Living with Motor Neurone Disease 35 – November 2020

Another month confined at home by Covid restrictions.  We do miss seeing friends and family but the US Presidential Election, and all the post-election shenanigans, have been enormously amusing and entertaining.  The return of international Rugby Union to our TV screens also helped, as did US Masters golf and, as the month comes to an end, the England white-ball cricket squad has begun a series of games in South Africa.

We have, though, had three very helpful home visits from members the NHS and Community Neurology teams, checking on various aspects of our wellbeing and suggesting things that might help as my physical capacity continues to deteriorate.  Recent blogs have tended to focus on my growing mobility problems as my legs have weakened, but alongside those, my hand and arm function has been steadily worsening, albeit less obviously.  While I can still hold cutlery, I no longer have the strength to cut up my own food.  My wrists are so weakened they cannot support the weight of my hands, and lifting my arms above the horizontal is an enormous effort.  On the positive side, my one straight finger still allows me to type, but it is weakening.

One of the things that had been concerning me for some time was the age of our desktop PC.  It was nearing 11 years old and just beginning to show its age at times.  With a newer laptop as a backup, urgent action wasn’t essential, but with my hands now so limited, I decided we should migrate to a new PC while I am still capable of dealing with the various software and data migration problems.  It also seemed appropriate to upgrade to a faster, more powerful machine, more suited to voice-recognition and other advanced access systems that I might need before long.

Our new desktop PC arrived within days of ordering, but not the webcam I’d ordered to go with it.  Checking my order status on line, the webcam was being manufactured.  It would be shipped in March 2021, and delivered in June!!  An alternative, ordered from Amazon, arrived within days.

In the past, I would have unpacked everything and connected it all together myself.  This time, however, I was going to have to rely on Doreen.  I feared that marital relations might be severely strained given Doreen’s lack of ‘feel’ in such technical challenges.  I needn’t have worried. Everything went according to plan, connected easily, and worked first time.  Well done, Doreen!!

In my last blog I mentioned our son, Adam, had just bought his first home, and that I was advising remotely on DIY. His flat benefits from a district heating system but some of the radiators, although turned on, were not working. I suggested he try bleeding any trapped air from them and advised him how to do it, and where to find the bleed screw.  One evening, a few days later, Adam phoned asking to speak to me urgently. 

Adam and his flatmate (he has rented out the spare bedroom to a friend) had started on the first radiator, but they had been a bit over-enthusiastic in loosening the bleed screw which, freed from the confines of the screw thread, and propelled by the internal pressure in the radiator, shot across the room, never to be seen again!  With water now jetting out of the open hole, Adam’s flatmate imitated the actions of the fabled little Dutch boy who used his finger to plug a hole in a dyke; he jammed his thumb over the orifice while Adam called me for help.  Fortunately I was able to talk him through shutting the radiator’s isolating valves, stopping the escape of water.  Apparently I am Adam’s flatmate’s new hero!!

The Dick Heaver Salver was first played in 1999 in memory of Dick who was Captain in 1989 and a well respected member of the Club. As she has done for the past 20 years, Margaret Heaver, with her playing partner Geoff Sear, who were Club Captains together in 1995 , led out the field of 52 players on Saturday.
In a welcome relief from the excessive heat of the week all but a few managed to keep dry for most of the round. Winning the Salver with 39 points were Diane & Phil Allen closely followed by Margaret and Barry May with 38 points. Third also on 38 points were Lyn Deth and Bob Sansom. Congratulations to all the winners.

Today the ladies played a popular Greensomes format for their regular Tuesday competition.The day was fine after Monday's downpour so no complaints about the weather. The fairways proved quite a challenge after the rain but the greens were in fine condition. Coming in first with 41 points were Becky Dawson and Diane Wong-Allen, a whopping 7 shots clear of second place Aisling Cloonan and Pat Jenks with 34 points, who beat Alison Hopson and Haley Mccartney into third place on countback also with 34 points. Also with 34 points but missing out on the prizes were Marian Tuddenham and Catherine Yeatman. Well done ladies.