We had an unbelievable happy weekend. Rob was finally able to come home for a long weekend. To say that this was a special moment would be a huge understatement. It was absolutely fantastic!

Everything was arranged rather quickly and we had a delay because Rob had a bad reaction to antibiotics — the reason for the skin irritation to his face in the photo’s. Ultimately everything worked out great and Rob came rolling up to the house on Friday late in the afternoon. Just seeing the look in his eyes when he saw his house for the first time is something I will never forget. We were both overwhelmed with happiness.

Rob immediately settled in and enjoyed every moment of being home again. There is just nothing like being at home and in familiar surroundings. He had a warm welcome from Jansen, who followed his boss around all weekend. He really enjoyed seeing the new things we had done to the house to make it more comfortable. It was very nice of our neighbours to come help me on short notice to get things ready for his arrival — many thanks.

He was thrilled with his new TV, the painting of our house, and the red reclining chair, among other little things. As soon as he saw the chair he wanted to try it out, and did great with getting in/out of it. I also think it proved to be good therapy with having other positions he can stretch out in. Rob really enjoyed being around all our furry friends. All the cats came in one-by-one to greet him with loud “meows”. There was a competition all weekend between Jansen and Sally the cat over who got to sit closest to Rob. Rob is having various therapies at Heliomare, but I think a little “fur” therapy will also help him a lot in gaining some motion back.

He really loved the renovated “winkel”, and I don’t hink he could believe that it was the same room. We had to improvise a bit this weekend, but he really enjoyed being able to use it, and could really move around easily in it. I’m hoping we can give it the full work out on his next visit, and we are both absolutely thrilled to have it done, and can really see how helpful it will be in the coming months. Rob was stunned when I told him about all of the donations to the project, and he is looking forward to thanking you all personally soon.

All of the small things about just hanging around the house, outside of a medical environment, were wonderful. We had a few quiet visits with nearby friends, which Robert had not seen in many months. He was so happy to see friends again and be around people who know him. It was also helpful to have all of their support and knowing they could lend a hand if needed.

We were also able to go out in the garden and Rob could enjoy being around some greenery again. We were laughing at our vegetable garden because it kind of went wild this summer and I haven’t had the time to do much with it. It looks like “garden cleanup” therapy will also be high on the agenda in the coming weekends.

Rob also had a chance to be in his shed again, which is one of his favourite places to hang out. I’m in the middle of a massive cleanup there, but was able to clear enough space that he could see his old Daf car and check out all his tools. I think over time it is going to be a good place for him to get back into doing things he likes and also getting away from me for a while too!

We also did a bit of strolling around our neighbourhood and we made a quick stop at the local pub so Rob could say “hello”. I think people were surprised to see him because we had not let many people know in advance that he was coming home. He really enjoyed being there and seeing some of his friends again.

The last night was very quiet sitting around a nice fire and chilling out. Rob kept monitoring the time, and it was clear that he did not want the weekend to end, and neither did I. It all felt so normal again to be back home and together again. After all of these terribly difficult months, it was a slice of nirvana.

It was hard for him to go back on Monday, but we both know that the rehab at Heliomare is the best way forward now. We are hoping that he will be able to come home every weekend now, so that will make rehab a lot easer to handle. We can’t wait for his next visit and are counting the hours until his return…