16 January 2012
After spending nearly 4 hours yesterday morning Trying to complete my blog entry with more stops and starts than I care to remember, and much of it using my splendid finger to tap out words letter by letter, I decided that my patience ihad really had come to an end and that I would put the whole matter in the hands of my lawyers. The point being that these are the only people who can resolve my problem. I have been with them since their very first version, 20 odd years ago,, and I’m not even sure that there is anything on the market today equivalent to this programme when it is working correctly. This being so, I have to sue for “specific performance” as well as “fraudulent misrepresentation” in not mentioning that the telephone call to them is at a premium rate whereas you are led to believe that the whole process is free, and a claim for “unfit for purpose” as quite clearly if they had not got anywhere after nearly 7 months the product they are selling i.e. this particular programme, is not doing the job for which it was purchased and therefore it is “unfit for purpose.
I have been extremely patient with them over these past several months but the straw that broke the camel’s back was the long e-mail I sent to them, following my last browser session with one of their technicians, came back “deleted and unread. Last time this happened. Ruben, the senior technician, assured me that this could, or should not happen. If they use these sort of tactics when every time they e-mail you they say’ unless we hear from you within 14 days we will assume your problem is resolved’ and then delete your e-mail in response,. I suppose this could always give them a let out.
In any event, the die is cast unless my lawyers persuade me that I do not have a strong case. In the meantime I have said to them that I assume they would wish to mitigate (minimise) their losses and therefore will continue to try to resolve this problem. Ironically, I received an e-mail from them this morning requesting a further copy of the Dragon long I have no idea how to get this so have asked for specific instructions or, alternatively, they will have to wait until Paul’ the computer’ comes at the end of the week…
In the meantime I am experimenting using only the (Dictation Mode),which, miracle of miracles, worked almost flawlessly writing this entry, albeit at snail’s pace. The main problem that started this whole process off it was that the programme did not understand my commands, so .maybe it is only the’ Command .Mode’ which is corrupted. We will see.
15 January 2012
We had two visitors last evening our old friends Jane and Kit Ode-Powlett .I’m sure they would not mind me mentioning that they were the perfect guests, arriving at 5.00 and leaving a few moments before the carers were due at 6.00. I really enjoyed our chat together but I have found that an hour is just about the right length of time before I got too tired to be sociable. After Jane and Kit and left I attempted to bring my yesterday’s entry up to date, to cover the visit, but got so frustrated with Dragon stopping every few words that I gave up in the end
It would be remiss of me not to mention the generosity of these two old friends, Jane, knowing of my love of her homemade marmalade generously bought me two jars of hers and Kit, knowing my’ penchant for a glass of champagne, very generously bought a bottle of Bollinger. I really know not what I have done to deserve such kind friends.
Although we originally met at the golf club, Kit who is an extremely good bridge and chess player – county standard in both, I believe – offered to come here in the winter months, perhaps on a Tuesday ,if the weather was too bad for golf and play, or perhaps I should say improve, my rather poor chess. We did this once or twice but since then, most Tuesdays the weather has been quite clement plus the problems with Dragon taking three or four hours to do what I would have done in the past in an hour, we simply. I have not had the time to resume my chess lessons. This is a great pity as I have always been keen on board game is (that’s my success in becoming World Champion in Monopoly, in 1977) This one of the reasons I shall be very happy when Dragon resolves this problem so I can take Kit up again on his kind offer.
I had intended to bring my blog entry up to date, to cover the visit, but after frustrating myself,almost into a state over Dragon’s antics, I gave up and read a little and watched the old programme on my laptop.
I did get round to telephoning my little granddaughter today to wish her a happy birthday, which had I intended to do on Friday We tried to do this through Skype, but we went through a farcical 15 min or so where we could either see one another and not hear, or speak and not see or hear one person speaking and see the other but never managed to get us both speaking and seeing at the same time. I am almost paranoid enough to suspect that Dragon has even infiltrated Skype, although I know that is not so..My daughter was running a Skype programme from a little note pad tablet which wasn’t really up to the job. I was particularly pleased with my own picture which was sharp and clear, so at least my end was working. We managed to overcome the problem, to some extent ,by speaking to each other on the telephone, whilst seeing our pictures from the laptop. Not exactly a proper Skype call but, no doubt, we will get it right in the end.
I gathered from the conversation we had that Lara had had a little party of seven or eight girls and the entertainment was a lady showing them how to make jewellery, necklaces, bracelets etc. A clever way of entertaining her friends after a birthday tea.
She managed to show me some of the pretty things that she made. This is where Skype comes into its own; being able to show each other things while talking about them.
Today, I must confess it turned into a lazy one. I didn’t feel 100% last night or even this morning. I suppose it’s not surprising that I have the od day when I don’t feel 100%. As I am 4 ½. years into this dreadful illness and feel okay most of the time, I really can’t complain.
I had intended to write something on The Big Question broadcast last Sunday, which I understood dealt with the issue of assisted suicide, which is currently being discussed by a government committee. Sadly, I found that such programs are only kept for seven days by the BBC and clocking in this afternoon for last Sunday’s broadcast, in an attempt to hear it again, I found I was just too late, it can be removed.
As this is still a pretty hot topic laid out there will be other programmes on the subject the closer the committee get to making a recommendation to Parliament, I shall comment then Having said that, my readers will recall that I went into some depth on this matter previously when we saw Sir Terry Pratchett in Switzerland in the Switzerland witnessing Mr Smedley taking his own life (see entries 5 July 2011 and 7 Jan. 2012)
14. January 2012
Horrendous news. A very modern Italian cruise ship struck rocks somewhere near Sicily and keeled over very quickly killing half a dozen or so people and to date 70 others are unaccounted for. The captain has been arrested but to date we have no more news on that. It will certainly put off a number of people I know who enjoy mini cruises around the Mediterranean. It does seem to be an inexcusable error when the cruise ship was following a well known course.
Good news. It was my darling little granddaughter Lara’s 7th.birthday yesterday and shame on me. I forgot to ring her. I had every intention of doing so. but somehow events overtook me and it is already too late today so I have to do before church tomorrow.
The Dragon. people are up to their normal tricks. I sent them a. ‘High Importance‘ e-Mail with a Request for a Delivery Receipt. This was on Friday and it included a very useful, highly comprehensive, dialogue of the problems from which I had suffered that which I thought would be very helpful to in trying to get to the source of the problem. What happens? I get back notification that my e-mail has been deleted without being read. This is the second time that an important e-mail has been treated that way by Dragons server. The last time they swore that it should not have happened and I had to go through a whole rigmarole of sending it again which is what I have to do again on Monday. I suppose they think that sort of defensive approach is enough for complainants to get tired of the whole business and just give up. But not me!.
The weekend papers were full of global financial Armageddon. 14 of the Eurozone countries had their credit rating reduced by Standards and For, the International Credit Agency. Even France had its rating reduced from triple AAA to the AAB. This is an indication that the international bond market anticipates problems with some of these Eurozone countries. Servicing their debts. What does this mean to the man in the street? I am no economist but as I understand it, in effect, the de-rated Eurozone countries have to pay a higher rate of interest to borrow money on the bond market to service their debt. This of course increases their indebtedness u It’s rather like these loan sharks ,in this country ,who lend money to people in trouble with a high level of debt and at such punitive rates that it spirals out of control and gets to the point where bankruptcy is almost there only alternative. France, of course, is furious that its credit rating should have been reduced from AAA and demands to know why their old enemy, the UK has not also had its credit rating reduced. The UK’s. level of indebtedness and its relation to GDP being very similar to that of France. The irony is that the, AAA rated countries are there to support those Eurozone countries which might get into trouble, so France could find itself, for example, helping out Greece, where it clearly is not very far from needing help itself. How long , Oh Lord, how long.? Until the Eurozone. .inevitably crumbles. In the meantime I have no doubt that they money market speculators are having a ball I gather from one of my readers that she has difficulty in opening .docx documents which I use at the end of my blogs entries to show you videos jokes etc and as a result they are missing out. I will find out, within a day or so, a way of overcoming this problem.l Incidentally, I’m getting desperately short of videos, pictures, jokes etc to catch on to the end of my entries as a little diversion. That will be obvious from today’s offering, click here and see yourself. Although there is an element of personal interest in it, then that I have been surprised at the large number of people now spend their lives wandering the streets ,travelling on buses. and underground, clutching a bottle of water as if their life depends upon it. Maybe they will not be so keen after reading this.
13 January 2012
‘Paraskevidekatriaphobics – People afflicted with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th will be pricking up their ears about now, buoyed up by the seeming evidence that the source of their unholy terror might not be so irrational, after all. It’s unwise to take solace in a single scientific study, however, especially one so peculiar. I suspect these statistics have more to teach us about human psychology then the ill-fatedness of any particular date on the calendar.
(Source Wikipedia)
This superstition seems to date from ancient times. There will be three such occurrences this year, exactly 13 weeks apart. According to some it is the most widespread superstition in the USA today. Some people refuse to go to work on Friday the 13th; won’t eat in restaurants; and many wouldn’t think of setting a wedding on that date.
I certainly do not subscribe to this superstition and have never avoided walking under ladders, stepping on the joints in the paving on pavements and so on. Obviously there’s not much chance of me being either. Let’s hope I feel the same when I go to bed tonight. (Although I suppose that house could catch fire!
What I should mention, which is far more interesting then superstitions, is that this blog went through its 2 millionth hit, a few days ago. I had hoped it would occur on Christmas Day (who says but I’m not superstitious!) as the first million was clocked up on Christmas Day last year. But the second millionth missed it by a couple of weeks. Maybe if I last that long. we’ll get the 3 millionth. hit by Christmas Day this year. It still amazes me that so many people login regularly to check up on the life of a nobody. K know my friends and family look rather bashful when I asked them if they have read blog recently
They generally reply honestly, not for two or three weeks. If this is the general trend, as I suspect it is, then it means that there are something like 40 to 50,000′ regular’ readers which is a staggering number. So long as a few people everyday draw comfort from it; maybe learn some new trick or some way of overcoming a problem or feel reassured by something I have done or even just been amused for a few moments by whatever I at the have added at the end of a particular entry. If it has taken their mind. off their own problems, even for a minute or two then the blog is achieving its objective.
I was fortunate that Alice needed Paul ‘the computer’, yesterday so he came round for a couple of hours in the afternoon and, as usual, we spent the time tinkering about with the laptop, mainly working on improving my web cam picture and got it quite sharp at the receiving end. It was at that point we tested it out on Richard, my mother’s husband. This 93-year-old was very keen to be up-to-date with today’s technology. Unfortunately, his own picture seemed very blurred and although I sent him a Logitech camera. I don’t think it was up to much, so I shall buy another one. Not only will Richard. then the able to see each other but we will also be able to exchange views with my mother, which I know will give her some deal of pleasure. She will also be able to see her grandchildren from time to time thus overcoming the disadvantage of living so far away.
Part of Paul’s. tinkering was to see if he could get the infrared controller to operate my iPod from my laptop Paul is confident that he can do it with XP professional, but still has concerns about Windows 7. Anyway, he comes back next Monday for another stint of babysitting and hopefully he will have furthered that objective then.
An e-mail from Dr Michael. He is in his seventh heaven surrounded by family in Sweden all mucking in – as he puts it – , and also this trip has given him an opportunity of meeting son.
Tom’s new girlfriend, Cloe (Mick’s spelling not mine) With his two boys having delightful English girlfriends (William’s Daisy, whom I’ve met and would agree., is a poppet.) I am looking forward to meeting Cloe as I believe William has some business in this part of the world so it’s not impossible that they may call in to see me. Certainly, Friday the 13th held no fear from Mick-quite the opposite. The way things are. Mick feels as though all his Sundays have come together.
Talking of good fortune, how lucky was this one-day old baboon when he met this compassionate lion. Click here to see an amazing video.
12 January 2012
For an Englishman my overseas readers must admit I have pretty well kept away from mentioning the weather every 5 min, which we are reputed to do. However, I think it would be remiss not to mention that as I sit here in my study, I’m looking out of the window at a beautiful sunny day with a deep blue sky. According to the weather forecast, the temperature is just in double figures 10 or 11°C. Really quite amazing for this time of the year. I can’t help feeling we have turned the corner so far as the winter is concerned, I know that there is plenty of time for it to become ghastly cold and wet, snow and ice etc but we are moving inexorably towards spring. What gives me a degree of comfort is the way my friends anticipate that I shall so be a condition to have lunch with them in May (having just made such an arrangement). However,I fear I shall go out very little between now and our wedding anniversary on 16 March.
Not so long really and well worth the sacrifice, if I can go through this period, without contracting a cold. Talking of that, I had just come off the telephone after commiserating with a friend of ours, whose husband died recently from pneumonia. He had some weakness in his lungs, a sort of emphysema and although they got him into hospital in good time. was on the respirator for a fortnight but for some reason could not be saved. I must say I find it all rather alarming as I have been told, more than once, that it will probably be my breathing that will; carry me off, so to speak, presumably after catching pneumonia. What surprises me is once you’re in the safe hands of the medical profession in hospital, even with pneumonia. I would have thought, with all their equipment on hand, your chances of survival were fairly high. However, this is obviously a misapprehension. so for that reason we have gone to excessive lengths to ensure that no one comes near me with a cold, or even the suspicions of one . Iof the suspicions of one. In the same vein, I have avoided now going out into the cold, clammy weather even round the house in my electric chair into the breakfast room, so no cigars now since the doctor left, and probably will not indulge again until he returns next month.
Talking about being’ ‘carried off (it was the coughing that carried him off, not the coffin they carried him off in). I think that’s the right way round. At least it was almost me last evening as I got a tiny piece of pastrami stuck in my throat from the delicious mushroom omelette that’ my lovely’ had made for me. I was forced to abandon the omelette and continued cough alarmingly for an hour or so, not having the strength in one’s throat muscles to clear any obstruction. I’m not sure quite what one can do about it. For a person who can stand up. I know you can lock your hands in front of his stomach and give a short sharp squeeze which should dislodge anything in the patient’s throat. But when the patient is sitting in a wheelchair or armchair and cannot move, I’m not clear as to the recommended method. I must remember to raise it at Addenbrookes or Papworth when I go there for my quarterly assessment next month.
I had e-mails from both of the children, Smiler and Chloe, both in, effect, saying how nicely the arrangements for their grandmother’s funeral (cremation ) went. Smiler specifically mentioned how dignified was the whole business. I was very pleased to hear this as my mother-in-law was a lady who always carried herself with dignity.
Dragon, over the past two days has a reasonably long periods of behaving itself, except that a new element of exasperation has been added to all of the others and that is the delay factor between dictating and the words appearing on the screen – anything from 3 to 30 seconds. Add this to the other current eccentricities (it wiped out the whole 83 pages of the blog. I was working on, during the dictation of this sentence, which fortunately, I knew how to recover) and the use of this programme turns into a bit of a lottery. I got no acknowledgement of receipt from my last e-mail to Dragon, despite specifically asking for one. If I complain I shall probably find that this is against company policy. I shall give them to the beginning of next week and then start the process of court proceedings against them. The first thing to do will be to get my barrister friend: to agree that I have a good case against them.
I certainly don’t. want to risk running a case which I lose, then end up with a large bill for their legal costs. However,
this is always a risk you take when you commence legal action against another party, however cast-iron your case appears to be to you and your advisers.
Last evening I was surprised when I received a video Skype call from Richard, my mother’s 93-year-old husband. Dear Richard is quite determined to be ‘with it’ and virtually taught himself how to work the computer. I encourage him every step of the way as I know it gives him a window on the world and short periods of break from looking after my slightly demented mother. The only trouble is now have to ensure that my Skype camera is properly focused and gives him a good picture..
Finding an apposite joke for this entry was not easy but I think is one almost fits the bill. Although Richard is a gentle man and certainly wouldn’t say such a thing, who knows, he might think it. Click here.
11 January 2012
Last night went fairly smoothly, Carla coming in, to turn me, at 1.00 a.m., 4.00 a.m, and again at 6.00 when she got up. She brought me my tea. just before 7.00 and we resumed our normal routine. It all went fairly smoothly and I was in my study chair, as usual, at about 8.10. From then on the rest of the day when pretty much as usual with Jane ‘the sheep’ attending to my needs. Alice arrived back in Cornwall at 3.00 p.m., Lovely as my carers are, I must say I am happy that she is back. Quite apart from our personal relationship. I feel safer in the house when she’s here.
Two unexpected visitors A man turned up to service the standing hoist which I know will make’ my lovely’ as she is a great one, keeping things well serviced and in this particular case, as we rely s’o heavily on it. Then Peter ‘the garden’ dropped in. Dear Peter is really like one of the family who, despite being a fairly shy person apparently asserts himself with Alice and says he wants to come and see me from time to time, which he does, and yesterday was one of those times..He just wants to reassure himself that I am no worse and we usually chat inconsequentially about cricket, which we both love, and when he has satisfied himself that all is well, he returns to his labours in the garden. I am fortunate to have so many people who appear to be interested in my well-being..
It seems that the funeral in Cornwall went extremely well. It was intentionally kept small and low-key and attended virtually by family but the numbers crept up to include various’ old faithfulls’ from in the village. Quite sensible really. I believe of that all of the grandchildren, made it, except,sadly,the eldest, Willim Garton Jones,for reasons to which I have not been made privy. As Victoria has lost her dining room which has been converted it into a bedroom for herself and Lawrence, they managed to set up a long dining table, in what was granny’s sitting room What more can one say about funerals of one’s loved ones. In the event, so to speak, will be the Memorial Service given in celebration of my dear mother-in-law’s life, sometime in the spring in North Wales, where she lived carried out most of her good work. I would not hesitate to go to the Memorial Service, by Ambulance but as it is too far to go and come back in one day I would have to find somewhere to stay and without my equipment it would eventually be impossible, so sadly I have to rely upon other people’s descriptions as to what went on.
I received e-mail confirmation today from my good friend Julian (Critchlow) that he has kept his word and dictated a block of update work on my book over the Christmas break. Apparently it is being typed as I speak, but just how far he has got and how much left to do. I have yet to find out. I know from Robert (Prof Robert Merkin) that he has gone about as far as he can. So what’s left is all down to Julian.. The great excitement today nearly was the return of ‘my lovely’ and slipping seamlessly into now well established routine.
I received an e-mail today from one of my regular readers who come across some very slippery sheets which helps her MND suffering other than the turnover easily embed. Well, as my regular readers will know I went through this whole process between March and June of last year and in the end made my own from satin cloth. But even these are not entirely satisfactory. I had hoped that my new correspondent had found something that I hadn’t been in the end, I discovered that she was talking about the WendyLette, which were not bad but not entirely suitable. The point that comes out of this is that if all MND sufferers, or probably their carers took the trouble to read backwards into my diary. That’s selecting a point when they think they started to notice more things going wrong with the patient and then assiduously read page after page of this diary. They may well come across matters which I have struggled with and resolved (like the silk sheets). I know it’s a bore, but it would really be worthwhile setting aside the odd hour or 2 to read this account which which unfortunately runs into two or 300 pages about which I hope is worth the effort and will save the patient, or his carer, making the same mistakes as I did.
I should perhaps say although it shouldn’t really be necessary, for, the masculine read and or feminine,. throughout this blog diary. This avoids having to put his/her own equivalent every time.
I can’t remember why I wanted to use today’s diversion except perhaps I’ve had it hanging about a long time but in any event it’s a clever idea, which I would have thought could have been used to great success on the Thames between Westminster Bridge and Greenwich. Click here to see ‘a bus like no others’.
10 January 2012
The A team functioned very well in Alice’s absence. I wish I could say the same for Dragon. I did manage to get yesterday’s entry down eventually, but only after a great deal of effort. I received a note from the good Dr Michael commenting on his visit and one of the things he suggested was that the stress that I’ve been put under over the problems with Dragon could be affecting my health and the quicker I resolved them the better. I wonder if that is one of the reasons I have become hypersensitive with sudden rises in temperature and, no doubt ,if. my blood pressure was taken at that time it would be quite high. Good old Michael suggested some other possibility for these symptoms. He thinks that there are possibly surges in adrenaline caused by a tumour somewhere or other, and vague possibility, but one which he respectfully suggested that the GP might have investigated so as to eliminate it as a cause. Anywhere the Blood Pressure has been taken and some blood for further tests and no doubt it t I shall here the results in a day or two.
One enormous advantage in having Michael to stay for a few days is that it is equivalent to having one’s private physician shadowing your over this period. He can obviously observe you under varying degrees of stress or other activity whereas in the one-off appointment with your GP . you can only recount situations which have occurred to the best of your recollection.. So with someone as experiences as Michael his comments or observations can be extremely helpful lto the GP. Of course, Michael has been around long enough to know the sensitivities of the medical profession and is always extremely polite in suggesting they might care to consider this or that and not look as though he is usurping their personal relationship with the patient.
Jane ‘the sheep’ came until midday when Paul ‘the computer’ took over and fed me my lunch whilst being subjected to the honest to goodness treatment of people, mainly involved in ridiculous domestic situations, being lectured to by Judge Judy. I forget then what happened about the switchover but I know Jane went off around 6.00 when the carers came to get me ready for bed. That was before Paul fed me my supper. He had brought with him a film called Inception, which, I think was a little too complicated for my weary brain. It was very well done but very noisy as we had my surround sound on, which, in the normal way, I would not use because ‘my lovely’ suffers from sensitive hearing.. Beside that the film and the special effects were incredible. As to the storyline, which was indeed complex,it was not always easy to follow, in that it involved planting dreams within dreams within dreams in a person’s mind to have some effect on a real event in life. It all got a little mixed up in my befuddled brain, particularly as I probably dozed off for a few minutes here and there, which made it even more complicated to follow. Even the simplest films today seem to have to have a subplot. That is two stories going on at the same time intercut and perhaps in different time zones. What happened to the good old simple movies with a beginning, a middle and an end? One didn’t have to work to be had to follow the storyline whereas with a modern movie. It is almost like an oral examination. In today’s film you had 5 or 6 min of action, before the title appears. , You could be well excused for wondering if you’re on the right channel or whether what you’re watching an advertisements, as what you are watching would appear to have. nothing in common with the title of the film, who had intended to watch, except it all becomes clear an hour so later when what you were seeing was a flashback 10 years earlier!.! Anyway Paul enjoyed it., that was the main thing.
I have not commented on the world global financial situation for a week or two because several countries still seem to be teetering on the edge of financial disaster So, nothing new there then. A new element has crept in to the European side of it and that is Hungry’s financial situation which apparently is dire. and which, apparently, the Finance Ministers and only just noticed.! Or, if they had they weren’t telling us about it. Spain, Italy and even Portugal’s debts have been well aired -the fact that the latest interest that Italy is now having to pay is 7 1/3.%, which apparently is totally unsustainable – But nothing, so far as I can recall, about Hungry Although they are not part of the Eurozone. They are a member of the EU and therefore their financial collapse would impinge upon all members. The whole business has become so complex, not only in terms of the possible European position should one of its members default ,either one who is part of the Eurozone or even one is just an EU member, that it is hard to keep up. We just go on day-to-day with our head in the sand hoping nothing will happen, and somehow or other, it will all go away.. One thing is for certain, there is nothing I can do sitting immobile in my office chair all day other than to protect my own personal interests which I have done to some extent by switching the form of my investments. Beyond that, I follow my long observed philosophy of not worrying about things about which I can do nothing.
Yesterday was a first in that I received a couple of e-mails from my oldest grandson, Fred. Up to now everything has being filtered through his mother. As I have been feeding the boys on snippets from U tube. this is the first real response I have had, which I’m very pleased about.. Fred’s two e-mails comprised one of which a poor buffalo calf with attacked by a pride of lions, slipped into the river, during the fight with the lions and then engaged in an uncomfortable, and no doubt painful, tug of war between lions and croc which the lions won when the calf was dragged back onto dry land, at which stage the whole buffalo herd charged the lions and drove them off. The buffalo calf was quickly swallowed up by the herd so we shall never know what physical damage he suffered at the teeth of the lions or the crocc. but he would certainly have been traumatised and learned his lesson not to stray too far from his mother’s side in future.. It was all very fascinating and exciting but I don’t think that one is for the blog. The second one he sent involved a tiger protecting and sleeping with a one day old baboon, whose mother he had killed. These sort of videos showing great insight into the animal kingdom and I think are fascinating. Fred, thank you and I reproduce your second video here. Just click here and watch
9 January 2012
A day of coming and goings. Alice’s mother’s funeral is on Wednesday so there were many things to organise to allow ‘my lovely’ to be away for the best part of two nights. It might just as well been a month for amount of things that had to be arranged. First of all, there was the evening session with the carers. Tonight, Carla, one of the Ross nursing team and our most regular carer came to do the 9.30 session and then stayed on in the spare room above me ready to carry out the morning duties, getting me up sitting on the edge of the bed, giving me my morning cup of tea; then my orange juice and my daily mineral and vitamin tablet, Berroca ; then breakfast, a shave and cleaning my teeth with my electric toothbrush..’My lovely’ normally gets all is done before the 7.30 girls arrived to give me a shower, dress me etc .
On this occasion Carla carried out his duties very proficiently before Emma, the other carer, joined her to carry out the next stage. In the meantime’ my lovely’ got about four o’clock to catch various trains to get her to Cornwall in time for the funeral. I’m not quite sure how it works but I know she’s going to be away tomorrow night and then back late the following day. So it’s Carla again this evening with Jane’ the sheep in the background in case things go wrong as she is more familiar with the house, than Carla.
It’s amazing the amount of things that Alice had to think of in advance. quite apart from the medication and the meals. It was a real military exercise. I must say everybody says how wonderful Alice is. I really should tell her more often. I much appreciate what she does for me. No matter how good the other carers are, there really is no substitute who comes even close to her. I suppose she understands my needs better than anyone else. Having said that, Carla, who is our most regular morning carer, was very good and picked up on most of the things that needed to be done.
Paul ‘the computer’ popped in a couple of times to tweak my computer; the hoist man turned up unexpectedly to do the annual maintenance check and the district nurses came in to take some blood as a result of my recent visit to Papworth. What with struggling with Dragon. most of the day in between all these comings and goings. the time passed swiftly. The problem is that from about 6.30 p.m onwards I begin to feel pretty exhausted and cannot be very good company in the evening, although up to that time I am usually pretty perky but go downhill fast. I just want to go to bed except that the longer I stay in bed the longer I have to put up with the painful joints, so I always hang on until the 9.30 carers come in.
Reading this again I’m very sorry that it is rather dreary but then I suppose we are all entitled to our off days. I include these details of how I feel in order to share them with other MND patients so that they realise that they are not alone.
Two good things to report, to finish on the right note.The sheepskin lined electric foot warmer that Smiler and Kimberley gave me for Christmas has being a great success in un- freezing my icy cold feet.
I also have to look forward, hopefully only until tomorrow, when Paul is going to bring me an infrared device that will enable me to operate my iPod ,on its Bose speaker stand, I have over 5000 pieces of music (mainly classical) on my iPod and feel deprived of late in not being able to play them. I really miss my music. The remote control has to be pointing precisely at the iPod and I really do not have enough strength in my fingers to press down on the right buttons. So, being able to operate it from my laptop will open up an entirely new chapter for me.
In trying to decide what to add to today’s blog that might be of interest to readers. I decided to use an extraordinary clip about a couple who had reared a baby lion cub who had lost its mother. It was released into the wild and then reunited with them, a year or two later.in the jungle, where he had been released when he became too big to keep at home, It really is the most amazing sight to see this lion who has spent the last year or so in the wild, in his native surroundings, rush up to these people, greatly excited like a dog, licking them and wagging his tail (or do whatever lions do to show they are happy and not about to bite your head off !!). He even brought his wife to be there. Click here to watch this amazing clip.(I just hope that I have not used this clip on an earlier entry.)
8 January 2012
A quiet day at home after all the recent excitement. Of course, it’s Sod’s law that my Dragon was worse than ever,. immediately following the co-browser session with the technician when it had behaved itself reasonably well. (It’s what I call the ‘dentist syndrome’. We’ve all been there. Been kept. awake all night with a raging aching tooth. Booked an emergency session with your dentist you are in his chair and find it’s impossible for you to tell precisely him which tooth was troubling you) Today Dragon was totally ”beyond the pale’ and I very nearly gave up and thought I would skip a day on the blog . In the event I persevered and managed to get something down.
The problem with the present stop start method is that I am having to put up with, is that the lack of fluency in the entry itself. When I get an idea on something that I would like to develop into something thought-provoking for my readers ,the sense of continuity goes out of the window ith the frustration of having to log on and off every few minutes
Presumably we must be getting close the end of the road with these Dragon people now that the whole history of the case is being sent to the USA. They have a contractual duty to get it right. and as I made clear to them. I intend to pursue their current breach-of-contract. But must first radio. I must do everything I can to mitigate my. Loss ( damages). I consider I will have reached that point when I see the outcome of this latest co-browser session
I really must not bang on about this problem too much as I’m sure the reader is getting as tired of it as I am.
(Here is an example for you. I dictated these last two lines but when I looked up at the screen, they were nowhere to be seen. In fact they were between the 8 and December in the heading). My reason for being so persistent in pursuing this matter is very much the same as it was for pursuing the dentist over fraudulently charging me for work which he had not done. (Admittedly, the outcome was not very satisfactory. but that was mainly because I could not afford the risk of failing on a Judicial Review or a private court case and find myself landed with all the costs.).
I want to inspire everyone, who has a genuine gripe to follow through and not be intimidated by some pumped up arrogant person at the other end of the telephone. We are all equal under the law and everyone has a right to complain if they have bought something and it doesn’t work. I am really trying to make all my readers understand why I have continued this battle for seven months., Apart from the fact that there really is no alternative voice activation system for me after using this one for the past 20 yea
It is as much for what I call the’ little man’ (and I hate using an expression because it sounds so patronising). Those people who know me will know that I am not being patronising when I use that expression. It is for the man who has not got enough confidence to stand up for himself. The one thing I have, and just about the only thing now, is my voice. Add to this the snobbery attached to being a professor and it is often possible for me to get to the most senior person very quickly. That in itself makes me very cross as there is nothing at all special about being a professor. These days, just about everyone on television seems to be one.
But to return to my purpose in running this complaint for continuing to run this complaint for seven months. It is the same as a problem I had with the dentist, which I admit I did not ultimately resolve in my favour, but I certainly got the issue fully aired at the Dental Council, but could not simply afford to risk losing a Judicial Review or even a case in the Small Claims Court, which were the only two avenues open to me.
I shall await the outcome of this latest co-browser, said and then if we are no nearer resolving the problem may well resort to the courts. I already have a good barrister friend of mine who has agreed to run it for me. ‘Pro bono'(at no cost to me). In fact, I may well run the case myself from my electric wheelchair, with my friend, the barrister, sitting next to me in court. Every litigant in person, which is what I would be as no one is forced to be legally represented in the lower courts, is entitled to take a friend in with him to assist him within a matter. This person is called a’ McKenzie friend ‘after a case which there is no point in me going into/
Perhaps I need somebody like this Chuck fellow as my ‘McKenzie Friend’ to sort out my Dragon problem!. Click Here and see which you think,
7 January 2012
Campaigners have revived the discussion on assisted suicide, which was given great prominence last summer by Sir Terry Pratchett’s visit to Switzerland to observe a Mr Smedley going through the process and was actually present at his death.
Sir Terry’s dilemma is that he is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and has no idea how much longer he has in order to satisfy two doctors that he is of sound mind. A recent conference on the issue, chaired by the Former Labour Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, concluded that terminally ill patients ‘should have rights to ask their doctor for lethal drugs’. The report went on to say that the right to die should be limited to those who have mental capacity to express their wish.
Having said that, Lord Falconer, admitted that no system was watertight, implying, I suggest, that people with an ulterior motive for wishing someone dead might well be able to take advantage of new legislation on the matter. It is this very legislation which is so difficult to draft, in absolute terms, so as to thwart the ambitions of the dishonest.
Anyone given 12 months or less to live should have the legal right to ask the doctor to help them to kill themselves in as easy and painless manner as possible, the report, published a few days ago by the Commissioner on Assisted Dying, However, the report stopped short of recommending euthanasia of the kind practised by the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. To avoid unnecessary suffering. There should be a right to choose to die but it should be limited to those who have the mental capacity to express a wish to ed their life and had been diagnosed with a terminal illness by two doctors.
Under a string of safeguards, the report proposes a minimum two-week period in which the dying person will be given time to change their mind. Anyone physically unable to take the prescribed deadly drugs would be ruled out to avoid the potential for abuse of the vulnerable by malevolent relatives or friends.
In a follow-up radio programme, Lord Falconer said ‘I don’t think you could ever have a system that is completely watertight. We therefore looked at the current system where there is no check on whether or not you are really terminally ill’. As things stand, you can go to Dignitas without having a second check,
The commission was set up in 2010 amid the growing controversy over the deaths at Dignitas and the erosion of the 50 year-old-law, which sets down a maximum 14 year jail sentence for anyone who’ aids or bets’ the death of another
The new rules set down by the Director of Public Prosecutions, effectively frees people from the threat of criminal charges if they help the suicide of someone who is desperately ill, out of compassion but without thought of their own gain.
Predictably, the right-to-life groups said the report was fixed in favour of calling for legalised assisted suicide. They pointed out that it was financed by author, Sir Terry Pratchett and businessman Bernard Lewis, both prominent backers of assisted suicide. Lord Faulkner, who chose the other 10 members of the commission, himself led an attempt to bring in an assisted dying Bill in the Lord’s three years ago.
The 415 page report states ‘A dying person who met the criteria would be able to ask a doctor to prescribe them a dose of medication that would end their life’
The present report sets out in detail how a system of assisted dying would work. The individual would have to be diagnosed by a doctor as having a terminal illness likely to kill them off within a year. As MND sufferers know this will be an extremely difficult diagnosis to make as we are all different and no one can predict the speed at which a person may deteriorate. However, that is another bridge to cross if anhen the legislation is in place.
A second doctor would have to approve the first doctor’s diagnosis and then both would have to speak to the patient to make sure that the decision to die was firm and not made under pressure from others This two doctors system is similar to the process developed to allow legalised abortion in 1967 and which has been in use as numbers of abortions in England have risen to nearly 200,000 a year. The report recommended that if either doctor was suspicious there are independent assessment should be carried out by a nurse, care worker or a social worker. A doctor should collect the poison from a pharmacist and supervise the death, but the patient, the report said, should take the poison himself, preferably by mouth. The report went on to say that people like me who are disabled and unable to take the poison themselves might be allowed to use an automated syringe machine. In any event, if one was determined to go through with it, I see no difficulty in actually taking the poison. For example it could be sucked out through a straw.
On such a controversial topic, it would be surprising if the report did not have its critics. For example, Richard Hawkes of the disability charity, Scope, said he had ‘little confidence’ in the coalition’s over-simple safeguards’, which he said drew ‘an arbitrary line between people with a terminal illness and people with long-term impairments’. He added ‘in reality the lines between the two can often be blurred, making this distinction unworkable’.
Dr Peter Saunders, of the Care Not Killing campaign group, dismissed the commission as ‘a sham’ adding’ this investigation was unnecessary, biased and lacking in transparency and its report is seriously flawed. Those with differing views, including representatives from the major disability rights organisations and doctors’ groups were not invited to join the commission. Sarah Wootton, of Dignity in Dying said ‘opponents to a change in the law will continue to attack any efforts to find a solution to the unbearable suffering which continues daily, in the absence of a compassionate assisted dying law, but they themselves cannot suggest an alternative.
This report appears to me to be reasonably well-balanced and cognisant of the complexities that such a law will throw up. Nevertheless, looking at the experience of the 10 commission members I have every confidence that something will be put forward for Parliament to discuss, certainly by the next session. If not, towards the end of this present one.
I have quoted freely from The Mail Online, Sunday, January 8 2012, without asking the Editor’s permission. I hope I will be forgiven this discourtesy but this is a hot topic for my readers and carers and I did not wish to waste time pursuing permission,. but, in any event, my sincere gratitude for this succinct summary of the situation on this extremely sensitive issue.For a full discussion on the issue surrounding Sir Terry Pratchett’s visit to Switzerland to Dignitas, see my 15 June entry 2011
Click here for a few jokes about my generation to show that we can take it on the chin without taking offence