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

Yes ! 7 hours sleep, more or less in one go. That’s a first for ages. Hopefully I’m getting my body clock more or less sorted?

Breathing was ok during the night too – if I can’t breathe properly I can’t sleep. 

Wanna thank the multitude of people who came to France to see me. Some I’d not seen for years, which makes it all the more touching. 

My Mum and Dad were there for 5 weeks as was Jenni, my Mum in law, my 2 brothers (Dumb and Dumber) came, and duly entertained everyone with stories of our growing up..

                                   Lisa and Andrew came, Debs Watson, Emma A-F

James and Bev, Chrissie, Nick Teasdale ,Helen and Sel, Beana from blimmin Scotland, Melissa, Samantha ( my amazing Sisters in Law), doctor Al and Wendy, my ‘special’ mate Gerry,and Karena who flew in from Ireland, Mad Nicola came, as did Olly, Sian James, Tele and Nicola, obviously Larry and Sarah, Mac and Laura, and others that I can’t recall , through being in a coma to be fair….

The award for most visits goes to my very special friend, Dan White (and his wife Saskia) who I hear came SEVEN times..!

I feel truly honoured to have attracted so much attention just from falling off my bike…..

Yours,

Russ
Sent from my iPhone 7 prototype. 

Aug 2nd 2013 London Bridge Hostpital 23.12

STILL ALIVE

The pic shows me with big teeth and a gingery tache. Things are bad, but not that bad!

Where do I start?

My name’s Russ Dawkins and until June 14th 2013 everybody who knew me knew me as a pretty physical guy, never missing exercise for a single day.
Now, today, this iPhone weighs a tonne.

1. I can’t remember anything at all pre crash for maybe 2 weeks? I’ve looked in my diary, to no avail, for prompts, but all blank.. Forgive me too if these posts are short
2. I understand though that the love and care of the Dawkins/Kingdon family combo has essentially saved my life
   My wife, Dani, I hear, has been a rock,(no surprises)  Every man needs a rock of a wife I’ve concluded
3. My mum in law, Jenni, and S IN LAW, Melissa started this blog and somehow got 30000 hits. Sounds like a lot!
4. Now I’m back in a London hospital on a ventilator still, with a trachetomy so unable to speak above a whisper. I’ve lost the use of everything below the navel, tho I don’t know if that’s just how it will be from now on.

   What I can say though is that I’ve packed so much into the last 46 yrs though
5. ….that I’m pretty satisfied with my lot.
   I’ve got the 2 most exquisitely beautiful daughters, both real personalities too, that living life thro them will be a delight.

Tonight (very late), after celebrating Dani’s birthday, I got back to receive a very welcome email….from Russ! ….referring to me as blogetter…
Russ wants to know how to send blogs himself…..be prepared……:-D.
Mx

Russ arrived safely back to the UK earlier this evening and is now safely tucked up in intensive care at the London Bridge Hospital.

One positive step in the right direction completed.

Dani and the girls have joined him there this evening.

Visiting times at the hospital are very flexible and are 1000-2200.  I have been advised that space is a little limited and that there is not much room for waiting if there are already visitors in Russ’s room.

As most of you know I made a calendar for visiting in Toulon.  It might be a good idea to keep to the same system?  If you want to have access to the calender to see when might be a good time/day to visit, please email me; melissa.leach@iagoft.com   I will then send you an email to invite you and then you can annotate yourself in as and when then ‘bobs your uncle’…or your daddy as in Russ’s case!

Russ, a beautiful evening to welcome you back to London.  The sun is shining for you and your beautiful family today. xxxx

I lived with Dani and Russ for a whole brilliant year back in 1998.  At this time I was an ‘International’ Air Hostess(!).  Russ and Dani invented various nick names for me such as;
Valerie (Singleton) – as I was the only single sister!
Spartacus – as I was often requested to earn my keep by performing slave type activities such as cleaning the skirting boards, etc!
I also had another nick name which I won’t mention to you very polite lovely peeps.
Dani, Russ and I used to have nightly competitions to see who could come home the most drunk and the latest…. Russ invariably won.  We have carried this forward to 2013. (Although Russ you have a little bit of catching up to do these last few weeks).
Sometimes I would come home exhausted after flying home overnight from the U.S or Caribbean. I used to bore Russ that the reason I needed to sleep so much after an inbound long haul flight was due to having walked my way across the Atlantic when I should have been asleep and in addition because of the effects of the cabin air pressure on the body.

Air pressure has effects on the human body.  If you take a bottle of water onto a flight, you will notice within an hour of air travel it is swollen and ‘puffy’.  The same happens to our bodies. Any
air we have internally tries to escape to equalize with the changing air pressure of the cabin.  Our ears pop and we often ‘trump’ a little more.  The air that can’t escape increases in volume and makes us swell. In addition the air on board is usually pressurized to 8,000ft.  This is the same air that you might find 8,000ft up a mountain, i.e. a little less oxygen which causes us to breath faster and has a tiring effect on the body.  This is why air travel makes us feel jet lagged.

All of the above will have been taken into consideration to allow Russ and his ventilated lungs to fly home.

Today Russ will be flying to North Holt (an RAF airfield close to LHR) whilst Dani has to suffer ‘coach’ on BA MRS-LHR.  Dani will make a brief ‘tech stop’ at W4 to pick up the girls so that the 3 of them can welcome Russ back to the UK on arrival at London Bridge Hospital.

Russ, I hope you have a safe, comfortable flight home.  Welcome back to London. xxxx

P.S I have arranged for my old crew to bring you back (James jumped at the chance of earning a day off payment):