Summer Holidays and Paul's First Two Weeks in the Schmieder Clinic

Penny has been in London for five days this last week having spent the previous week with Paul in Allensbach in Germany. William flew out of London with Penny on Friday 3rd July to spend six days with his Father whilst Charlotte continues her Gap Year. She is in the Far East. Both have a busy summer ahead of them.

The move to the Schmieder Clinic went very smoothly. Paul is adjusting to his new surroundings and daily routine and likes where he is. His room has a magnificent view across to Switzerland overlooking the Lake. The medically led Neurological Rehabilitation Team is still assessing where Paul is and the extent of the brain injuries. They have now structured the first part of their plan to help Paul in his recovery. This plan involves a combination of both physical rehabilitation and neurological retraining. These two elements together are vital at this time given the magnitude of the injuries Paul sustained on the ski slopes.

The current plan is for Paul to return to London during the third week of August. Paul will then have had eight weeks at the Clinic. Both Penny and Paul will stop over for a few days at the Hotel Alpenrose in Feldkirch to touch base with their Austrian Medical Teams before heading for Zurich to fly back home. This return journey will be some six months since Paul and William left on their ski trip to Lech.

What is clear is that in the next few weeks Penny will be guided by The Schmieder Clinic as we work out the next steps for Paul's rehabilitation on his return home. It is too early to form that view. Although he is getting stronger, we must realize that we have only just started with his rehabilitation and we have to accept that it will take many, many months of hard work. Paul, in a sense, has a new job to do. It will also be many, many months before the normal pattern of family life re-emerges.

Penny continues to be touched by the ongoing messages of support for the whole Family, and for Paul in particular, and for the many wonderful and heart warming messages. She is so grateful.

We will try to post updates over the weeks ahead to give you a sense of where we are and as Paul continues to respond to his rehabilitation.

As ever, Charles

Wimbledon Tennis Finals day - 2009