in the afternoon. We loaded Karlton up in the car and drove down the peninsula. It was cold, and he wasn’t that interested in seeing birds, so he stayed in the car. The albatross observatory was closed for the breeding season, but we were told that we could hang around the information center and perhaps see a few of the big birds flying around. Unfortunately, as soon as we got to the spot, it began raining with strong wind. So we decided to head back to the car. We were told that there was a whale in the harbor, but given the weather conditions, we didn’t want to stay out too long to try and see it.

In the evening, after dinner with some friends (which, of course, Karlton enjoyed, as it was not hospital food and included pizza), Karlton went out to a rugby game with his friends Sam and Nina. It was a chilly evening, so he bundled up in a big jacket as well as a scarf, hat, and gloves. The game was a good one, but Karlton said that he was unable to see it very well. Nonetheless, he enjoyed the time out and had a great time with his friends.