Kev Whitworth (Jacurutu) in a serious accident

First topic message reminder :

Hello all

I have received a message from Kev's wife (Jenny) today that Kev was involved in an accident whilst clambering across rocks in a scottish Loch. This happened earlier in the month and Kev has suffered a blood clot between his skull and brain (which has been successfully removed) and swelling to the brain. He is currently in a waking coma and is starting to respond to his surroundings but it will be a long time before his recovery can be fully assessed. Jenny will be sending regular updates which i'll post up. Infact, I'll post the email on this thread.

I know many have enjoyed some fantastic rideouts and chewed over the days events in the pub after with Kev and would like to wish him all the best.

I will contact Jenny and let her know that all our thoughts are with her and the family and i'd like to wish Kev all the very best in his recovery.

Gail xx

as long as its under 18 stone female i don,t care
oh human as well
pete

Pulse optional

ok week end of the 19th 20th of feb is out to visit kev as the college its closed & i have to work that week end
pete

All us Thundercatters hope you recover soon, pal.

The Zed.

ok chris next week ends off as fred needs the car so i can,t get to your house
i would like to do it on the bike & spend a few days touring as well so later in the year
pete

What a wonderful weekend i've had with some very special people. Me, Chris and Pete went up to see Kev this weekend and I can't tell you how good it was to see him. Not only is Kev coming on leaps and bounds with movement and speech, we had him laughing and taking the micky which was hilarious. Ross, Dave and Ewan joined us for a second visit last night and although Kev was very sleepy after me rabbiting on half the afternoon, managed to open a present from Ross consisting of "animal" PJ's and some smellies. Today, Kev was bright as a button again and it was unfortunate that we couldn't stay longer. We have chosen some piccies of past rideouts and Kev's got them on his wall now, so there's no getting away from us. I also took the laptop to show some piccies and was gobsmacked when Kev took control of the mouse and scrolled through the pics. My highlight was when Kev asked us to send a carer in to help him "but not the 2 numpties that came last time". That message came out loud and clear and crumpled us in laughter.

Pete has managed to break the bog seat, lose a bit of the car on the motorway and forget his camera in the rehab centre, so usual antics there!!


I'd like to say a huge thankyou to Ross for putting us up and putting up with us. We enjoyed a fantastic evening of curry and copious amounts of the strong stuff and generally causing havoc both on and offline. LOL. Ross, thankyou so very much. Also massive thanks to Chris and Pete for driving and suffering the horrid journey back down today.

I felt quite emotional this weekend and to have such amazing friends around to share the ups and downs with has been so valuable to me, so thankyou all, I love you all to bits xxxxxxx
[img][/img][You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

We have got a piccy too but I can't seem to suss how to add it so Chris..... HELP! lol

Thecatlass wrote:We have got a piccy too but I can't seem to suss how to add it so Chris..... HELP! lol

Will I do ?

See this [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and all will become clear m8

Well all i would like to add to gail's post is sorry ross, again will pay for new one if you send details etc, really really great to see kev, and cant add anymore than gail has said on this.

Thankyou so much to :

Chris for sorting out me coming up, using his car etc

Ross and family for there great hospitality

Dave , euan, gail, ross, chris and tel for the late night entertainment

(dont forget, what happens in scotland stays in scotland)

pete

As has been said by Gail & Pete this weekend has been quite a journey. No only in the miles we covered, but also in renewing friendships after breaks ranging from months to years. The main reason for going was to see Kev, find out how he is and see if there's anything we can do to help. Well, he's doing as well as can be expected and is in a great place. He's often tired and frustrated, but, I'm told, is making progress. Long may it continue. He is definitely all there! We got some great smiles out of him and he was very interested in seeing some of the photos taken on past ride-outs. He was able to answer our questions and tell us what he wanted. See Gail's post. We passed on his customer service feedback - hilarious! He gets tired easily, but he did say 'thanks for coming'. So I hope we can visit him again; see more progress and regale him with more of the group activities. If anyone wishes to say hi to Kev let us know through this thread and we can pass on details as necessary.
This weekend has been one of the best.

Here's the man. He even managed a pose for the camera.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Just to add to the above posts. It was really special to hear Kev's voice again and I'm amazed at how much he's coming on.
Ross thanks again for you and Tracey's (and Callum) hospitality.
I haven't laughed so much in a long time and it was great to catch up with Gail, Chris, Ewan and Pete again.
And to Tel for putting up with our late night antics.

I've just been laughing at reading Kev's mum's account at her first encounter with the Thundercat mob (Bingley division)....

It's really good to hear he's doing well, and I'm grateful to all for the updates. Sorry I've not managed a trip myself yet, but I'm determined to get my bike back on the road shortly and may manage to join a next group visit. Unless, that is, by then Kev's back online and actively discourages it!

Hi all. I'm Sue, Kevin s mum and it is my turn to write and update you all onKevin. First though I would like to thank our and his many friends, whohave asked after him, directly and through Facebook etc, and also keptin touch with our family. We didn't know what good friends he has. Thankyou. I went up this weekend 5th to 7th Feb to see him. I had my firstsurprise. I was told he was in the dinning room having lunch. He is noweating solid, if puree'd food and feeding himself. At New Year it wassmall teaspoons of thickened liquid. Progress! After his lunch I went and sat with him, chatting. He is much more alertand his speech is stronger and louder. He still has trouble withvocabulary but - don't we all! He had some other visitors arrive. Motorbike friends, Gail, Chris and Pete from the Bingley "Thundercats". Thatwas my next surprise, much to their amusement. Neither I or his Dad knewhe has been riding motor bikes since 2002. Gail had brought a laptop andmemory stick, to show Kevin lots of club runs. Kevin proceeded to usethe mouse pad and navigate the photos which pleased us all. It was niceto see him interacting with everyone and smiling. He knew who was who onthe photos and where they were taken. Gail and friends plus Ross andanother friend called in in the evening but he was very tired so theydidn't stay long. They called in Sunday morning when I was there, to saygoodbye before I went back South. I also fetched Kimmi my young pup into see everybody. She put her paws on the bed rail and looked at Kevinas if to say come and play. He thought this was funny. There were times though when it was obvious that he was uncomfortableand in pain. On Monday I met with one of the speech therapists andmentioned this. It was mainly his left leg and foot that were suffering.She said that just before he went into hospital with a urinary infectionlast month, they had sorted his left foot so he could put it flat on thefloor. But he had no physio in hospital so they are back to square one.The doctor is going to give him some Botox injections to loosen themuscles and ease the strain during his physio. Also he is getting a newwheelchair which I think is custom made for him which will be a lotbetter. Just things like longer leg rests and seat and a fitted headrest will make things a lot better for him. He has also started asking the staff how long he will be like he is andwill he ever get better. I have tried to encourage him to think positiveand keep on trying and not to give up hope of a full recovery. I thinkweekends are worse for him as there are no therapy activities. However,I was told that they take groups of people up to the local library atWishall, including Kevin, which is good. This is where we can all help! Hopefully in the next few weeks we maybebe able to get him onto the internet so he can be in touch with friends,which is important, especially at this stage. He does have a mobile nowand has spoken to myself and his brother with help from Tim, (his keyworker) so that might also be a means of contact. We can give you thenumber but I am not sure he can yet answer it himself so it may bebetter for him to call you. If you want to give him your number email meand I will pass it on, and get it inputted to his phone. Also, we have alaptop he can use and can get him online with that and a wireless dongle(if they dont have wifi- a question for the next visitor?). Finally, as he wants help remembering and getting his head straight onevents, and is now able to use a computer, its even more important tohelp him with this. We can help by populating sites such as his Facebookpage, and the "this is your life" that Mark Stokes kindly set up. Chrishas just put a photo on and there will be some reminiscences -but wedon't have much photographic access to his recent life. So please- top it up for him! Also have started a visitor book because the theropy workers don't get to see who visits him at week ends. I have mention this to them and they think it is a good idea. It will help them by giving them ideas for convesation and at the same time improve his short term memory which is not so good yet. Please feel free to use the book which will be kept in his room. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] his page. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Took me to Kevin's group. Otherwise "Kevin Whitworths 'This is yourlife'" will get you there.

Hi folks,

I've just had a weekend in London with the family and we've decided to start sending Kevin a postcard when we go somewhere a bit different. He's got plenty of wall space in his room and I'm sure he'd appreciated the messages so...... if you want to do the same here's his fancy address!

Kevin Whitworth
Murdostoun Castle
Bonkle
New Mains
Wishaw
ML2 9BY

Let's see if we can fill that wall. Can we do it?

greencat wrote:Hi folks,

I've just had a weekend in London with the family and we've decided to start sending Kevin a postcard when we go somewhere a bit different. He's got plenty of wall space in his room and I'm sure he'd appreciated the messages so...... if you want to do the same here's his fancy address!

Kevin Whitworth
Murdostoun Castle
Bonkle
New Mains
Wishaw
ML2 9BY

Let's see if we can fill that wall. Can we do it?

Absolutely great idea Chris.
We've got family visiting and we are off to the Edinburgh tomorrow. Will pick up a postcard and send it.

I paid Kev a quick visit on Saturday. Unfortunately I arrived just at dinner time. It was great to see him tucking in to a Chinese meal though. He was managing to feed himself too which was good albeit a bit messy. I normally make a mess when I'm eating chinese too so I'll not comment further. I put up some more photos on his wall........There is still plenty space so please write Kev a postcard.

You don't need to have known him previously to send him a postcard......we are all friends on here.
International postcards would be great too.

SMALL WORLD - Earlier this evening I was playing in a badminton match and my partner had called off with a bad back. A chap called Adam was called in and I overheard him saying he was working at Murdostoun Castle. He is a physio and is working there for 4 weeks. He was working with Kevin today and noticed all the motorbike photos on the wall. He is back there tomorrow and said he would say hello from me.

Ross

Kev should have a postcard tomorrow something a bit like this.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Just back from a visit to see Kev.

He is doing well. Arm and hand control much better than before and speech a bit louder and more confident than before.

No postcards though I definitely put a stamp on it.

Glad I could show him the pictures of it instead.

After negotiating the corridors we eventually got a 3G signal and managed to skype Kev's dad, Chris.

They both enjoyed the call.

Kev's mum, Sue, is bringing him a laptop next weekend so hopefully he will be online again soon. Fingers crossed he can remember his password too.

Cheers
Rosco

Thanks Ross for paying Kev a visit.
Disappointed to hear about the postcards as I've sent him a couple. Might give them a call and see why this isn't happening.

Glad to hear he's getting stronger. Long may it continue. Is he still up for being paid a visit on the Wee Mac?

Cheers,
Chris

Dear all

First of all, Kev says "Hello"!

I just thought I would let you know that Kev is continuing to make good progress. He met 18 of the 23 goals set in his last 12-week block of rehab - the goals he didn't meet he is progressing towards, and he exceeded a lot of the goals. New goals are being set for another 12-week block, which Kev said was exciting, and will give him some renewed motivation.

I guess the easiest thing to do is work from the top down with a progress report. Kev's head position is much better - he just needs a bit of reminding to keep his head in the middle, as it still tends to drop to the right when he is tired, or concentrating on another activity eg eating - his physio keeps reminding him to do hand-to-mouth rather than mouth-to-hand, but I think Kev just goes for the quickest way of clearing his plate!

Kev's speech is coming on in leaps and bounds. I talk to him every night, and I can notice improvements from one week to the next. His voice is still a bit weak, and it doesn't sound exactly like it used to, but every now and again he says something, or laughs, and I hear his true voice again. One of his main problems is using the right words - he knows in his head what he wants to say, but can't produce the word in his mouth. However, his speech and language therapist and psychologist are working on techniques to overcome this, and things are improving. An example of this is that he tends to call all the therapists Miss (even Tim and Roger sometimes!), and whilst this is very polite it is important for him to use people's names, so every time he calls somebody Miss we make him say their name.

Memory is another area that is seeing steady improvement, although combined with Kev's difficulties in using the correct words it is sometimes difficult to assess how much he remembers. A few weeks ago when I asked Kev what he had for his tea he would just say "I can't remember", but now (with some prompting) he is able to say what he has had - he may say weird things like spagetti bolognese and chips, but we just have a laugh about his strange menu, and this helps him to be able to say the correct words. His sense of time has returned - he knows what day of the week it is all the time, and he also knows when I will be visiting him.

Eating and drinking - no problems there! Kev is able to make his own sandwiches, and cooks his own tea once a week. I suggested that when he comes home he could make my sandwiches for me each morning before I go to work, and prepare a three-course meal every evening, but Kev just muttered something about working conditions being better at the unit and practiced one of his hand gestures at me!

Kev has been spending a lot of time in the physio gym, and is gaining strength in his arms and dexterity in his hands. The physios run stretch and strengthen group sessions several times a week, concentrating on upper limb work, and these give Kev the chance to work on exercises with less supervision. In his individual sessions he is spending a lot of time working on his left foot and ankle, as these are still not in an ideal position. These are improving, however, and once he is able to put his left foot flat on the floor he will be able to stand up, which will be a big milestone. He is able to sit up without support for 15 minutes, and although he occasionally needs a hand on his back to remind him to sit forwards, he is going to end up with better posture than he has ever had!

Kev's top FAQ is "When can I go home?", and we are both finding it difficult being apart. However, we know that Kev needs to make the most of being in the rehab unit for as long as he can, and we are keeping positive. We are hoping that we can start to discuss discharge at the next review meeting in July, and I am making contact with the people who will be in Team Kev in Western Isles, so that his homecoming will be as seamless as possible. We anticipate that he will be in the unit until September, which gives us something to aim for - if he is continuing to make good progress it may be best for him to stay longer than that, but we will decide that nearer the time. Despite everything that Kev has been through he is the same wonderful, caring, gorgeous man, and I know that we have a wonderful life ahead of us. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

Love

Jenny

Brilliant update, thanks Gail / Jenny!

I've not had the pleasure of meeting either of you yet but what a lovely relationship you share, All the very best for the future

Brill news Gail,
i'm looking forward to see how much Kev has come on when we stop by this weekend..

Jenny/Gail,

Great to have an update on Kev and to hear he continues to make good progress. The gang should be paying a visit this week so Kev can practice remembering and saying names, however most will answer to 'numpty' so warn him not to shout it too loudly!

Please continue to keep us all up to date with developments. If there's anything the group can do to help out you only have to post up and we'll do what we can. Kev's one of the gang too and we don't leave anyone behind! Well, only once but we don't mention that!

All the best,
Chris

is so good to hear kev,s improving
& may i add my thanks to you jenny for keeping us informed
& we also now how hard it is for you too
fred & pete

What a long, difficult journey it's been, and still some ground to cover but at least the futures looking brighter.


Best of Luck Kev & Jenny, our thoughts are with you



Ellie xxxxxxxxx

We'll see if he wants to sit on a bike tomorrow.
There might be a BMW or two kicking around but we'll stick him on a thundercat whether he wants to or not!