Visting Paul

For those who don’t know me, I was at school with Graham (Simpson), have known his twin sisters Penny (and Trish, unforgettably – this applies to them both!) since they were 6, and Paul since he and Penny got together; I am one of William’s godfathers, though, having lived abroad for getting on for 10 years now, I have not seen as much of the Hiltons recently as I would have liked.

Returning from Dubai to Tuscany, and, not having seen Paul for a year or two, I am embarrassed to have to admit that I found the prospect of seeing him in this awful situation a bit of a challenge. A bit of self-indulgence I only admit in case anyone else feels this way: allay such thoughts. Of course, initially to see Paul like this is distressing, but to see Paul’s reaction to my visit was a most uplifting experience and the more people can spend time with him, clearly the better it will be for him (and them). I shall be going back. If you can go to see him, please, please do. It is rewarding for everyone, and the best help we can give Paul and of course Penny, Charlotte and William.

For this reason, I thought I should include something about Feldkirch. This is where you will be staying. In the Old Town, not far from the Dom, The Hotel Alpenrose (+43 5522 721 1750 hotel.alpenrose@cable.vol.at)is charming and good value. It is listed in the Michelin red guide. I phoned ahead and spoke to the splendid Clement, to say that I would be arriving late because of the snowstorms. He said he would keep some dinner for me, as I would arrive after the restaurant closed (open 6-10pm). I was welcomed with a thoroughly typical and delicious Austrian meal: consommé with noodles, three slices of Weiner schnitzel and chips, a lavish side salad and a very naughty chocolate mouse with fruit; a nice glass of red wine. Comfortable room (double sold as single – 10 is Penny’s room, but use it if she is not there: it’s a good one, as you would expect!), with tidy bathroom, flatscreen TV, wardrobe, bedside table, writing desk and telephone. Free Wifi. Dinner bed and breakfast (7-10am) came to 114 euros. Friendly staff. Parking across the way.

Feldkirch is on the Austrian-Lichtenstein-Swiss border, in a valley below the western edge of the Austrian Alps. Both the Old Town and the Dom (cathedral) get a star from the Michelin Green Guide, so worth strolling around to see them. As Paul’s visiting hours are only from 3pm to 7pm, you will probably have time to take the place in, and also catch up with email or whatever, as I did. Penny will guide you if you are flying (Zurich), and you can get there by train. There are motorways north to Germany as well.

The drive from Italy (6 hours from Tuscany and 3 hours from Milan) is a beautiful journey, but I should have planned to get over the mountains before dark. Crossing the Little St Bernard Pass was hairy, to say the least. Had I not been in my Panda 4x4 I would not have made it to Austria. If you intend to drive from Italy or southern Switzerland to Feldkirch before the snow season is over, I would advise using a 4x4 and travelling in daylight, if precipitation is forecast: the road north of the Little St Bernard Pass (tunnel) remains at high altitude for quite some distance, and was worse for conditions than the south of England was on 2nd February - again no sign of a snowplough! (I guess this risk will diminish after a month or so.)

Paul’s hospital is at Rankweil, 10 minutes by car north of Feldkirch. It is the only hospital in the centre of Rankweil and the signs to it are very clear. The hospital has a bit of a pre-fab stalag feel about it from the outside, but this melds into high tech, when one walks through the door of the ward. Paul is on the first floor in (Area G1) – follow the orange lines and then take the lift to the first floor. There is a pay car park at the back of the hospital (drive past all the other parking on your way in, and then follow the blue and white P sign). From the car park to Paul’s ward is about 3 minutes walk. If in doubt, follow the signs to Info and they will direct you to Paul.

You have to find someone to let you into Paul’s ward. Once you get to G1 you should find enough people around to do this (white opaque glass sliding door on the right, once in G1). Paul is in a ward, but has his own enclosure to himself, all linked to screens and other hi-tech facilities, which only added to my confidence that he is in the right place (and probably best to stay there for some while). They clearly know what they are doing there.

I arrived at 3pm, the start of visiting hours and they found me a chair, adjusted the height of Paul’s bed enabling me to side beside him and read bits from Evelyn Waugh, Hilaire Belloc and hopefully some quotes he found amusing from the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, as well as talking to him, playing games with the speech therapists and giving him the news from home provided by Penny and Charles.
When I arrived he was asleep, but they said they should wake him up, because he needs activity. Different staff came at different times and turned him over and otherwise made him comfortable. The speech therapists (who come Monday to Thursday at present) were with him for about 30 minutes, and were happy for me to stay. Engage the staff: many speak English, and they need to know more about Paul.
Go and see him: it will be rewarding and monotony-breaking for Paul, comforting to Penny & the kids, and uplifting for you. I will be going back, probably around 24th April.

If anything, I would encourage people to go in groups of more than one (though of course Penny, if there, counts as 1, and 2 is probably enough), because, at this stage, although one can ask Paul questions and get yes or no answers, he does not always respond. It is easier to involve and amuse him with a dialogue, as proved to be the case when the two speech therapists (only one of whom was fluent in English) did their treatment. If anyone else has a 24 hour window in their diary around then (22-26/4ish; I’m not exactly sure yet), I would be interested to know and make plans for a double act, if the medics think this is a good idea. I realise that most people would be coming from the UK, but if anyone is reading this in Italy, I will probably be driving from Tuscany, and so would be able to give a lift from Lucca (near Pisa airport), or from La Spezia, Parma, Milan, Como or Lugano, all of which I would be passing...

William fforde 28th March 2009 (Date of visit 25th March)