A new month

Hello and thank you again for visiting the fundraising page of the Mason’s family. As you may have noticed, I have uploaded some new photos (with Sabruna's consent!).

I have uploaded new photos, so you can put an image to all the stories you have read. And it may sound harsh, but as you might see in the pictures – Dan will not be home for Christmas. The children and of course Sabrina will have to celebrate Christmas without him. In fact, Dan might not be home for another year, and even that might be difficult if Sabrina can’t convert her flat so that it will be suitable for Dan to come home. However, that’s still fairly far in the future so let’s focus on the more relevant things for now.

Just a summary of the current situation:

The head of neurology came to assess Dan. As you all know, Dan has suffered from a cardiac arrest, and whilst his heart stopped working, his brain has been without oxygen for a long time. This is called severe anoxic brain injury and that’s what Dan is recovering from. The doctor told Sabrina, that if a patient wakes up from a coma, they lose most of their cognitive abilities (thinking, personality, memories, it’s what ‘makes’ the person), but are able to move and often see. This is because when the brain is without oxygen, it protects the vital functions first, the functions you will need to survive. Simply said; you don’t need your cognitive skills to survive. Most patients end up like an ‘empty shell’ and this is of course very traumatising for families.

However, Dan’s situation is a very complex one. He is right the opposite of what I have described above. Dan is unable to move. Dan is unable to see. The specialists don’t know if he would ever be able to walk again, or see again. It is likely that he will be able to move his hands, but Dan might end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. This is very, very sad. The thought of Dan not being able to run around in the playground with Chloe and Amelie, is very upsetting. Dan not being able to see his own children, it is devastating. But let’s stay positive – he has beaten all the odds so far!

So, Dan might not be able to move or see, unlike most patients, most of his cognitive functions seem to be intact and he has good pockets of memories. Dan is able to hold a conversation to a certain degree.

The specialists have a complex case on their hands. Dan will need at least 12 month of very intensive rehabilitation and unlike mentioned in my previous updates, the rehabilitation centre in Haywards Heath has proven unsuitable. He will have to go to a rehabilitation centre in Putney. He might go to Haywards Heath first though, depending on the waiting list in Putney.

Now, this rehabilitation centre is private and the NHS will only fund 3 months. Sabrina will have to appeal against their decision to extend his treatment when the time is there. The cost of this could go up to £3000 per week. We don’t have the exact numbers yet, as it will totally depend on the care Dan will need. But for 9 months it will cost at least £50.000. Hopefully the NHS will extend their care, otherwise it will be a very difficult and tricky situation. When he will be transferred, isn’t certain yet, but it will probably be within the next month. Sabrina is really worrying about it, which is understandable.

*If worse comes to worst, Sabrina will have to sell the flat in order for Dan’s treatment to continue (we will NOT allow this to happen)

*Sabrina will need to pay for expensive train tickets to London

*Once the time is there, Sabrina will need to convert the flat, but how? Dan needs to come home after this journey of recovery, she doesn’t want him to be in a care home. We will do anything for her to make this happen. The children NEED to grow up with their father around them!

It is just awful for her to worry about these things. She shouldn’t have too. Christmas is coming. Sabrina and the children will not be able to celebrate Christmas with Dan this year, but let’s do ALL we can to make it happen next year. Please consider donating £5 towards a family Christmas for the Mason’s next year.

Let's just try.

All the best,

Sylvia