15 March 2010
I slept last night with the Oximeter, provided by Papworth Hospital, to measure the amount of saturated oxygen in the my lungs. Then off to the hospital for my quarterly lung test. The outcome showed a possible drop in the supine testing of my lung function but the respiratory tests remain stable. My average oxygen saturation this time with 94% which was an improvement on the last test at 92.5%. Overall therefore there was no significant respiratory symptoms that would require non-invasive ventilatory support although the doctor did say he suspected a marginal decline in my respiratory function.
13 March 2010
I must say the daily hand massage in order to reduce the fluid, and the arms stretching, certainly seems to be doing some good. I have even introduced a new bed exercise of raising each arm in turn towards the ceiling and circling clockwise and anticlockwise ten times and then repeated a further 10 times. This business of keeping the joints moving makes a lot of sense to me and I cannot think why I was not told to do so earlier.
Yesterday a magnificent reclining chair arrived, courtesy the NHS, apart from being really comfortable, I am able to tilt the seat electrically to a point where I am almost standing up. Although I can still rise out of the chair with a bit of an effort, as my legs are undoubtedly weaker, this is obviously going to be immensely helpful in the near future.
Son, Smiler, drove up from London today to have lunch to see me before I go off. It was nice to see him as his visits are not as frequent as they were before he got married.
12 March 2010
Doreen, my secretary, came in today to help clear up the mess in my office so that I can leave it nicely tidy when I go abroad next week, with hands little better than flippers it is almost impossible for me to pick up papers and doing any filing.
I seem to have spent us to a few days sending off sponsorship forms for the Great London Swim – See the Special Entry at the top of the Diary, so, at the end of a long and exhausting day, Tristan (Frampton) popped in with a couple of bottles of decent champagne after which I felt considerably more relaxed.
9 March 2010
I made it today to the March meeting of the Mother Club of the The Arbitration Club. Fortunately they meet at Herbert Smith’s offices, at the back of Liverpool Street Station, so the distance from the train to the office is not too great.
One of our vice president, John Rushton, kindly met me on the platform (after firm instructions from ‘ my lovely ‘) and escorted me from train to office, including climbing three flights of stairs on the way which I wanted to test to see how I might get on in our resort in Thailand where our rooms are on the first floor. I managed okay but I don’t think I would have been happy to do many more steps.
I met a very pleasant lady on the train who also happens to be a teacher/lecturer and she assisted me by removing my hat and scarf and replacing them when we got to Liverpool Street Station, as well as helping me get up from my seat. It’s amazing how kind and helpful people can be.
8 March 2010
The thatchers finished re-thatching the house today and re-ridging in my office. I must say it looks rather splendid although the cost is equivalent to taking out a second mortgage. Fortunately this ‘full Monty’ only has to be done every 25 years or so, and re-ridged somewhere after 12/13 years or so, so either way I certainly won’t have to worry about it ever again!!
5 March 2010
Over the past few days I have found it increasingly difficult to get up from a seated position and I’m looking forward to the receiving the reclining chair from the NHS that operates electrically to put you almost vertical position onto your feet. I’ve also looked at an electric cushion which does the same job and hopefully will go and test drive one shortly.
4 March 2010
As I said about, yesterday, a very pleasant young man, Duncan Johnson came to see. Having seen my blog, he decided he would like to include a profile of him a future copy of the Journal. I suppose as much as anything what I have done over that time may be of passing interest to some young surveyors starting out on life. Anyway we had a good chat, and lunch at The Cricketers – Jamie Oliver’s dad’s pub -and Duncan made a few notes but absolutely promised not to mention assisted suicide which has caused such a storm in the recent media exposure from which I and my family have suffered.
The massaging of the fluid in my hands is now a daily occurrence.’ My lovely’ has generously added it to list of the many other duties that she now has to perform for me, having seen both Ali and Mel ( Plumb) the neurological physio, demonstrate the technique. In addition we do a few minutes of arm circling with the arms pointing vertical towards the ceiling to stop the shoulder joint getting too stiff. I really cannot understand why I was not recommended to both of these activities many months ago which I’m sure would have helped to extend the use of both hands and arms. I shall raise it at my next assessment in April.
When looking for an article on the New York Times on the web, I came across what claims to be cure for MND a drug or pills by the name of Troneton. Of course this is a scam, as is set out on the ALS/MND support forum group page. I’m just surprised that the advertisement is allowed to continue to make these extortionate claims and that the server has not banned the entry.
3 March 2010
Duncan Johnston, from the publishers of the journal for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, came to see me today to do a small piece for the journal on my blog. I suppose the point is I’ve been a member now for almost 59 years, so that is sort of newsworthy.
Time I think thus the more extraneous material to amuse or delight you. You will find the following:
Anecdotes
Astronomers Select Top Ten Most Amazing Pictures Taken by Hubble Space Telescope in Last 16 Years – exquisite pictures.
Old Farmers Advice – amusing.
Jokes
Actual UK passport application letter
Why men should not write advice columns
Videos
PowerPoint Slideshows
Astronomers Select Top Ten Most Amazing Pictures Taken by Hubble Space Telescope in Last 16 Years
“…they illustrate that our universe is not only deeply strange, but also almost impossibly beautiful.”
Michael Hanlon/AH (Nov 25th, 2006)
After correcting an initial problem with the lens, when the Hubble Space Telescope was first launched in 1990, the floating astro-observatory began to relay back to Earth, incredible snapshots of the “final frontier” it was perusing.
Recently, astronauts voted on the top photographs taken by Hubble, in its 16-year journey so far. Remarking in the article from the Daily Mail, reporter Michael Hanlon says the photos “illustrate that our universe is not only deeply strange, but also almost impossibly beautiful.”
Hubble telescope’s top ten greatest space photographs
The Sombrero Galaxy – 28 million light years from Earth – was voted best picture taken by the Hubble telescope. The dimensions of the galaxy, officially called M104, are as spectacular as its appearance. It has 800 billion suns and is 50,000 light years across.
The Ant Nebula, a cloud of dust and gas whose technical name is Mz3, resembles an ant when observed using ground-based telescopes. The nebula lies within our
galaxy between 3,000 and 6,000 light years from Earth.
In third place is Nebula NGC 2392, called Eskimo because it looks like a face surrounded by a furry hood. The hood is, in fact, a ring of comet-shaped objects flying away from a dying star. Eskimo is 5,000 light years from Earth.
At four is the Cat’s Eye Nebula
The Hourglass Nebula, 8,000 light years away, has a pinched-in-the-middle look because the winds that shape it are weaker at the centre.
In sixth place is the Cone Nebula. The part pictured here is 2.5 light years in length (the equivalent of 23 million return trips to the Moon).
The Perfect Storm, a small region in the Swan Nebula, 5,500 light years away, described as ‘a bubbly ocean of hydrogen and small amounts of oxygen, sulphur and other elements’.
Starry Night, so named because it reminded astronomers of the Van Gogh painting. It is a halo of light around a star in the Milky Way.
The glowering eyes from 114 million light years away are the swirling cores of two merging galaxies called NGC 2207 and IC 2163 in the distant Canis Major constellation.
The Trifid Nebula. A ‘stellar nursery’, 9,000 light years from here, it is where new stars are being born.
Old Farmer’s Advice
Old Farmer’s Advice:
Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
Words that soak into your ears are whispered…not yelled.
Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
Every path has a few puddles.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.
Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.
Always drink upstream from the herd.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.
D. Mark Cato
D. Mark Cato