Treating the kids - Recovery and rehabilitation

The severity of Corbin’s condition was brought home to us immediately after his operation. He was brought back to the High Dependency Unit at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). It is a room large enough for only four patients, where there is at least one nurse on site at all times.

One of his roommates was a teenage boy whose leukaemia had recently returned. Some overnight tests showed that his condition had become terminal. Talk about an experience that puts your own problems into perspective.

During the first few hours after his operation, Corbin woke briefly and returned to sleep almost immediately. The most obvious effect of his operation was the static nature of the left side of his face. It didn’t move when he recognised his mummy and smiled.

I had been relatively emotion-free in the build up to the operation and during it. Just then, seeing my son smiling broke the barriers. My tears were in plentiful supply. I cried rather a lot over the next few days. We were about to experience the most profound human kindness imaginable. As I have mentioned before, the staff at GOSH are incredible. To witness their professionalism and deep-rooted compassion first-hand was an honour.

As the first day progressed, Corbin very slowly came round. We were able to cuddle him and make him comfortable. He would sip a little water, but spent most of his time falling asleep. Meanwhile, the nurses kept him topped up with painkillers. Corbin had many tubes and drains coming out of his body. These included a very serious-looking one coming out of his brain, behind his ear. It was attached to a glass jar.

We were lucky that a charity had paid for one of us to stay at a local hotel. That was so one of us could sleep while the other stayed at Corbin’s bedside during the night. I wasn’t surprised to get an early call from Tara during Corbin’s first night. She had been woken by the familiar sound of Corbin having a seizure to find a nurse standing over him, taking his temperature. The result was 39 degrees. Tara became really worried. The nurse gave him medicine to reduce his temperature, took blood samples and contacted the neurological team. Tara was convinced that Corbin was going to die. 

Gradually, his temperature was lowered. He started staying awake for longer periods, although initially he was unable to move much. At least he was picking at bits of toast and apple, which was a very good sign of recovery. We were reassured at every turn that Corbin was doing remarkably well. The non-stop flow of visitors was treated to various stages of the ongoing progress of his recovery.

The first major breakthrough came when Corbin made a slight kicking movement with his left foot. The surgeon had disconnected the right-hand side of Corbin’s brain. This small kick signalled that the left-hand side of his brain must have taken over some of its role. This was fantastic news. Before the operation, there could be no guarantee that Corbin would not be completely paralysed down his left side. This had been one of our greatest fears. It was now likely that the left-hand side of the brain would also take control of the other functions that had been lost.

Two days after his operation, Corbin was moved out of the High Dependency Unit. He went into a normal room on the ward, meaning that his recuperation could really start. So could the really hard work of Corbin’s rehabilitation.