I hope you can forgive the impersonal nature of this email but it gives me an opportunity to wish you a Happy Christmas and to give you an update on my latest trip to the states.

I trust you are well and in a position to take some rest over the holidays before another year gets on the way. I am well and have been keeping fit, and busy.

Miami visit No.2

After 3 weeks in Miami, Florida in October where the weather men tell you that 76% Farenheight is a little chilly. I find myself back in reality with temperatures of 40% F downwards and too worried about exposing my electric chair to permanent lashes of rain.

The journey to Miami went very smoothly helped along by British Airways upgrade from the £450 standard class to the £3,000 business class seats.I was treated like an important person until we arrived in Miami when the primitive lifting of 4 guys carried me back to my wheelchair. The chair looked as if it had missed me during the 9 hour flight.

Two nights and one day was all I had to turn myself around before my first visit back to the clinic. The first session of 5 that week was important because I only had 40 minutes with the physio to measure on computer my last 18 months progress before the doctor dictated the programme of work for the coming 3 weeks.

During my clinic visits a computer would analyse the strength of my brain signals to certain muscles. If a signal had made a pathway from the brain to the appropriate muscle, this meant that the spinal chord damage (to the cells) were either repairing or re-routing. After muscle stimulation and vigorous physio for muscle building for several months on returning to England, the Americans quiet rightly, expect to see some controlled movements starting to happen..

From my previous trip it was discovered that the left arm was receiving strong enough signals from the brain which consequently has led to fairly good strength and mobility. Possibly 35%of its normal strength. This left side now is starting to show brain signals to the left wrist and hopefully later to the fingers. My right arm which has not shown much promise before now is registering stronger signals from the brain. My back/ shoulder muscle just below my neck injury is registering signals from the brain as strong as 80% of normal.

In general my body has improved a very positive amount in the last 18 months and is still after 5 years wanting to heal itself and working very hard at doing so, slowly gaining feeling and mobility from the top downwards. This news is again very positive and encouraging and so it falls upon me to continue to put these theories into action with the necessary physio.

Another upgrade from British Airways flew me safely away from the 80% F of the American Presidential elections of the USA to the October Christmas tree at Heathrow airport and the fuel crisis in the flooded state of England Its nearly always good to be back.

Thank you again for your interest, encouragement and support enabling me to take advantage of these incredible facilities the other side of the world.

Love Clarence