Finally the power chair has arrived

Now we have every item of high-tech equipment and specialized device that can be deployed to make Wendy's life a little easier. This week we went to the workshop where major items of equipment and devices are assembled. Her power chair had some final fine-tuning adjustments and she had a test-drive in a spacious room where several other large pieces of equipment and devices scattered about the room presented tricky obstacles that she had to steer around. Two days later it was delivered, and she has since had a few test=drives in our apartment -- leaving visible traces of her passing in the form of several abrasions and scars on furniture, walls and doors... The power wheelchair is a snug fit and she sits higher in the room, towering over me in the next chair. there is an elegant perspex tray that slides over the arm rests and her speech synthesizer can sit on this. Above all, it is very comfortable, and can be tilted back so she reclines in a semi-recumbent position Which is all very fine, but she feels trapped when she is in the chair, especially when the tray is in place. She can't get out unaided, whereas she can get in and out of the arm chair unaided, or rather just with the arms of her walker for leverage. Of course as her legs get weaker she will find the power wheel chair essential but for now she is in an in-between state with legs that are weaker but still work reasonably well. I think she and I may both be wondering whether she really needs the power wheel chair; at present she doesn't but she soon will, so it is as well to get used to it and to learn how to handle it before it becomes her only way to get about. Today we are having one of those perfect late summer or early autumn days, a day of bright sunshine with a cloudless blue sky, the first traces of autumn colours, no wind, temperature in the low 20s. So today I will encourage her to get outside into the fresh air.

We continue to get letters, cards and emails from family members and friends who are scattered far and near in all corners of the world. This morning when I turned on the computer the first email to pop up on the screen was from Dodie Ziemer in Melbourne, a dear friend I have known since she and her husband Harald arrived in Adelaide as migrants from Germany on Christmas Day 1955. Wendy met them a few months later when she and I were courting. Dodie and Harald are in good shape, staying in touch by Skype phone with their son Markus, daughter-in-law and twin grand-daughters who are living in Santiago, Chile, for three years. One of the changes in the world in my lifetime has been this new freedom to move easily all over the world and for family members and friends to stay closely connected despite sometimes vast distances of physical separation. Alas, Skype no longer works well for Wendy; she and those with whom we speak by Skype can see each other, mostly David and Desre who Skype-phoned from Toronto last evening, but Wendy's voice fails under those circumstances. At least we can see each other and she can smile her lovely smile, can make gestures; but speech is nearly impossible and the synthesizer is too slow as yet. She needs more practice, but says she doesn't feel motivated or inspired to get this practice. I'll continue to encourage her and with time and practice her skill will increase.