technology is wonderful!?!?

Computers - my friend and my frustration. Actually it is called a communication device which is really necessary but..... Soon after I first got the eyegaze attachment I discovered it only worked when on battery. We had preevosly bought a second battery so I rarely used it when pluged in. I have a tendency to forget I am on a leash and either pull the plug out or get completely tangled up. Back to the story. Todd called tech support and after they tried several things remotely decided the problem was the charger. (it is fun to watch the cursor move and pages change while not touching anything ). They sent a new charger and I assumed everything would be fine but did not check. Bad idea. When I finally tried it when the local Dynavox rep was here it did not work. Damn. Okay so now the next thing was to send the entire unit to Dynavox so they could figure it out. One problem. I needed a loaned unit to use while it was gone. The rep had already loaned her spare, but hoped to have it back soon. Our ALS chapter had one in the loan closet but the assistive technology person was in Medford for the week. Anyway she did soon set me up with a device and transferred most of my data. In the office she was able to adjust everything so I could get in the car with it attached to my chair. This is a big deal because previously it had been higher than my head to get a good connection with my eyes. I left my device there for the Dynavox rep to pick up because she had a good shipping box. l told the rep that I had separation anxiety when I left it. Anyway it was shipped and they figured out it was a bad circuit board. Of course it had to be shipped to Philadelphia where winter was not leaving. Finally they were able to ship it out just before another storm battered the area. Meanwhile we were struggling to adjust the eyegaze so it would stay focused on my eyes. Fortunately I still have the option of using my foot so I was not in complete silence. When the rep brought my unit back she checked everything and had the same frustration as my caregivers. After removing my glasses everything worked great except I could not read the words. That did answer the question about the adjustment problems. For some people there is a glare off their glasses so back to raising the unit up to a different angle and all worked well. I realize that technology is my friend and necessary for my survival and ability to communicate but that does not mean everything is wonderful.

ALS Gala

The ALS Association annual Gala and Auction was a couple of weeks ago. It is always a fun evening but this time there seemed to be more PALS. (People with ALS) Perhaps it just seemed that way because of the number in wheelchairs. It was nice to see two people from my writing class. Neither of them go to the same support group so it was good to catch up. We really had a chance to know each other thru our our writing. The evening was also a big fund-raiser so that was great too.

Writing

Just realized I have not written anything for a while. Nancy and Phil you will have to remind me like you did on the boat email. Those emails are part of the reason I have not posted. I have been writing some stories to tell about the times leading to our decision to go off and explore. Previously in the writing class in I wrote some stories from our boating days and discovered that the kids did not know the stories. This led me to think about other stories. Once writing class stopped I did not have the push to finish. In the fall a group at Church was formed called everyone has a story. Here we share stories from prompts. Some choose to share only verbally but since I have to write everything anyway I like questions and comments on my writing. This has given me the push to finish things I had started.

I had to laugh

We usually do a family dinner on Tuesday night. This week the conversation turned to who could curl their tongue, an inherited skill. This conversation had occurred many times before so we know that Cindy and the boys can do it and Todd and I can not. From there we went to finger drumming. Apparently some people have to really concentrate to go from pointer finger to baby finger and back. So there we sit in the middle of dinner with everyone drumming their fingers and then switching hands to try again. Good thing we were at home rather than a restaurant. It would have looked really strange. The good news. I can actually move my fingers on my left hand and do it both ways.

fun

Last week TCWSM were out of town. Before they left Todd called Kathy to let her know they would be gone and would she make sure I was not lonely. She did a great job. Two nights people brought their dinner here. I could enjoy the natural flow of conversation when several people are together and contribute to some extent. It was also nice to talk and laugh with men. I love all the women that have gathered around but it is nice to have a bit of a mix. Friday turned out to be a fun day. It started out as a day for Kris to sandwich her quilt. Then it grew. She arranged to use one of the rooms at church with big tables. Much better then on the floor. I could supply the safely pins but we needed Kathy to show Kris the process. Then her daughters joined us. Tori needed to layout her blocks and Nicole started cutting. Just for fun Kathy husband Tony showed up so he could bug Tori. He was successful but she has a good sense of humor. He actually did help. All this was a warm and fun way to spend a grey Friday afternoon.