HE may have lost his hands and feet to streptococcus, but the near-fatal bug that infected the body of Aaron Dalley last year has had no impact on his sense of humour.
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“Just the other day the head nurse asked me ‘How tall were you?’ I said ‘Two feet taller than I am now’,” Mr Dalley said, smiling.
And when doctors at the Rankin Park Centre, at John Hunter Hospital, come into his room and speak about his “lost feet”, he quips: “Listen, when you find them, can you give them back to me?”
Mr Dalley’s sister, Nicole Weekes, has followed his lead.
She recently posted a picture of Aaron with his handless arm extended towards a home-cooked pizza. The caption joked that “this is what happens” when you get between a pizza and her hungry family.
“We come from a long line of jokers,” Ms Weekes said.
Mr Dalley said his sense of humour had been critical to his ongoing recovery. It also helped to put people at ease.
When friends come to visit Mr Dalley at home during his weekend breaks from hospital, no line of questioning is off limits, no subject taboo.
“They don’t hide the elephant in the room,” Ms Weekes said.
Mr Dalley said it was good to see his friends, but good for them to see him on the mend, too.
“They’re amazed at how much I’ve improved,” he said. “When we’re together, it’s like nothing’s changed.”
Mr Dalley said he was about six weeks ahead of schedule in his recovery. Doctors were even talking about prosthetic feet, he said.
“The improvements I’ve made with my independence have been massive.
“I’m putting clothes on, now, showering, getting in and out of a car, eating and drinking, and signing my name. I’m fit enough to come home now.”
A benefit night has been organised for Mr Dalley in Morisset to raise money to make that transition to home life more manageable.
It will be held at Morisset Country Club on Saturday, April 28, and will feature live music.
Former Test cricket star Doug Walters will join former rugby league stars Brett Kenny and Terry Lamb as guest speakers at the function.
Tickets cost $50 and include the cost of nibblies and a couple of drinks. They are available from the club and stickytickets.com
