More toys

Toys isn't the right word, I know: these are pieces of equipment. One very useful gadget that I don't think I've mentioned before is the suction machine that Wendy uses when she is troubled by the overwhelming flow of mucus and saliva that from time to time stream from her nose and mouth almost in a torrent. This distressing symptom is common in advanced stages of motor neurone disease (ALS). Some sort of suction is far superior to a handkerchief which is soaked in a few moments, or a box of tissues that might all get used in an hour or two. She has had this for a week or two now. Yesterday (Sunday) Louise Coulombe finally cleared her backlog of urgent house calls and came to see Wendy. We have argued, Wendy and I have argued, that is, about the efficacy of the BIPAP ventilator. I tell Wendy that when she sleeps while she is using the face mask, she seems constantly to be distressed, judging by the noises she makes and her facial expression; moreover, it doesn't fit well, most of the air escapes around the sides of the face mask so each intake is accompanied by loud fart-like noises, which she can't hear because she is so deaf. On the other hand she sleeps quietly and peacefully without the ventilator. So yesterday, Louise said she needs a proper hospital bed in which she can be propped up; and this should eliminate the feeling of suffocation she gets when she lies flat. Sitting up, she is not breathless, and her oxygen saturation level is 97-98%; and she can get about our apartment quite briskly with the aid of her walker, so her respiratory reserve is still quite considerable. Louise asked for the hospital bed to be delivered tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow morning we have an appointment with the speech language pathologist, to collect the speech synthesizer, so by tomorrow evening two costly and complicated item of equipment will be added to those we already have. This week we might also get the power wheel chair that we have waited for now for several months. The advantage of this over the walker she uses now is that she will be able to see where she is going, rather than only the floor beneath her feet, because it is to be fitted with a reclining back. It's as well that we have a spacious apartment!