Memories..........and emotions

We had a very interesting day on Thursday. Joel wanted to go and visit Waikato Hospital and we also wanted to keep our side of a bargin that I made with one of the Doctors...that Joel would walk back into see them and that he would be well on the road to recovery! And that's what happened. We started our visit at ICU and were greeted very warmly by the nurse who looked after Joel on his first night back on the 6th of Jan. They were so happy to see him and those that knew him came out and talked at length with Joel and they were real excited and thankful that we come to visit. Then they asked if he wanted to have a look in the ward...there happened to be 2 young men in the ward both with head/brain injuries. One was where he was and the other in the bed next to that. Joel did not like it at all...and just wanted to get out as fast as he could. He said it was horrible and he couldn't stand being in there. Man was he sober at that point...it was good to see some strong emotion from him. Then a couple of his doctors came out into the hall and were amazed at how well he was doing. It was neat hearing Joel thank these staff members who did so much and again they said that not many people ever come back and they were stoked! Then off to Ward 8 and we met with the nursing staff there who gave another very warm welcome. Joel thanked the bloke nurse for wiping his butt... to much laughter. One more doctor and yep he greeted him with a hand shake and "ah it's the kid who woke up like Lazarus!" Again confirming that they never thought he would be so far down the track. So an eventful day and a good one.