Milpark entrance is a tea-room where agitated and worried relatives try to keep smiling and retain a brave face. It is a noisy place, which I suppose is good, cakes and coffee seem to be consumed in huge quantities. Ade and Sally were sitting outside having just that, waiting for us, together with Lynne Beehan, (another Falcon parent whose younger son Mitchell was also involved in this accident, but not injured). Lynne was visiting husband Brian who has been in and out of hospital since January, and is facing what hopefully will be the last in a series of operations, scheduled for this morning. She is as brave as Ade and Sally.
We visited Keegan. He was asleep. He looked at peace. Ade took trouble to explain in layman’s language, what the different monitors were showing. His trachea tube had been replaced, as he had experienced difficulty without it. However he was breathing on his own, and is not connected to any machines at all. He was clasping two teddy bears and his hands were locked tight up near his neck. This requires a very expensive injection (R18,000) which was due to be administered today. That should relax the muscles and allow the physiotherapists to work on his arms again to try and keep them more flexible.
Across the aisle was another Zimbabwean, (from Harare) a Mr Soper, who suffered a terrible road accident as well. His elderly mother was sitting close by, clearly distraught. Mr Soper is facing the prospect of life as a quadriplegic, but as always, there is hope that this will not be so.
What thoughts were uppermost in my mind after this visit?
So to all of you who are part of the ‘Keegan Fan Club’: please stay the course, it is an honour to be associated with so many great people.
And lastly, as always, the Family and Trustees extend their deep gratitude to you all.
UNTIL NEXT WEEK……..