My Visit 14th April - Rory Forrester

I went to see Paul. It would be difficult to find anywhere that could look after him with more care, efficiency and tenderness.

Paul knew who I was and welcomed me with his eyes. I could see immediately that he understood everything I said. He had a tracheotomy, so could not speak, but I suspect it is too soon for him to be trying to speak. He was run.ning a slight temperature and was not comfortable, but was able to react with obvious pleasure when I showed him a photograph of him standing on a beach on Ardnamurchan with his boat Skua in the background.

I talked to him and he listened, sometimes reacting with a slight nod of his head. A photograph of primroses and bluebells in a wood brought a hint of a smile to his face. Then he got tired and needed to rest.

After lunch, I went back to his room, which is part of a small ward. Paul has his own space in the ward with a television and a bed by the window. He was sitting up having a throat massage to help him swallow, which is not completely natural for him yet and watching the David Attenborough Blue Planet DVD. He looked brighter and again a hint of a smile when I said to him “Hi Paul! That’s more like the Paul I know!”. After the DVD finished, Christina, the speech therapist, came to talk to him. She was a pretty girl and he was obviously at ease with her as she chatted away to him. He has to wear mittens to stop him tugging at all the tubes and wires attached to him, and was obviously amused when she told him that he was wearing sexy gloves. When she left I told him about a book I had read about the Antarctic, about the Scott expedition and how Amundsen got there first, as of course he, Paul, had been there. Then I told him about a picture I had bought from Cory Bristowe (who used to live at Linndhu on Mull) and whom he remembered. The picture is of Amundsen’s boat trapped in the ice in Antarctica and how, needless to say, it was one of the more expensive pictures in the exhibition, but because of this amazing book, I had had to buy it, and he almost laughed.

I showed him a photograph of him which we had taken on our boat trip to the isles of Muck and Canna last summer. He was about to jump into the sea in his boxers. He reached out with his left hand and took it from me. Small beginnings, but so encouraging. He can move both his forearms and his feet.

Penny’s wisdom, devotion and courage have got Paul to where he is today - in the best place with the best doctors and nurses. Paul needs time - a lot of time - and contact, as he is in an environment that is both physically and emotionally foreign to him. She, Charlotte and William need all the support we can give them because what she is doing is working.

Rory Forrester 4-14-09