Hope you had a great Christmas and are still enjoying your break.

Thank you so much for the Robin Williams book, much appreciated. Unfortunately I have not been able to read it yet as I was in hospital from December 21st to January 11th.

I am happy to tell the story if you are interested.

Short version: I had an abscess in my brain from a Streptococcus infection that infected my bloodstream, probably from my mouth from dental work or flossing, and through pure bad luck, it got into my brain.

Long version:

Over 3 days starting Wednesday 18th December, I lost all movement in my left leg below the knee and a fair bit of strength and dexterity in my left arm and hand. I was admitted to hospital around 5pm on Saturday 21st December and had brain surgery (craniotomy) at 7pm that night.

The Neurosurgeon said it would have most probably killed me if left untreated.

They neurosurgeons successfully removed the abscess and drained the fluid in my brain. Infectious Diseases doctors successfully the infection with IV antibiotics for 4 weeks and now I am on antibiotic tablets.

For 11 days there was no movement below my left ankle at all and my left arm was limited in strength and movement. This was caused by damage to the neural pathways in my brain and I couldn't do many things without assistance. On the 12th day I started to be able to move my left toes.

From there the swelling started to go down more and I started getting more movement back each day.

After 12 nights in hospital and 9 nights in rehab I am now back home and doing well. I am walking unaided and am passed all tests for brain function etc with flying colours.

I am expecting a full recovery now. I am not allowed to drive for at least 3 months and am doing exercises to restore strength.

Not the Christmas holiday I expected to have :-)