The details of the crash will forever be known only by the motorcyclists…
What I can tell you is that I was going does hill fast- about 40mpj- and they were probabably coming up at the same sleep so a whack at 80mph (fast when just wearing Lycra)
My bike stayed on the bend and so did I, so it was as though I just shot straight UP and came down again, landing on on COMPLETELY obliterated helmet
That must have ‘folded’ me and broke me ?
I hear trat first on the scene were Dickon and Q who had resist my pleading for an hour to be turned from face  down.
They tried to distract me with anecdotes, no doubt Dickon nice clean music industry Catherine Jenkins type stuff and Q talk of beer and strippers   Life in a wheelchair was never mentioned, the I was saying I couldn’t feel my legs.
A van came with a strtcher, followed soon by tha ambulance heli which whisked me away to Toulon Military Hospital.
I think Roy spent mont it that ‘early’ time with me, as a bloody good mate and French speaker.  

It would seem I have surrounded myself with men and women of rich and varied talent.

Frankly, looking at them , you’d never know 🙂

Think you need to resister agooglmail email address to write something…?

Lots of visitors gently waking me today, but I’ve been in the chair ( ribs hurt too much for more than 20mins, had physio, seen food therapist , but can’t talk cos ‘ speaking valve’ back in’  app was raising my co2 too much 🙁
Charlit came from. Hong Kong to see me. That guy’s a legend.

Gonna see lots of my work ppl tomo, should be a step closer to normality..,

Hey Mr Dawkins.Arti here, all the way from Singapore! Been trying to write on yr blog for weeks…with no luck. Haven’t stopped thinking about u. So glad ur slowly but surely improving by the day. Just found ur number, hope this is still u.xx

When things start happening in the wold of ‘rehab’ , they really kick off.
After a very slow start to the day, I’ve (literally) been hoisted into a kind of wheelchair, and left in it for 35 mins to see how if cope (very well in fact, tho with limited neck strength leading to a Bombay head wobble), I’ve had a new tracheotomy fitted (under  general anaesth) with a valve that means I can speak, and I’ve had leg physio where I’ve had to visualise doing stuff – like trying to kick the lady physio in the boobies.
I’ve had Toby Strauss and Dickon Stainer, Lisa Collins and Chris Benforrs ( who optimistically brought wine, Dani and my girls have been and I’m expecting Billy and Olivia later.
I now sound like an extra from the new Dr Who, and who knows, maybe look like one.
I’ve had a lovely message from my canoe pal, Roxanne (with whom I won the DW mixed division a few yrs ago, and defied my nil by mouth status by eating a mini bar of white White and Black chocolate. Ooh there’s rebellious I am…. I just couldn’t take it any more!

All this on 3 hours sleep, so abs shattered now.

Wanna thank you all for your ongoing support through this, it makes it much easier.

I know it’s hard to leave a comment on the site, but if you like email it to me on rdawkins2@sky.com and I’ll post it for you from this end. After all I’ve got F all to do other than visualise kicking my physio in the tits

Xx

So think is what I do, sadly little more than how I can get to sleep, or how I can lose the sensation of panic that I’m going  to suffocate…

Lissy, can u see this on the blog? Am I in!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm2j1ZirV6Q&sns=em

Russ is happily ensconced in his new 5* room at The London Bridge Hospital. I’ve just spent a lovely 6 hours with him, just the two of us (oh, plus the nurse that is permanently posted to his room). Romantic, eh!

Treatment-wise, the medic team are periodically decreasing the ventilation that the machine is providing so that Russ gradually starts to breath more independently. Current estimates are that he will come off the ventilator in a week or two which will be great as that means he will be able to talk again. At this point, the tracheotomy will be “capped off” but remain in place for another week or so until it is clear that there will be no respiratory relapses.

The nurses are incredibly attentive and really looking after him well. They are diligently trying different things to get the pressure sores on Russ’s cheekbones to heal as swiftly as possible with no long term scarring. I told Russ that lots of people pay good money to have “skin peels” to expose the fresh baby skin underneath and he’ll be achieving the same result free… :-s

We had an entertaining evening watching The Dictator. It’s been a long time since Russ and I have spent a Saturday night in watching telly…usually a party beckons 🙂

Talking of parties, a huge thank you to Chrissie Wissie, my “birthday twin” who organised birthday celebrations last night. Plans were to have drinks in the very scenic setting of Chiswick House Park and then go on to her house after the park closed at 9.30pm. Problem was trying to persuade 50 peeps to stop drinking and get to the gates prior to the gates being locked. Needless to say, we didn’t achieve that particular goal and found ourselves locked in the park. We phoned some emergency park warden number and had to assemble in front of the locked gates, maintain a 60 second silence and receive a right bollocking before they were prepared to open the gates and let us out. Absolutely hilarious!! If Russ had been there, he would no doubt have engaged the “beaver lift” to get the ladies over the walls – and a more masculine “leg up” to get the guys over. And, of course, we all missed the ultimate party boy. But the fact that he is now back in London and on the mend, slowly but surely, was the best birthday present I could have ever hoped for.

                                                      Top birthday girls xx