Medically, November was a relatively routine month for us, but I did visit my GP to follow up the results of my recent Echocardiogram and ECG. My mild heart murmur, first spotted 10 years ago, is still very mild, and my heart is, otherwise, in excellent condition. The good news, then, is I’m not going to die of heart failure!
We have, this month, added two more people to our ever-growing list of health-related carers. Laura, a self-employed foot care specialist, came to us for her first visit. I haven’t been able to reach my feet properly for some time, and I can’t use scissors or nail clippers any more, anyway, so Laura did a wonderfully luxurious job of ‘servicing’ my feet. I’ve booked her to come again in 6 weeks.
Our second new contact is Mike, an audiologist who has a shop just round the corner. I’d been meaning to find someone locally for months, but hadn’t got around to it. Failure of one of my hearing aids forced me into action. A visit to Mike’s shop resulted in a very quick repair and an appointment for a hearing test to see if I need new aids. Doreen has been badgering me to do that for some time so I couldn’t really resist! Mike agreed to come to our house. I’d said we lived just round the corner but he can’t have heard (how’s that for irony?), or perhaps didn’t believe me. He decided to drive and was somewhat embarrassed to discover just how close we are to his shop.
This month’s MND Association social meeting was a bit different from usual, with a performance by an ex-member of The Merseybeats included. That afternoon, the weather was horrendous, with torrential rain pouring relentlessly from the sky. We considered skipping the meeting, but in view of the special guest, felt we really should make the effort. Roger, the Treasurer, was on umbrella duty in the car park, helping to keep people dry while wheelchairs etc. were unloaded. Attendance was actually very good, and the entertainment really enjoyable, if you remember 1960s music.
Physically, as with last month, there isn’t much new to report. My hand function has deteriorated a little bit more. My one straight finger, which I type with, is becoming weaker, as are both thumbs. It makes pulling up my trousers quite an effort and I am increasingly turning to Doreen for assistance with more intricate actions. For my medical trial injections, I now need her to screw the needle onto the syringe. And since she is there, I ask her to cut open the plastic bags containing both items as it can take me a long time to extract them on my own. But I still manage the actual injection myself.
With my hands steadily deteriorating, certain personal hygiene actions are increasingly difficult to perform. The time had arrived for the installation of a Closomat toilet, which is now fitted. On completing the necessary, the touch of a button flushes the toilet while simultaneously sending a strategically aimed jet of warm water to cleanse the nether regions. Release of the button stops the jet and starts a gentle flow of warm, drying air. Wonderful!
I thought I had adequately explained the operation of the new toilet to our cleaner, Kelly, but clearly not as after cleaning the bowl, she decided to flush it using the touch pad, which was a big mistake! That did, indeed, succeed in flushing the toilet, but it also activated the douche arm, sending a jet of warm water straight into poor Kelly’s strategically placed face!
My friend, Jim, who recently visited Japan, told me that most toilets in Japan operate like that. Some even allow you to select some mood music, which also serves to cover up any embarrassing noises. I did suggest the 1812 Overture, but Jim thought the timing might be too difficult!!!