19

Today marked my first excursion outside since the accident. I walked from the house to the doctors and back. This would normally take less than 10 minutes in each direction. It is the second time the dressing has been changed. The previous trip was by car. We allowed about 40 minutes. Progress was slow - very slow. Mainly because too much movement generates pain.

We arrived with about 15 minutes to spare. The nurse carefully removed the old dressing. This time there were no trickles of red liquid running down the arm. Just a few green marks on the dressing. tehy are more a result of the staples reacting with my body than an indication of problems with the wound.

Being considerably more awake and aware now I remembered to count. There are 19 staples.

The nurse carefully removed the dressing, and used a different type to replace it. One that was cut to size, so that there was no need to stick the dressing to the wound. Then she checked that they have staple removers. They do. On Friday I will find out what they look like and how they work.

Today is the first day that I have felt fully awake, despite being unable to sleep on my back for very long I have managed to sleep (with alarming easy) during the day. Today is also the first day when I have used the hand, it's instinctive, but I must not risk moving the upper arm, so must override the instinct. I also have to keep the elbow moving, which means removing the sling - a complex process. It is good though to see that the arm can still move under its own power.