We had a nice celebration the night before Rob left the hospital. He finally got that beer he has been yearning for (an alcohol free Palm) and really enjoyed it. Rob had a lot of well wishes from all the staff and everyone remarked on how fast he is progressing now that he is building up his strength.

We then took a walk over to the ICU so that Rob could thank them for all of their great care. It was all pretty overwhelming for both of us. Although Rob does not remember much of his time there he does remember a few things. The nurses were all happy to see him doing so well. He declared that the next time he visits he will be walking in to see them. Rob gave them a big chocolate chip cookie to thank them.

Leaving the hospital was a bit delayed, but we finally made it over to Heliomare in the afternoon. Most of Thursday and Friday were busy with receiving information and reviewing his current condition. They started some rehab and Monday he will be in the full swing of things. It’s going to be a lot of work, but Rob is very motivated to make the best of his time here. We are both very happy with Heliomare and are seeing progress every day.

Today (Sunday) we took a nice stroll around the dunes with Jansen. We have been lucky with the weather and the sea and sunshine did us all well. It’s a bit of a challenge maneuvering with the wheelchair and Jansen, but we should get better with that in time. Rob does great with managing Jansen and they are really bonding again after all this time.

We also went into town where they were having antiquarian book market and sat out side on a terrace enjoying the scene. It’s so wonderful to be doing these small things together and we are both celebrating every moment of it.

This weekend has been mostly catching up on rest, as they don’t do rehab on the weekends. Jansen and I are staying at a hotel not far away from Heliomare. Jansen loves to hang out outside the room and seems to think he is the boss of the hotel already.

The hotel is on top of a high dune and has a great view to the sea – hence the Dutch name “Hoge Duin”. I’m hoping that next weekend we will be able to come over together and enjoy their panorama terrace and maybe even some real food for Rob at the restaurant. Jansen thinks it’s a fun game to make the automatic door at the hotel open for him – Open Sesame!.

I’m off to walk back to Heliomare with Jansen now to see Rob. We walk on the beach on the way over so Jansen can play with all the dogs (lots of them here). We will probably just hang around Heliomare the rest of the afternoon before heading back to Andijk.

For anyone interested in visiting Rob, I know that he would really enjoy it now. The visiting hours are limited to the week nights because he will be busy all day in rehab, but in the weekends he is almost completely free. Please see “Bezoekers / Post” for more information about visiting, telephoning and his post address.

N.B. Rob was too tired to go out on Sunday afternoon, so I was caught in a bit of a dilema of what to do with Jansen. The nurse said it was okay to bring him up, so once again Jansen was smuggled in to visit Rob. He did fine in my duffle bag, and even fell asleep in it when I was walking around with him.