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An email from Katie:
Dear Bill,
Here is an e-mail for an update.
Niki is still in ICU (Intensive Care Unit). This is because his lungs have received a huge impact and the trauma of that is still inflicting itself on his breathing and recovery. We spoke to someone from the spinal unit about Niki and he said they will not move him to the new unit until he is more stable with his breathing.
Niki has been awake the last couple of days. The first day he was bolshie and bossed everyone around, he had his full time nurses run ragged and one said that she was exhausted and preferred them asleep. The second day (yesterday) Niki was somewhat more subdued. He had not slept for the last 36 hours and just everything was going through his head. Today Niki is very quiet indeed. He is also dozing on and off.
Niki still has the trachie in although the breathing machine is not doing anything at all. He controls it fully. The nurse on the first night Niki was awake told him that the breathing machine would not be turned off until he could get columns at the optimum numbers, then the machine could be turned off. Niki must have practised and learned to control his breathing so that he could get all the numbers perfect, because by morning the breathing machine was turned off and all breathing control is being done by Niki.
His progress from here on is determined by how quickly the traumatised lungs cope, something which will take some time.
All the support and money being put into the bank account set up by Ilana is so very much appreciated. We are blown away by the sheer generosity of people.
