As Sunday was the better weather day we went out – first to Rabbit Island and then we agreed it was time to go out into the big wide world again… so we went to the shopping mall!

The stroke has impaired her vision . Amanda normally wears contact lenses. Her glasses are only a back up and so not her pre-stroke prescription. So she has the double whammy of wrong glasses and C – grade vision! While at home she just wanted to check to see if her contact lenses were any better. Bearing in mind she is right-handed she somehow managed to get her contacts into both her eyes FIRST TIME before realising they didn’t make any improvement. But at least she tried.

This morning, back in the Rehab Unit, I held her stick while she walked, entirely unaided the 40 metres or so from her room to the physio suite. When I told the physio he happily decided she doesn’t actually need a walking stick anymore – Amazing!

As I suspected now the basics of walking have been re-established he has decided to concentrate on getting her right arm and hand back on line. This is a bit more complicated than the relatively ‘primitive’ action of walking as hands are far more sensitive. But like the legs it’s all about repetition and more repetition, and she is very motivated to get it working as the promise of time in the occupational health kitchen looms later in the week..!

As I write, Amanda’s sisters, Liz and Sue are on their way from the UK to New Zealand for 10 days, and currently between Singapore and Auckland. It’s wonderful she has come so far in the last 10 weeks that she will be able to fully appreciate their visit.