Prayer for Paul

Psalm 31 In te, Domine, aperavi

In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame:
deliver me in your rightousness.

Incline your ear to me;
make haste to deliver me.

Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe,
for you are my crag and my stronghold;
for the sake of your name, lead me and guide me.

Take me out of the net that
they have secretly set for me,
for you are my tower of strength.

Into your hands I commend my spirit,
for you have redeemed me,
O Lord, O God of truth.

Hotel Alpenrose - 10.00am

It is Friday morning. Carrie Pryor has just blown in all the way from New York, a great gust of energy, huge smiles, entering the Alpenrose at breakfast! Antony Martens is leaving this afternoon. He has been simply marvellous, and has been my ADC this week. Not only talking to the doctors and nurses up at Rankweil, but sitting with Paul for 4 hours an afternoon, reading to him, chatting away. He is also going to be Carrie's tour guide of Feldkirch before he leaves early this afternoon.

I have not been in a position to visit Paul for the past 2 days, fighting off a nasty upper respiratory infection, and trying to recover. Maddening, but there we are. I have been able to talk to the doctor in charge, who again, has been very kind, helpful and gracious. I am hoping that tomorrow I will feel better to visit.

How is Paul - stable, slow but steady progress. Again, I urge patience. This is all about time. He is being beautifully cared for in Rankweil.

Behind the scenes I have been co-ordinating the plans to repatriate Paul to London. This is complex, and I will not bore you with the details, other than to say, that I do believe that this will happen very soon. Of course there could always be medical complications that could delay this. It is one day at a time. Once this is in place, I will pop on a plane back to London.

Again, a huge thank you for the ongoing love, prayers, and incredible support that is flowing in from all over the world and in so many ways. The wonderful support that many of you are showing Charlotte and William is immeasurable, and just helps me share the load. Tom and Simon, Paul's two of Paul's top boys on the BSES expedition in 2003, in particular, are a guiding light for Will and I know are going to be there for when Charlotte returns on the 1st April.

I will post another update when I can. With fondest love and best wishes to you all. PENNY

Report From Antony Martens

I am an old friend of Paul's and am currently in Feldkirch with Penny and Paul. With Penny's permission, I thought I would give you an update for the blog.

As you will have read in Penny's last blog entry, Paul has been moved from the ICU in Feldkirch to the neurological rehabilitation unit in Rankweil (just outside Feldkirch) and Penny is working all hours of the day on the logistics of getting him back to England as quickly as is practical. She is hopeful that this can happen towards the end of next week, but getting it arranged properly and putting all the various doctors, hospitals, transport, etc together is very complex and is using all of Penny's enormous energy and organisational skills.

Time remains on hold for Penny and getting Paul back to England and in the hands of English speaking doctors is the immediate priority. Paul remains stable and there do appear to be some connections / contacts happening although it is impossible to put a timescale on how/when/what things will change. Periodically, Paul will squeeze your hand or move his fingers. His eyes can follow you and there are very small, but discernable head movements (nods) every now and then and he is also yawning - however we all have to remember that Paul has sustained a very severe head injury and this is all about time and the body giving itself a chance to heal and re-establish connections. It is also about peaks and troughs and it is not about every day visible improvements.

Penny has found the transition from ICU to the rehab unit very stressful and rather difficult and the adjustment has taken its toll on her. Today she is fighting off a chest infection; she is on antibiotics and is not best pleased, but she is being sensible and has delegated today's visit to Paul and communication with the doctors to me. I am trying to persuade her (unsuccessfully) to switch off her phone occasionally and try to rest, but, in fairness, Penny needs to be in touch with London and the doctors (and others). She has however not set foot outside the hotel today and I think is feeling a bit better. I must say, Penny is a complete triumph of the human spirit.

Visiting hours in the rehab unit are very different - strictly 3pm to 7pm - it is an open ward and the nurses and doctors are looking after Paul with great care. Penny hasn't had the chance yet to develop the relationship with the doctors there that she so skillfully had at the ICU and the initial change of environment came as a big shock to her. Hopefully tomorrow she will be back to her fighting best and I'm sure will be running the hospital in military style within a couple of days. Paul does know it and he is very lucky to have her.

Best regards, Antony

Weekend on Mull By Simone Desmarchelier

Having known Penny for a few months and having been embraced by her whole heartedly I was dying of curiosity to meet this amazing man she kept talking about so lovingly - he sounded like a super man but also with a heart of gold such that he could capture our darling Penny... I met Paul for the first time as he came charging in from London to Mull (in his purple jumper) having come up by the sleeper. To say that he is a whirlwind of energy is like say a hurricane is a small gust of wind!!! He has this amazing air about him - like a cartoon with swirls of dust in his wake from the speed he has been going at - and was 100 questions a second from the minute he met me. As I was the 'newbie' in the house he insisted I sit next to him at dinner so he could quiz me no end. What he didn't bargain for is that I can give as good as I get and much to Penny and everyone else's amusement I kept him on his toes for most of the dinner - and most of the long weekend I was there!!! On day 1 I managed to tear a muscle in my thigh and was bed or couch bound (with nurse Penny being my lifesaver) for the balance of my stay. Paul was having none of this insisting that I climb back on the boat and get off my lazy bottom - the idea of any injury hampering a good day out in winds and rain to go to the local show was incomprehensible to him!!! He never let up on me for the rest of the stay... The dinner on the Saturday (picture above) was enormous fun with Paul being the most fabulous host - taking time for everyone young and old (er) and ensuring the drinks and merriment were flowing. The end of the evening saw dancing on trestle tables and loud 80's music - all led by Paul!! He must have spent an hour dancing on those trestle tables - almost sliding off one more than a few times... In my almost 3 years in England I have never felt as welcome as I did with Paul, Penny, Charlotte and William during my stay in Mull - they were all extraordinarily hospitable but the best part was they treated me like family and that was what I had missed most since moving here.

Paul's fight will be hard but if anyone has the energy and the drive in him then it's Paul Hilton with the help of Super Penny!!! Love and prayers from London and from my mother in Australia - making St Anthony work overtime for his recovery.

With love, Simone

Song for Paul

Oh Danny Boy the pipes the pipes are calling
from glen to glen and down the mountain side
the summer's gone and all the roses falling
tis you, tis you must go and I must bide
but come ye back when summer's in the meadow
or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
for I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
oh Danny boy oh Danny boy I love you so...

With regards, AJ

Words Cannot do Justice

Yesterday is but a dream, tomorrow but a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day. Such is the salutation to the dawn.

Sanskrit Proverb

Regards, Jonathan Reid

Penny is Back in Austria

I returned yesterday afternoon to Feldkirch. Paul was moved out of ICU yesterday afternoon to their neurological rehabilition hospital in Rankweil, some 7kms away from Feldkirch.

My challenge and goal this week, and achieve it I will, is to organise Paul's repatriation to London. This I am doing with the very fine guidance of our London GP, who has some of the best connections, and like me, gets things done. The challenge has been to find a bed in an appropriate hospital to receive Paul. This we are doing and we have identified one. I now have to bring the two hospitals together and establish the liasion. Then it will be the medical team / aircraft that will need to be put in place, and then I can get him back to London.

Believe you me, I am not hanging around now, but I have to follow the protocol / procedures, and organising the above may take a few days. Visiting hours at Rankweil are between 3 - 7pm only. I can't wait to get him back to London.

I will post more news, hopefully, by the end of the week. I cannot add anymore at the moment. My love and best wishes to everyone and thank you for your continuing love and prayers. PENNY

Prayer for Paul

David's Song of Confidence

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait unto the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Psalm 27:13-14