| 08-09-2005 Tuesday | Flight to Istanbul. Dinner in the city center |
| 08-10-2005 Wednesday | Stayed in bed |
| 08-11-2005 Thursday | After the surgery bloodpressure was 130/70. In the past years it usually was 100/70 |
| 08-12-2005 Friday | Huge setback in capacity. Arms are pulled up because of cramps in biceps. I cannot stretch my arms. All muscles seem to be in permanent cramp status. I have, though, sensation in all fingers of the left hand and sensation in the little and ringfinger of the right hand. I have a tingling feeling in my body and my long capacity is less. |
| 08-13-2005 Saturday | Have been sitting for about 5 hours in the wheelchair. No trunk balance anymore. |
| 08-14-2005 Sunday | Return flight to the Netherlands. Very tired. Dizzy in the plane. |
| 08-15-2005 Monday | Stayed in bed today. |
| 08-16-2005 Tuesday | Went out of bed to sit in the chair for a few hours. |
| 08-17-2005 Wednesday | Stayed in bed today. Spasms did come back. But they are not as painful as they used to be. |
| 08-18-2005 Thursday | I found out I have some decubitus on the heels. I hurt my left hand in the shower. I got pain sensation in the fingers. |
| 08-19-2005 Friday | Bloed pressure is about 100/70. The stiches are removed |
| 08-20-2005 Saturday | My triceps are still not back. Also I cannot move my wrists up and down |
| 08-21-2005 Sunday | Really a lot of pain in the stiff shoulders. My face is as on fire it is red and it burns |
| 08-22-2005 Monday | More sensation in my left and right leg when someone touches me and in the belly. It seems that the limit of sensation is slowly going down. |
| 08-23-2005 Tuesday | The left arm is now stronger than the right arm. The left arm has progressed quicker than the right. After the accident and before operation, the rightarm has been always stronger than the left. |
| 08-24-2005 Wednesday | I sat down in the wheelchair for about 12 hours. Sometimes I feel warm and sometimes I feel cold. Yesterday I went to bed shivering. |
| 08-25-2005 Thursday | A somehow lesser day. When the cover is removed from the bed, I have a direct sensation of cold in both legs. When Aad touches my right foot then Iit feels it as if my left foot has been touched. |
| 08-26-2005 Friday | A part of the triceps seem to come back in my right arm. I can slowly put the right hand on my head. The sensation of cold when the cover is retrieved is also there for the trunck. The capacity of the longs seems to have increased a bit again. |
| 08-27-2005 Saturday | Nothing new. Triceps is not yet back. It was most probably the spasm which brought the tension in my triceps . Going to bed early at 18.00 pm . I am terribly depressed. |
| 08-28-2005 Sunday | I’m feeling very down and stay the entire day in bed in spite of the good weather outside. The burning feeling in my face is gone again. It feels as if I relive my post –SCI trauma period which started with the accident |
| 08-29-2005 Monday | Again a day in the chair [10 am-22pm]. I went for the first time outside with Aad. It’s only now that I notice how weak I am. The small slope at the front door makes it already too difficult to brake and/or to ride. I do feel that my strength is coming back, day after day. Breathing has become much easier. |
08-30-2005 Tuesday | Went to the hair dresser with my handbike. Well that was really tough. It went well on the flat areas and braking was there also ok, but as soon as it is up-hill (we have some dykes here), I do not have enough strength. |
| 08-31-2005 Wednesday | I am now again able to brush my teeth myself.
Went for the first time to Rijndam again [rehab center]. At first it was psychologically not easy to go, but finally it felt ok. The strength training was touch. I have lost about 50% of my strength after the operation. In the evening I had a burning sensation in the legs |
English 
This is Theo’s report after the surgery.