I thought I'd cover the last 3 days in this update. Monday my usual No. 2 assistant for the session, Carolyn, was back at the Centre after a holiday - it was good to see her again. Our session went well, and included the new starter from last week, who had her first 24 ft dive. She did fine. The rest of the usual Members were present and accounted for and the session went off without any problems.
Tuesday my regular partner Josie was away and so I was joined by Blanca, a Spanish lady who has volunteered on reception for a couple of years at the Centre, but has now decided to also train as an Oxygen Operator. I think she will make a good No. 2 operator, she must just relax though and stop worrying about every little thing. :) We had a few problems with the New Starter on this session, who experienced pain in her ears, and so the pressurization ended up slowing to a crawl and we took nearly 20 minutes to reach 24 ft. It does happen sometimes though, and there was no next session following, so it didn't matter that we were running late.
Then to today - I had a session with Jean, good to see her again, and another session with Blanca, who is doing fine. The 2 dives went very well. It was quite busy at the centre, with lots of people coming and going, and the phones ringing frequently. I think there is now a 4 month backlog of people waiting for O2 Treatment now. I must remember to have a word with Nicki because I am sure there must be a way to speed things along... I do have an idea, but we'll see what she thinks... I missed Margaret today, who normally sits with me on the second dive, and we have a nice chat - I will catch up with her in a fortnight.
Time goes so quickly - I could hardly believe it when I got an e-mail on Monday evening about this year's Staff & Volunteers X-Mas Meal... Time to get it book, it turns out, already..! So Mandy and I will be going and look forward to it. It falls on my birthday this year, so it will be my birthday dinner as well as the Centre's Xmas dinner! :))
Best wishes to all, I'll come back and write some more soon -
Rod
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Another New Starter
So another Tuesday comes around, and this week we had the next New Starter begin her O2 Treatment with us. We had a few minor problems but nothing to worry about. Firstly the session began about 10 minutes later than the time it should have started - we are now thinking of asking new starters to arrive even earlier, so that this won't happen in future. There are a lot of things to go over and explain, which Paul M very expertly does, before a newcomer's first session. Then the new lady had a few ear problems caused by the pressurization of the chamber on our descent - this is very common of course, but it did mean that we took almost 20 minutes to arrive at 16.5 feet. Finally, on trying to breathe through her brand new mask she found it was impossible. The oxygen was turned on, and I had checked the pipes beforehand. Paul examined the mask and found that one of the holes (which the O2 inlet pipe connects to) had not been made properly, the hole had not been pressed out when the mask was made (we assume) We do have a spare mask in the chamber at all times, but luckily Paul was able to fix the new mask. This will be investigated with the fairly new supplier we have.
All in all though, despite the little hiccups, our new starter had a good experience of her first 'dive' and is looking forward to continuing the treatment. I will see her again on Saturday morning for the 10:30 session. The other session today, though running quite late as a knock-on effect from the 11am dive, went well. I'm not back in till Saturday (think I just said that) when I will look forward to a doughnut and a cup of altogether nicer coffee :)
Off to feed the cats. Take care all -
Rod
All in all though, despite the little hiccups, our new starter had a good experience of her first 'dive' and is looking forward to continuing the treatment. I will see her again on Saturday morning for the 10:30 session. The other session today, though running quite late as a knock-on effect from the 11am dive, went well. I'm not back in till Saturday (think I just said that) when I will look forward to a doughnut and a cup of altogether nicer coffee :)
Off to feed the cats. Take care all -
Rod
Monday, 12 September 2011
Monday 12 September
What a windy day today! Most inconvenient for wearers of hats as I found out on the way in to the Centre today! I did something I haven't done for quite some time today - I covered an extra session as a No. 2 Operator. I sat in covering for Carolyn who is off on her holidays in warmer climes on the session immediately before my usual Monday dive. I sat with Arthur which was nice because I originally started as a volunteer at the Centre as his No. 2... so it was a bit like a flashback to 3 years ago!! We had a good chat whilst running the session.
Both sessions went very well. I was assisted by Ian as my No. 2 on the second dive, who is also great to chat with. Tomorrow I will go in also for two sessions, as there is a new starter beginning her initial 15 sessions. It is always nice to meet someone new and see how they get on with the Oxygen Treatment. Always we hope it will be of benefit to them. Nicki also took a long-ish phone call from someone asking about having O2 treatment with us at the Centre, and I couldn't help overhear that we have a 3 month waiting list... This is good news (well, not if you're on the waiting list I suppose!) as it shows people are finding out / hearing about us and our services!
The building work upstairs is now almost all finished, and so it should be a lot quieter at the Centre again from now on... The mental health charity 'Headway' will shortly be moving in upstairs and renting an office from HMSTC so that is good news. They will have to find somewhere to put their sign up outside the building - a simple enough thing in theory, however we have the Heritage Foundation in Letchworth who can potentially be very picky and stubborn about such things if they do not conform precisely to their criteria! :)
On that exciting note I shall bid you... bye for now! Back soon -
Rod
Both sessions went very well. I was assisted by Ian as my No. 2 on the second dive, who is also great to chat with. Tomorrow I will go in also for two sessions, as there is a new starter beginning her initial 15 sessions. It is always nice to meet someone new and see how they get on with the Oxygen Treatment. Always we hope it will be of benefit to them. Nicki also took a long-ish phone call from someone asking about having O2 treatment with us at the Centre, and I couldn't help overhear that we have a 3 month waiting list... This is good news (well, not if you're on the waiting list I suppose!) as it shows people are finding out / hearing about us and our services!
The building work upstairs is now almost all finished, and so it should be a lot quieter at the Centre again from now on... The mental health charity 'Headway' will shortly be moving in upstairs and renting an office from HMSTC so that is good news. They will have to find somewhere to put their sign up outside the building - a simple enough thing in theory, however we have the Heritage Foundation in Letchworth who can potentially be very picky and stubborn about such things if they do not conform precisely to their criteria! :)
On that exciting note I shall bid you... bye for now! Back soon -
Rod
Friday, 2 September 2011
Into September...
Well, here we all are, now in September. Don't mean to be stating the obvious... just thinking how really quickly the year is passing by. Good news though at the Centre because the work on the upper level has been progressing well. I was upstairs today helping to move a few things about and I must say they have done a very good job. I am sure Nicki will like her new office once it's all finally carpeted and set up for her, and the new storage room up there is great. Nicki has been away all this week, but will return next week.
This was my last Friday at the Centre, possibly for some time, as Mike finally returns next week to take back his Friday dives from me. He has been away a long time off in a tropical paradise!! Hawaii for 4 months, no less... So unless I cover sessions, I won't be doing Fridays any more. I first took over Fridays from Eric, who had been at the centre for many years before I arrived there. Then after a while I handed the Friday over to Robert, but he only stayed around 10 months or so, so I ended up taking them back again. Then Mike took over for a few months before his extended break...
Well any way, the sessions today went well. I was with a relatively new no. 2 who had trained up over the past 4 or 5 weeks. The last day for many children of their Summer holidays today, there were 2 or 3 of them at the Centre who'd accompanied parents in and who seemed decidedly downbeat about the prospect of returning to school after I asked them. I know, I know... I shouldn't have even mentioned the dreaded 'S' word, the poor little ones... :)) (ha ha!)
Well, that's it for this installment. I am hoping to find out soon about taking over updating the website. I have some ideas I need to discuss with Charlene about it, so watch this space.
Take care all, my best wishes -
Rod
This was my last Friday at the Centre, possibly for some time, as Mike finally returns next week to take back his Friday dives from me. He has been away a long time off in a tropical paradise!! Hawaii for 4 months, no less... So unless I cover sessions, I won't be doing Fridays any more. I first took over Fridays from Eric, who had been at the centre for many years before I arrived there. Then after a while I handed the Friday over to Robert, but he only stayed around 10 months or so, so I ended up taking them back again. Then Mike took over for a few months before his extended break...
Well any way, the sessions today went well. I was with a relatively new no. 2 who had trained up over the past 4 or 5 weeks. The last day for many children of their Summer holidays today, there were 2 or 3 of them at the Centre who'd accompanied parents in and who seemed decidedly downbeat about the prospect of returning to school after I asked them. I know, I know... I shouldn't have even mentioned the dreaded 'S' word, the poor little ones... :)) (ha ha!)
Well, that's it for this installment. I am hoping to find out soon about taking over updating the website. I have some ideas I need to discuss with Charlene about it, so watch this space.
Take care all, my best wishes -
Rod
Friday, 26 August 2011
Friday 26th August
Things have been going well at the MS Centre lately, and I do apologise again for not updating this blog for ages. I have been doing plenty of O2 Therapy sessions and (hopefully) helping lots of people in the process. There has been some work going on upstairs, above the oxygen tank and reception, which has been a bit on the noisy side at times. Hopefully they are finishing up now though. Nicki has had a proper office built up there, so she doesn't just have a little corner in what essentially was a large cupboard any more!! Good for her. They have also knocked through into the CVS (Centre for Voluntary Services) office and put a door in, which will save a lot of time for people (especially Nicki) getting around the Centre...
Unfortunately I did not get to the Scarecrow Festival last weekend, though I hear it went very well this year. There was some slight disappointment on the Saturday as there was rain which dampened people's spirits and enthusiasm somewhat... but other than that... Well, we made over £180 from the sales of cakes which many people had made specially (my wife Mandy and I made a big chocolate cake this year, which turned out nicely - hard to part with it, but we can always make another!) - and the tombola stall made £285, which is just fantastic. Yeah, I know, I'm repeating stuff I already posted on the FB Page Wall..! :)
I hope everyone enjoyed looking at the photos of the 10 winners from the Scarecrow Festival this year that I posted the other day. It is clear that people put a lot of hard work and effort into designing and creating these. If I have one slight quibble with them though... well, to my mind, they are so good that many of them do not actually resemble scarecrows at all... (or is that the point, to make them not look like scarecrows..?) Some of them could be mannequins, there's not a stick of straw in sight... But I'm just being picky (I'm sure old Wurzel Gummage is spinning in his... where do they put dead scarecrow people..? Answers on a postcard) I must try to get to the Festival next year and experience it for myself.
The first session this Friday morning has been cancelled, so I could've had a bit more of a lie in. Particularly as the weather today is so uninviting out there... Hmmm... The second one is going ahead, which is a 33 ft dive. It will be the end of our latest New Starter's initial 15 sessions, so she will decide which depth she prefers and hopefully slot into one of the regular sessions. A very friendly lady, she has told us that she very quickly began feeling the benefits of the O2 therapy, which is always great to hear.
Okay - I'm off to kill a little time and then head over the to Centre. Best wishes to all - bye for now -
Rod
Unfortunately I did not get to the Scarecrow Festival last weekend, though I hear it went very well this year. There was some slight disappointment on the Saturday as there was rain which dampened people's spirits and enthusiasm somewhat... but other than that... Well, we made over £180 from the sales of cakes which many people had made specially (my wife Mandy and I made a big chocolate cake this year, which turned out nicely - hard to part with it, but we can always make another!) - and the tombola stall made £285, which is just fantastic. Yeah, I know, I'm repeating stuff I already posted on the FB Page Wall..! :)
I hope everyone enjoyed looking at the photos of the 10 winners from the Scarecrow Festival this year that I posted the other day. It is clear that people put a lot of hard work and effort into designing and creating these. If I have one slight quibble with them though... well, to my mind, they are so good that many of them do not actually resemble scarecrows at all... (or is that the point, to make them not look like scarecrows..?) Some of them could be mannequins, there's not a stick of straw in sight... But I'm just being picky (I'm sure old Wurzel Gummage is spinning in his... where do they put dead scarecrow people..? Answers on a postcard) I must try to get to the Festival next year and experience it for myself.
The first session this Friday morning has been cancelled, so I could've had a bit more of a lie in. Particularly as the weather today is so uninviting out there... Hmmm... The second one is going ahead, which is a 33 ft dive. It will be the end of our latest New Starter's initial 15 sessions, so she will decide which depth she prefers and hopefully slot into one of the regular sessions. A very friendly lady, she has told us that she very quickly began feeling the benefits of the O2 therapy, which is always great to hear.
Okay - I'm off to kill a little time and then head over the to Centre. Best wishes to all - bye for now -
Rod
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Saturday Comes Around Again
Wow, the weeks go by so quickly! Saturday has come round again. Today's featured doughnuts were mini lemon iced doughnuts from Sainsbury's. Very nice, and the whole of the 'Saturday Team' highly recommend them! :))
Well, the dives today went very well, and it was very nice to see everyone today. In particular the 2nd dive for the little autistic boy that I have written about before on here, was excellent.
As you may recall, we normally have a lot of problems with rapidly rising oxygen levels during this session, and 9 times out of 10 we need to flush the chamber by about halfway through. However, today the O2% started on 20.9 and ended on 20.9! I had to keep checking to make sure it was those particular clients in the chamber! The only thing that has changed: a new hood for the little boy to wear. It is a bit on the tight side, and takes some getting into and out of, but it is currently leak-proof and so makes for an easier, hassle-free dive.
We have another couple of new trainee oxygen treatment volunteers who have started training over the week just gone. They have both made good starts and show a lot of interest in what we do. I look forward to working with them both again. We also have another new starter who is having oxygen treatment in the chamber. She is about a 3rd of her way through her initial 15 sessions and seems to be doing fine. It is fantastic to hear that she thinks the O2 treatments are already giving her some benefits. :)
Well, I'll keep it a bit shorter this time - I will try and write some more soon -
Hope everything is well and good with everyone :)
Rod
Well, the dives today went very well, and it was very nice to see everyone today. In particular the 2nd dive for the little autistic boy that I have written about before on here, was excellent.
As you may recall, we normally have a lot of problems with rapidly rising oxygen levels during this session, and 9 times out of 10 we need to flush the chamber by about halfway through. However, today the O2% started on 20.9 and ended on 20.9! I had to keep checking to make sure it was those particular clients in the chamber! The only thing that has changed: a new hood for the little boy to wear. It is a bit on the tight side, and takes some getting into and out of, but it is currently leak-proof and so makes for an easier, hassle-free dive.
We have another couple of new trainee oxygen treatment volunteers who have started training over the week just gone. They have both made good starts and show a lot of interest in what we do. I look forward to working with them both again. We also have another new starter who is having oxygen treatment in the chamber. She is about a 3rd of her way through her initial 15 sessions and seems to be doing fine. It is fantastic to hear that she thinks the O2 treatments are already giving her some benefits. :)
Well, I'll keep it a bit shorter this time - I will try and write some more soon -
Hope everything is well and good with everyone :)
Rod
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Triple Session Tuesday!
Well, I do apologize for the lengthy delay in my blogs. Things have been going fine at he Centre though. We are looking forward to the next big thing for us, which will be the Scarecrow Festival in a couple of weeks. My wife and I will be covering a stall on the Sunday (it's a 3 day event) and so we will take photos for the FB Page and also I will write a little report for everyone.
Today I ran a total of three oxygen treatments at the Centre. The first one was for a new starter, and it went very well. She got on fine, despite having some initial concerns regarding sinus and ear troubles. I think she is quite eager and looking forward to doing more sessions and is very hopeful that the treatment will help to alleviate some of her symptoms, as do we :) She hung around the Centre for a time afterwards too, talking to people and getting to know us all a bit, which was lovely.
The second session was the usual 12:30 Tuesday lunch time session, which also went fine. We had an extra person in it today who was doing this session instead of the usual one. The main problem we experienced during this session was not related to the Chamber or session itself, but rather from above. On the floor above us, lots of people were having a good old clear out of stuff, ready for Nicki's new office to be built up there over the next fortnight. They made a right racket doing it, and we all ended up with headaches downstairs!!
The final session was with the autistic boy and his family as as usual it was a slightly trickier session, with O2 levels rising rapidly after 20-25 minutes, and the chamber required flushing by 35-40 minutes. This was fairly ineffective, probably due to the constant O2 flowing into the little boys plastic hood he wears (instead of a mask) and seeping out as he moves around a lot. We are toying with the idea of making his sessions 45 minutes rather than an hour in length. Quite often he only manages 45-55 minutes as we have to abandon the session, not being able to bring the O2 levels down enough.
More from me sooner (well, I will try..!)
Rod
Today I ran a total of three oxygen treatments at the Centre. The first one was for a new starter, and it went very well. She got on fine, despite having some initial concerns regarding sinus and ear troubles. I think she is quite eager and looking forward to doing more sessions and is very hopeful that the treatment will help to alleviate some of her symptoms, as do we :) She hung around the Centre for a time afterwards too, talking to people and getting to know us all a bit, which was lovely.
The second session was the usual 12:30 Tuesday lunch time session, which also went fine. We had an extra person in it today who was doing this session instead of the usual one. The main problem we experienced during this session was not related to the Chamber or session itself, but rather from above. On the floor above us, lots of people were having a good old clear out of stuff, ready for Nicki's new office to be built up there over the next fortnight. They made a right racket doing it, and we all ended up with headaches downstairs!!
The final session was with the autistic boy and his family as as usual it was a slightly trickier session, with O2 levels rising rapidly after 20-25 minutes, and the chamber required flushing by 35-40 minutes. This was fairly ineffective, probably due to the constant O2 flowing into the little boys plastic hood he wears (instead of a mask) and seeping out as he moves around a lot. We are toying with the idea of making his sessions 45 minutes rather than an hour in length. Quite often he only manages 45-55 minutes as we have to abandon the session, not being able to bring the O2 levels down enough.
More from me sooner (well, I will try..!)
Rod
Monday, 25 July 2011
Receptionists Wanted!
It's always the same, isn't it? There was unfortunately no volunteer receptionist available to cover this afternoon, after about 1:30pm, and so the phone kept ringing and people came in their droves to the reception desk. Okay, I might be exaggerating that a little bit! :) If you're reading this and think you (or someone else you know) might have a bit of spare time and would like to have a go at reception, I am sure Nicki would appreciate it greatly.
This afternoon's dive went very well, though we did only have the one 'passenger' - one of the regulars for that slot. It is a shame as when I started on that dive, the Monday 13:30 which was my 'first' regular dive, there were 4 (sometimes 5) going in it each week. Now there is 1 or 2, occasionally... well, rarely, 3 clients. We have another 'new starter' beginning her 15 sessions in a couple of weeks time - maybe she'll end up going into the Monday PM session... who knows..?
As usual on a Monday, it's very busy for a while when I arrive, then around 2pm it just goes very quiet. Well, apart from the TV which seemed to redefine the term loud volume this afternoon. I did not think he who was watching it and shall remain correctly nameless had hearing difficulties or anything... guess he just likes it loud. It made reading very difficult for me though, and I gave up in the end.
Carolyn, my regular No. 2 assistant, was back today after having some time off after breaking her elbow. Very nasty. She just slipped over and fell... I told her to try and be more careful in future, if he sees you coming along the ice cream man does normally wait... ;) Ha ha...
I mean't to not be in today, as a matter of fact, since it's my wedding anniversary - but I left it a bit late to tell Nicki so she couldn't have found cover in time. No matter, I was just away from my lovely wife for about 2½ hours or so.
I'm doing a fuller week this week - tomorrow, Wednesday, Friday and of course Saturday. The weeks go by so fast. Take care all - back soon -
Rod
This afternoon's dive went very well, though we did only have the one 'passenger' - one of the regulars for that slot. It is a shame as when I started on that dive, the Monday 13:30 which was my 'first' regular dive, there were 4 (sometimes 5) going in it each week. Now there is 1 or 2, occasionally... well, rarely, 3 clients. We have another 'new starter' beginning her 15 sessions in a couple of weeks time - maybe she'll end up going into the Monday PM session... who knows..?
As usual on a Monday, it's very busy for a while when I arrive, then around 2pm it just goes very quiet. Well, apart from the TV which seemed to redefine the term loud volume this afternoon. I did not think he who was watching it and shall remain correctly nameless had hearing difficulties or anything... guess he just likes it loud. It made reading very difficult for me though, and I gave up in the end.
Carolyn, my regular No. 2 assistant, was back today after having some time off after breaking her elbow. Very nasty. She just slipped over and fell... I told her to try and be more careful in future, if he sees you coming along the ice cream man does normally wait... ;) Ha ha...
I mean't to not be in today, as a matter of fact, since it's my wedding anniversary - but I left it a bit late to tell Nicki so she couldn't have found cover in time. No matter, I was just away from my lovely wife for about 2½ hours or so.
I'm doing a fuller week this week - tomorrow, Wednesday, Friday and of course Saturday. The weeks go by so fast. Take care all - back soon -
Rod
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Almost back to a 'normal' Saturday
So good to see Michael & Jo back at last - Michael is a fellow No. 1 operator, and Jo goes in the tank - almost everyone, all the regulars were at the centre this morning, with the exception of Mandy who wasn't feeling too well. It made a nice change for me to have Michael back running the first session (with Catherine, who has now almost completed her No. 2 training) - it allowed me to nip off to Sainsbury's with Alan and pick up a few things.
Also really nice on the second dive to see one of the children who has been really unwell lately, and hadn't been in for a long while. She is such a brave little girl, and we all admire her so much, and are praying that she will make a recovery eventually from the cancer which has blighted her life.
A small problem towards the end of the morning when the people who had arranged to borrow the MS Centre's mini-bus found that the compound nearby which it is kept in had been all locked up for the weekend, which was very naughty of whoever did it... Hmmm... I did feel bad for them...
Any way, looking forward to a fuller week at the Centre next week, since I only did Friday and Saturday this week,
Best to all,
Rod
Also really nice on the second dive to see one of the children who has been really unwell lately, and hadn't been in for a long while. She is such a brave little girl, and we all admire her so much, and are praying that she will make a recovery eventually from the cancer which has blighted her life.
A small problem towards the end of the morning when the people who had arranged to borrow the MS Centre's mini-bus found that the compound nearby which it is kept in had been all locked up for the weekend, which was very naughty of whoever did it... Hmmm... I did feel bad for them...
Any way, looking forward to a fuller week at the Centre next week, since I only did Friday and Saturday this week,
Best to all,
Rod
Friday, 15 July 2011
Another Friday :)
I often don't know what to entitle these postings!! It probably shows :) Any way... two completions today at the centre to report for you: the most recent 'starter' has now completed 15 sessions of oxygen treatment, so well done to her - it is quite a time-consuming under-taking! I believe she will start to come regularly once per week now, in one of the slots. I think she has an idea of which one. And also Andrew, one of the 4 volunteers who came to the centre several weeks ago now (maybe longer, I can't keep up with time...), did his final training session and is now a No. 2 Operator. He is a very competent young man and will make a great addition to our team of Operators. I have no doubt he will probably go on to train as a No. 1 Operator, which is great (the more we have, the better).
Off those 4 new potential volunteers, two have stayed with us (Andrew and Catherine), and the other two have not. Which is a shame because all four of them seemed very eager and enthusiastic when I met them. Almost positive it wasn't anything I said! :) This happens from time to time though, and I have been told, always has done. I think back to when I first started volunteering, and how I could've easily just 'disappeared' back into the woodwork never to be seen at the centre again... It would've been the easier thing to do... I am so glad I stuck with it though.
Very quiet again at the centre, with just Charlotte holding the fort down out of the members of staff. Another volunteer, Ruth who helps in the office, seems to have been given the task of finding out what a whole load of mis-matched old keys are for. for the past 2 or 3 weeks she has been wandering around the place trying to discover what these keys are for. I think it is quite obvious that a few of them are from the old building, before HMSTC moved to it's current location, and try as she might, she just won't find locks for them... Oh well, seems to be keeping her busy...
Hoping for a couple of good Saturday sessions tomorrow - best wishes to all -
Rod
Off those 4 new potential volunteers, two have stayed with us (Andrew and Catherine), and the other two have not. Which is a shame because all four of them seemed very eager and enthusiastic when I met them. Almost positive it wasn't anything I said! :) This happens from time to time though, and I have been told, always has done. I think back to when I first started volunteering, and how I could've easily just 'disappeared' back into the woodwork never to be seen at the centre again... It would've been the easier thing to do... I am so glad I stuck with it though.
Very quiet again at the centre, with just Charlotte holding the fort down out of the members of staff. Another volunteer, Ruth who helps in the office, seems to have been given the task of finding out what a whole load of mis-matched old keys are for. for the past 2 or 3 weeks she has been wandering around the place trying to discover what these keys are for. I think it is quite obvious that a few of them are from the old building, before HMSTC moved to it's current location, and try as she might, she just won't find locks for them... Oh well, seems to be keeping her busy...
Hoping for a couple of good Saturday sessions tomorrow - best wishes to all -
Rod
Friday, 8 July 2011
Friday 8th July
Unpredictable weather lately. It's doing my head in - one minute it's hot and sunny, next it's cold, rainy and windy. It's a bit like being back in April or something! Still... to all those who are telling me - "that's it now for the Summer" - I think we should wait and see, as I'm sure there's lots more nice weather to come.
Today at the centre it was rather quiet. My 2nd dive was cancelled this week, and also there were several members of staff not in. It made a change to leave a bit earlier on a Friday morning. I actually look forward to handing the Friday dives back to Mike, when he returns from his travels. Should be some time in August. It is not that I don't enjoy doing the sessions... just that I think I do a lot of sessions throughout the week already.
It's normally a 16.5' dive on a Friday first thing, but we went to 24' today as it was part of our latest New Starter's 15 sessions. It went well - quite quickly I thought. It's a little odd, the passage of time - it's definitely something that is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes the hour might drag for us Operators on the outside, but our 'passengers' might then emerge from the chamber claiming that it went quickly this time. And vice versa... :)
Any way, I'm off to eat some lunch now - then sit there jealous of all the people who are at the Sonnisphere Festival in Knebworth today!!
Rod
Today at the centre it was rather quiet. My 2nd dive was cancelled this week, and also there were several members of staff not in. It made a change to leave a bit earlier on a Friday morning. I actually look forward to handing the Friday dives back to Mike, when he returns from his travels. Should be some time in August. It is not that I don't enjoy doing the sessions... just that I think I do a lot of sessions throughout the week already.
It's normally a 16.5' dive on a Friday first thing, but we went to 24' today as it was part of our latest New Starter's 15 sessions. It went well - quite quickly I thought. It's a little odd, the passage of time - it's definitely something that is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes the hour might drag for us Operators on the outside, but our 'passengers' might then emerge from the chamber claiming that it went quickly this time. And vice versa... :)
Any way, I'm off to eat some lunch now - then sit there jealous of all the people who are at the Sonnisphere Festival in Knebworth today!!
Rod
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Another quiet Saturday
Saturday mornings at the Centre used to be a lot busier than they have been lately. We have a few people away at the moment I guess. The physiotherapist was also not in today, so there was also no-one on reception. On the first dive we had just two ladies in the oxygen chamber, and Val came in to cover for Michael who is still away. She was kind enough to also stay for the second session, as Mandy couldn't make it in today due to her waking up with a bad migraine. But Alan treated us to jam doughnuts and filter coffee (with cream), and we had a nice chat and a laugh.
On the 2nd dive we just had one of our regular children divers, plus the new starter from last Tuesday, who has now completed her five 16.5' sessions. She'll move on to 24' on Monday afternoon. It is great to hear that she says she thinks the oxygen is helping her already :) The little girl who has been quite poorly is unfortunately still not well enough to come to the centre - I do hope we will see her back again soon though.
All went very well though today, despite the fewer people.
Rod
On the 2nd dive we just had one of our regular children divers, plus the new starter from last Tuesday, who has now completed her five 16.5' sessions. She'll move on to 24' on Monday afternoon. It is great to hear that she says she thinks the oxygen is helping her already :) The little girl who has been quite poorly is unfortunately still not well enough to come to the centre - I do hope we will see her back again soon though.
All went very well though today, despite the fewer people.
Rod
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Stormy Tuesday
Today we've had the down pouring of rain which we were forecast to have last night. This made it quite interesting at the Centre. Due to the corrugated metal roof, the rain is heard very loud, especially when it is as heavy as earlier on. So at times, we needed subtitles I think...We also had these little micro-power cuts, where everything went off for a couple of seconds, then came back on again - including the lights in the chamber! Luckily everyone kept their cool :)
I'm glad that happened during the 2nd dive, as the first session involved another New Starter, and I wouldn't have wanted her to have flickering lights to contend with during her first session in the oxygen chamber. She got on fine though, and the hour went by quickly, so she will carry on and do her 15 sessions.
I wasn't in yesterday as our sole 'passenger' phoned and cancelled. I was a bit relieved as I was very tired yesterday, hadn't had a great weekend really, and not been sleeping that great. I wouldn't have wanted to go in and not been at my best, operating the controls of the chamber. I think that's the way little mistakes can often occur.
But I'm back in tomorrow morning for another two sessions. I hope that the stormy weather has fizzled out by then as I got pretty wet walking home today, even with an umbrella!!
Back soon -
Rod
I'm glad that happened during the 2nd dive, as the first session involved another New Starter, and I wouldn't have wanted her to have flickering lights to contend with during her first session in the oxygen chamber. She got on fine though, and the hour went by quickly, so she will carry on and do her 15 sessions.
I wasn't in yesterday as our sole 'passenger' phoned and cancelled. I was a bit relieved as I was very tired yesterday, hadn't had a great weekend really, and not been sleeping that great. I wouldn't have wanted to go in and not been at my best, operating the controls of the chamber. I think that's the way little mistakes can often occur.
But I'm back in tomorrow morning for another two sessions. I hope that the stormy weather has fizzled out by then as I got pretty wet walking home today, even with an umbrella!!
Back soon -
Rod
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Saturday again
It's Saturday again already - I cannot keep up with it!! My week's dives went okay - I was in Monday, Tuesday and Friday (as well as this morning) and all went well. I found out that on our little 'games corner' at the Fun Day last Sunday (sorry to rhyme!) we made about £50, pretty good for 50p a go! :) Altogether it is reckoned that the Centre raised somewhere in the regions of £1700 - that is really, really good news! Again I extend my thanks, on behalf of all at the centre, to everyone who helped out and made the day possible. I think we'll do it again next year, but it's not 100% confirmed as yet. The next big thing is the Scarecrow Festival at Flamstead of course, more on that some other time though.
Still missing Micahel who is a no. 1 oxygen operator on Saturday normally - he is still feeling under the weather after a rather serious bout of glandular fever - poor Michael. We wish him better soon. And also one of the children who is normally in our 2nd Saturday dive is still quite poorly, so we continue to send our thoughts and best wishes to her and her family. Both our regular 2nd session children were not in today, so the dive was offered to the other little boy who is newer. He has fairly severe autism, and his Mum and Dad both accompany him in the chamber - they say the oxygen really helps, so we are pleased. The only trouble with his sessions is that the O2 levels go up very rapidly and require us to flush the chamber in an attempt to reduce it. This doesn't usually work (or not for long!) and so unfortunately we often find we have to end the session after 45-50 minutes, so they rarely get their full hour. It is not permitted to carry on with the O2 levels rising constantly after flushing has failed, especially if they exceed 26%...
Well, I'm off - more next week - have a nice weekend all, it's going to be very warm!
Rod
Still missing Micahel who is a no. 1 oxygen operator on Saturday normally - he is still feeling under the weather after a rather serious bout of glandular fever - poor Michael. We wish him better soon. And also one of the children who is normally in our 2nd Saturday dive is still quite poorly, so we continue to send our thoughts and best wishes to her and her family. Both our regular 2nd session children were not in today, so the dive was offered to the other little boy who is newer. He has fairly severe autism, and his Mum and Dad both accompany him in the chamber - they say the oxygen really helps, so we are pleased. The only trouble with his sessions is that the O2 levels go up very rapidly and require us to flush the chamber in an attempt to reduce it. This doesn't usually work (or not for long!) and so unfortunately we often find we have to end the session after 45-50 minutes, so they rarely get their full hour. It is not permitted to carry on with the O2 levels rising constantly after flushing has failed, especially if they exceed 26%...
Well, I'm off - more next week - have a nice weekend all, it's going to be very warm!
Rod
Monday, 20 June 2011
HMSTC Family Fun Day 2011
I couldn't write this yesterday as I was so tired after a long day at the Family Fun Day, which I will now tell you all about :) I think it's safe to say this will be a long blog entry! The day began around 6am for me - as it was also Father's Day, my family wanted me to open cards and presents before I left for the Fun Day. Mandy, my daughter Jenna and I left the house at around 7:45am as thankfully we had been offered a lift to the Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living where the event was taking place. Quite a large field / grounds round the back of the large building, we had plenty of room for all our needs. We quickly got to work, helping to set things up - first the information stall, then we located the games 'stall', or I should really call it the games corner, as we were in the corner and also we weren't under the cover of a gazebo as around 90% of the other stalls were! :) This was fine, till it rained a bit later, but we'll get to that in a bit...
To begin with we thought we would also be running the couple of golf games, which we set up in the golf tent next to us, however a couple of other volunteers turned up to do that. A relief, as we would have been a bit stretched otherwise! In 'Games Corner' we had 4 games - we had the classic 'Ball in the Bucket', and the most popular game of the day 'Hook a Duck', then we had the tricky 'Whack the Rat' and finally the fiendishly difficult, least popular 'Captain Hook' game which involved throwing a quite small metal hoop onto Capt. Hook's quite small hook. Only a couple of people managed it. Most folk had a look and though... nope, too hard to try...
At the start of the day Mandy, Jenna and I were joined by 3 other helpers, but 2 were soon reassigned to a different stall as I think it was realised we had too many people! It was pleasing to have Catherine join us for a while in the morning - she's one of the new volunteers at the centre. A little later, after Jenna and Catherine had gone home, we were joined by Josie in Games Corner.
The first half hour or so was pretty slow - we opened at 10am - but as the morning went on, we did start to get quite busy. There was quite a lot of activity around lunchtime, and into the early-mid afternoon. For the most part the weather was acceptable to very good. We had hot sunny spells but probably an equal amount of colder cloudier times, and the wind didn't help. We did have a down pouring of rain which coincided with Mandy and I going for lunch, at around 12:50pm - we left our 'neighbour' for the day, Margaret in charge of our games, and she had to run for cover when the heavy rain began (literally just as we sat down in the cafe!) Some of the prizes, particularly the little books, didn't fair as well though, getting rather soaked! It lasted no more than 10-15 minutes, so it was nice and sunny again when we emerged from the cafe!! Lucky escape for us...
We ended up in the cafe instead of at the MS Centre run BBQ because we're vegetarians, and there was no alternate veggie BBQ this time (unlike last year at the volunteers BBQ they held at the MS Centre itself) probably my only real gripe about the day there, but I cannot really complain since Mark very kindly gave us some extra money for lunch as we didn't bring enough.
After Josie joined us, not long after lunch, I'd say we had our busiest spells, with many children (and a few adults) trying their hands at our games. As I say, the ducks were the most popular, however I quickly got sick and tired of these misbehaving plastic quackers, half of them had obviously turned up drunk and kept preferring to lie down on the job! Most kiddies didn't mind too much though, and still managed to hook them (occasionally with just a little help!) We gave out lots of little prizes, and I think (and this is a pure guess) we must have made somewhere in the regions of £40-something just in our corner. I know from talking to the guys next door that the golf was very popular too, and they reckoned they'd made £70+ - wow! I will try and find out, when Charlene has had a good count up, and announce how much we actually made on the day.
Among the many stalls we had yesterday there were other attractions and activities for people including an archery range, bouncy castle, football competition, obstacle course and a tractor which the children could sit on (supervised). We were also very pleased that the fire brigade and also the police both dropped in on us (not for any of their usual reasons either I'm pleased to say!) We had the scarecrow man riding around on his tricycle collecting donations for us. And we had the aforementioned BBQ and also a small bar. A little later in the afternoon we had a live jazz band - in fact, Ruth's band - Ruth is a Member at the Centre who comes in for Oxygen Treatments and Physiotherapy weekly. She is also a wonderfully gifted jazz singer, and we all enjoyed her band greatly! There was also a raffle - tickets being sold by Hannah, who has been helping on a Saturday with the O2 but is now taking a break from that - the prize draw was one of the final things of that day.
After about 4pm it became evident that going on till 6pm was maybe stretching it a bit, and numbers of visitors were dropping dramatically. Many of the guest stalls were packing up. We decided to hold off for as long as we could - by this time we were already very tired. I was pleased we held off as we did get a few late-comers, including one little girl who kept coming back to play our games numerous times. By 4:45pm though we were also packing up, and we left at around 5:15pm. Many other volunteers were still packing up, and I imagine it took them quite a lot longer.
All in all, Mandy and I enjoyed the Family Fun Day, and I personally would say it was a big success. Okay, we didn't get the masses and masses of people that we'd have liked (in an ideal world!), but we did get quite a lot of people come, and I am sure we made a fair amount of money for the HMSTC charity. As I sit here typing this, I am still very achy all over, and I have to leave shortly to run the Monday afternoon oxygen session - I'll put the photos on the FB Page when I get back home later. But, well - that's my account of this very tiring but very enjoyable day :)
As ever, more from me soon - best wishes -
Rod
To begin with we thought we would also be running the couple of golf games, which we set up in the golf tent next to us, however a couple of other volunteers turned up to do that. A relief, as we would have been a bit stretched otherwise! In 'Games Corner' we had 4 games - we had the classic 'Ball in the Bucket', and the most popular game of the day 'Hook a Duck', then we had the tricky 'Whack the Rat' and finally the fiendishly difficult, least popular 'Captain Hook' game which involved throwing a quite small metal hoop onto Capt. Hook's quite small hook. Only a couple of people managed it. Most folk had a look and though... nope, too hard to try...
At the start of the day Mandy, Jenna and I were joined by 3 other helpers, but 2 were soon reassigned to a different stall as I think it was realised we had too many people! It was pleasing to have Catherine join us for a while in the morning - she's one of the new volunteers at the centre. A little later, after Jenna and Catherine had gone home, we were joined by Josie in Games Corner.
The first half hour or so was pretty slow - we opened at 10am - but as the morning went on, we did start to get quite busy. There was quite a lot of activity around lunchtime, and into the early-mid afternoon. For the most part the weather was acceptable to very good. We had hot sunny spells but probably an equal amount of colder cloudier times, and the wind didn't help. We did have a down pouring of rain which coincided with Mandy and I going for lunch, at around 12:50pm - we left our 'neighbour' for the day, Margaret in charge of our games, and she had to run for cover when the heavy rain began (literally just as we sat down in the cafe!) Some of the prizes, particularly the little books, didn't fair as well though, getting rather soaked! It lasted no more than 10-15 minutes, so it was nice and sunny again when we emerged from the cafe!! Lucky escape for us...
We ended up in the cafe instead of at the MS Centre run BBQ because we're vegetarians, and there was no alternate veggie BBQ this time (unlike last year at the volunteers BBQ they held at the MS Centre itself) probably my only real gripe about the day there, but I cannot really complain since Mark very kindly gave us some extra money for lunch as we didn't bring enough.
After Josie joined us, not long after lunch, I'd say we had our busiest spells, with many children (and a few adults) trying their hands at our games. As I say, the ducks were the most popular, however I quickly got sick and tired of these misbehaving plastic quackers, half of them had obviously turned up drunk and kept preferring to lie down on the job! Most kiddies didn't mind too much though, and still managed to hook them (occasionally with just a little help!) We gave out lots of little prizes, and I think (and this is a pure guess) we must have made somewhere in the regions of £40-something just in our corner. I know from talking to the guys next door that the golf was very popular too, and they reckoned they'd made £70+ - wow! I will try and find out, when Charlene has had a good count up, and announce how much we actually made on the day.
Among the many stalls we had yesterday there were other attractions and activities for people including an archery range, bouncy castle, football competition, obstacle course and a tractor which the children could sit on (supervised). We were also very pleased that the fire brigade and also the police both dropped in on us (not for any of their usual reasons either I'm pleased to say!) We had the scarecrow man riding around on his tricycle collecting donations for us. And we had the aforementioned BBQ and also a small bar. A little later in the afternoon we had a live jazz band - in fact, Ruth's band - Ruth is a Member at the Centre who comes in for Oxygen Treatments and Physiotherapy weekly. She is also a wonderfully gifted jazz singer, and we all enjoyed her band greatly! There was also a raffle - tickets being sold by Hannah, who has been helping on a Saturday with the O2 but is now taking a break from that - the prize draw was one of the final things of that day.
After about 4pm it became evident that going on till 6pm was maybe stretching it a bit, and numbers of visitors were dropping dramatically. Many of the guest stalls were packing up. We decided to hold off for as long as we could - by this time we were already very tired. I was pleased we held off as we did get a few late-comers, including one little girl who kept coming back to play our games numerous times. By 4:45pm though we were also packing up, and we left at around 5:15pm. Many other volunteers were still packing up, and I imagine it took them quite a lot longer.
All in all, Mandy and I enjoyed the Family Fun Day, and I personally would say it was a big success. Okay, we didn't get the masses and masses of people that we'd have liked (in an ideal world!), but we did get quite a lot of people come, and I am sure we made a fair amount of money for the HMSTC charity. As I sit here typing this, I am still very achy all over, and I have to leave shortly to run the Monday afternoon oxygen session - I'll put the photos on the FB Page when I get back home later. But, well - that's my account of this very tiring but very enjoyable day :)
As ever, more from me soon - best wishes -
Rod
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Halfway through June (already!)
Well, one minute it's pouring down, next it's sunny - I suppose that'll be the crazy late Spring / early Summer UK weather for you. Can't believe we're now over halfway through June already. Really hoping for a dry and warm day tomorrow for the Family Fun Day. Mandy and I will be among those getting there nice and early to help set things up for the day. So no laying in for us this Sunday! :) That's okay though, as we're really looking forward to the day.
The oxygen sessions went really well today. Nice to see Alan and Sylvia back again after their weekend away last time. They had a great time at the Download Festival. On the second session, the children's session, we unfortunately were joined by just one of them. I think I mentioned last week that the little girl who comes in had taken a turn for the worse... It turns out this is now quite serious, and she has been put on to morphine for the pain. I cannot express enough how sorry we all are to hear this, and all our thoughts, prayers and good wishes we send to her family and she herself...
It's been a week or so of getting to know some new faces, as I mentioned, with 4 new volunteers coming to the Centre. I look forward to working with them all again, it's nice to meet new and eager people, and it reminds me of when I first began volunteering. A few uncertain steps along an unfamiliar path can quickly
lead to a very rewarding destination... well that was my experience, any way :)
I'll be taking lots of photos of the Family Fun Day tomorrow and posting them on the HMSTC Facebook Page, plus I will of course be writing all about the day on this here blog - so, as ever, more from me soon -
Very best wishes to all -
Rod
The oxygen sessions went really well today. Nice to see Alan and Sylvia back again after their weekend away last time. They had a great time at the Download Festival. On the second session, the children's session, we unfortunately were joined by just one of them. I think I mentioned last week that the little girl who comes in had taken a turn for the worse... It turns out this is now quite serious, and she has been put on to morphine for the pain. I cannot express enough how sorry we all are to hear this, and all our thoughts, prayers and good wishes we send to her family and she herself...
It's been a week or so of getting to know some new faces, as I mentioned, with 4 new volunteers coming to the Centre. I look forward to working with them all again, it's nice to meet new and eager people, and it reminds me of when I first began volunteering. A few uncertain steps along an unfamiliar path can quickly
lead to a very rewarding destination... well that was my experience, any way :)
I'll be taking lots of photos of the Family Fun Day tomorrow and posting them on the HMSTC Facebook Page, plus I will of course be writing all about the day on this here blog - so, as ever, more from me soon -
Very best wishes to all -
Rod
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
New Volunteers :)
Well, we are going through quite an exciting spell at the moment with 4 - yes 4 - potential new volunteers on the cards. I met the 3rd of them today, and she was very eager and interested in becoming a volunteer oxygen operator at the Centre - as were the other two I already met last week. Tomorrow number 4 will come in and observe an oxygen session and we'll see if we can be 4 for 4...! :)
Tuesdays regular dive which I run is right on lunch time, so we often eat lunch at the oxygen desk. I often bring in a sandwich and some fruit, however today my No. 2 Josie decided to treat me to a very naughty fresh cream pastry!! I'm trying to lose a bit of weight here.... It was so yummy though, so a kind thought, much enjoyed. I'll bring her an apple next Tuesday...
Really lovely day weather-wise today - really hoping that it will be like this, or not too rainy, on Sunday for the Family Fun Day. Please.... Haven't seen any long-range forecasts beyond Friday yet this week. Thursday looks wet and horrible though... Any way, I'm not the weatherman here... :))
Rod
Tuesdays regular dive which I run is right on lunch time, so we often eat lunch at the oxygen desk. I often bring in a sandwich and some fruit, however today my No. 2 Josie decided to treat me to a very naughty fresh cream pastry!! I'm trying to lose a bit of weight here.... It was so yummy though, so a kind thought, much enjoyed. I'll bring her an apple next Tuesday...
Really lovely day weather-wise today - really hoping that it will be like this, or not too rainy, on Sunday for the Family Fun Day. Please.... Haven't seen any long-range forecasts beyond Friday yet this week. Thursday looks wet and horrible though... Any way, I'm not the weatherman here... :))
Rod
Saturday, 11 June 2011
A different sort of Saturday
Well, firstly I must send all thoughts and best wishes to our friend Michael, who is a fellow No. 1 Operator on a Saturday morning, who has been off sick for a couple of weeks now. The other day we found out he actually has glandular fever, which is just nasty. Poor Michael - so I'm wishing him a speedy and thorough recovery on behalf of all at the Centre, and we hope to see him back at the Centre again in the not too distant future.
It was a different sort of Saturday today - we didn't get a lift in today, so set off nice and early to arrive at around 8:40am. Our friends Alan and Sylvia are away this weekend at the Download Festival up at Donington - we look forward to hearing all about that from them next week. In the end we had just two clients who went into the chamber, one of them our new starter who continues to make great progress. Her first session at 33' of pressure went very well. Just 4 more initial sessions to go now. We have another new starter this Tuesday coming.
Mandy and I also were joined this morning by a young lady who is interested in volunteering at the Centre, both on reception and as a No. 2 O2 Operator. This is great news! She sat with us and observed the session and is very interested and eager, so hopefully we will see her again soon.
We only did the one session today, as the 10:30 was cancelled - both children were unable to attend this week. One of them we learned is a bit poorly, so we wish her better, and hope to see them next time.
Must say thank you to Tony for buying some doughnuts in Alan's absence! Keeping up the traditional Saturday morning treat! And thanks to Tony and Sally for the lift back home afterwards - much appreciated.
More from me soon - take care all -
Rod
It was a different sort of Saturday today - we didn't get a lift in today, so set off nice and early to arrive at around 8:40am. Our friends Alan and Sylvia are away this weekend at the Download Festival up at Donington - we look forward to hearing all about that from them next week. In the end we had just two clients who went into the chamber, one of them our new starter who continues to make great progress. Her first session at 33' of pressure went very well. Just 4 more initial sessions to go now. We have another new starter this Tuesday coming.
Mandy and I also were joined this morning by a young lady who is interested in volunteering at the Centre, both on reception and as a No. 2 O2 Operator. This is great news! She sat with us and observed the session and is very interested and eager, so hopefully we will see her again soon.
We only did the one session today, as the 10:30 was cancelled - both children were unable to attend this week. One of them we learned is a bit poorly, so we wish her better, and hope to see them next time.
Must say thank you to Tony for buying some doughnuts in Alan's absence! Keeping up the traditional Saturday morning treat! And thanks to Tony and Sally for the lift back home afterwards - much appreciated.
More from me soon - take care all -
Rod
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
New Oxygen Volunteer
As I mentioned yesterday we had a potential new volunteer join Josie and I for the 12:30 dive today. It's always nice to have a new person to meet and explain about what we do, especially when they are younger. This young man, a student at university now with the Summer spare, seemed very interested in everything and indicated that he would like to train as an oxygen volunteer, which is excellent news! I look forward to working with him again.
It is only in explaining in detail to someone else, perhaps a newcomer, that I realise how much I have actually learned myself and how far I have come since I started at HMSTC 3+ years ago. It's a nice feeling.
The session today went well. The new starter is about half way through her initial 15 sessions, and is doing great with it so far! Everyone else had a good session too. I performed my senior operator duties, draining the compressor, checking oil, the oxygen tanks and also signing those No. 1 Certificates for my fellow operators.
More from me soon -
Rod
It is only in explaining in detail to someone else, perhaps a newcomer, that I realise how much I have actually learned myself and how far I have come since I started at HMSTC 3+ years ago. It's a nice feeling.
The session today went well. The new starter is about half way through her initial 15 sessions, and is doing great with it so far! Everyone else had a good session too. I performed my senior operator duties, draining the compressor, checking oil, the oxygen tanks and also signing those No. 1 Certificates for my fellow operators.
More from me soon -
Rod
Monday, 6 June 2011
Typical Monday
What a rainy night last night, and also this morning. Luckily it stopped raining before I set off from home to walk to the Centre today. It takes me around 25-30 minutes to walk, and as we don't have a car, that suits me fine :) Besides, it gives me a chance to listen to some music on my mp3 player as I'm walking along...
Today was a typical Monday afternoon - it's always very busy at first, but then by about 2pm it all goes very quiet, with just a few people coming and going. The 'dive' went well - it's a 24' one on a Monday afternoon, and we usually have just 2 or 3 regulars in the chamber. The Monday 13:30 dive was the session which I started on, as a No. 2 Operator with Arthur as No. 1, a little over 3 years ago now. I took over as No. 1 after 6 or 7 months. So that session has special significance for me, and also of course those members who take part in it :)
I received my certificate today to say that I am now senior No. 1 at the centre, which is a nice gesture. I also have to get all the other No. 1 certificates signed (part of new my duties now!) It is a bit tricky as not all the No. 1's attended the annual meeting, but they all are to get a certificate declaring them competent and fully up to speed... Maybe they ought to have a refresher test or something, I don't know...
I'm back in tomorrow, when we will have a new potential volunteer coming in to observe an Oxygen Treatment Session. I will try and write again tomorrow about that -
All the best,
Rod
Today was a typical Monday afternoon - it's always very busy at first, but then by about 2pm it all goes very quiet, with just a few people coming and going. The 'dive' went well - it's a 24' one on a Monday afternoon, and we usually have just 2 or 3 regulars in the chamber. The Monday 13:30 dive was the session which I started on, as a No. 2 Operator with Arthur as No. 1, a little over 3 years ago now. I took over as No. 1 after 6 or 7 months. So that session has special significance for me, and also of course those members who take part in it :)
I received my certificate today to say that I am now senior No. 1 at the centre, which is a nice gesture. I also have to get all the other No. 1 certificates signed (part of new my duties now!) It is a bit tricky as not all the No. 1's attended the annual meeting, but they all are to get a certificate declaring them competent and fully up to speed... Maybe they ought to have a refresher test or something, I don't know...
I'm back in tomorrow, when we will have a new potential volunteer coming in to observe an Oxygen Treatment Session. I will try and write again tomorrow about that -
All the best,
Rod
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Volunteer's Week
It is National Volunteer's Week this week, from 1st to 8th June. It is very nice to feel appreciated in this way :) I am sure I speak for all volunteers though when I say that we do not look for any rewards or anything. Volunteering is reward in itself - it is very satisfying to know that one's time, freely given, has made a difference to others in some way, big or small. That said, the cake was very yummy thank you!! And the badge is a very nice gesture too! :)
I cannot believe it's the 1st June today - already. Where does the time go..? Soon it will be Summer, let's hope we get a nice one this year. It does slightly annoy me when we're still in April or something and we get a spell of warm weather and everyone starts saying it's Summertime... No, not yet it isn't... Any way - I'm certainly looking forward to the Family Fun Day on 19th June this year - for more details, see the Events Page or the HMSTC FB Wall. My family and I will be there, and Mandy and I will be helping out on a stall. I hope lots of people come along.
The two dives went well this morning. The new starter yesterday had a second session, and all went well. On the second session we are currently missing a regular member who has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse and has actually in hospital. So Leigh B - I don't know if you'll read this, or how many other people read this - we are all missing you, and all thinking of you and wishing you well. We really hope you'll be able to rejoin us for the Wednesday 11:30am session some time soon.
I'm back in on Friday, and also Saturday - hope everyone enjoys the rest of this week -
Rod
I cannot believe it's the 1st June today - already. Where does the time go..? Soon it will be Summer, let's hope we get a nice one this year. It does slightly annoy me when we're still in April or something and we get a spell of warm weather and everyone starts saying it's Summertime... No, not yet it isn't... Any way - I'm certainly looking forward to the Family Fun Day on 19th June this year - for more details, see the Events Page or the HMSTC FB Wall. My family and I will be there, and Mandy and I will be helping out on a stall. I hope lots of people come along.
The two dives went well this morning. The new starter yesterday had a second session, and all went well. On the second session we are currently missing a regular member who has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse and has actually in hospital. So Leigh B - I don't know if you'll read this, or how many other people read this - we are all missing you, and all thinking of you and wishing you well. We really hope you'll be able to rejoin us for the Wednesday 11:30am session some time soon.
I'm back in on Friday, and also Saturday - hope everyone enjoys the rest of this week -
Rod
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
New Starter
On a Tuesday, as I may or may not have mentioned before, the 11am slot is usually reserved for people new to Oxygen Treatment, or New Starters as they're often referred as. These sessions are obviously handled slightly differently than a normal session. The newcomer, who will have already been introduced to the Centre and given a lot of information both verbally and to read, will arrive early and have everything explained to them again. We have Paul M, a very experienced ex- Senior Oxygen Operator who very kindly comes in specially, and explains all and answers any questions people may have. He will also go into the Chamber with the new person(s) to reassure them and answer further questions or just to chat with them. Paul will explain the proper use of masks and how to connect them, how to clear ear pain, what to do in an emergency, etc... Of course, the No. 1 and No. 2 Operators can chip in too, as they are obviously on hand, and if a carer wishes to (as happened today) they can sit at the O2 desk with the Operators and watch on the monitor. It is usual practice to pressurize a little slower than normal for new people, and I also like to speak to them every 15 minutes, to let them know how things are progressing time-wise. Today's session, and the following regular dive, went very well.
It was quite busy at the Centre today, lots of people coming and going and milling about. There was a fund-raising meeting going on too, and as was leaving after my sessions the Art Group were arriving. They run every Tuesday afternoon at 2pm - the group is run by Margaret who also volunteers Wednesday afternoons on Reception. I had to telephone the BOC people about coming to top-up our Oxygen, as it is getting a bit low. There are two tanks and one is on about 60% full, but the other was only on about 18% full. I have been assured that even if one runs out, operations can continue as normal with only one tank. I had to leave a message on BOC's answer-phone, so I hope they come and top us up soon.
Back in tomorrow....
Rod
It was quite busy at the Centre today, lots of people coming and going and milling about. There was a fund-raising meeting going on too, and as was leaving after my sessions the Art Group were arriving. They run every Tuesday afternoon at 2pm - the group is run by Margaret who also volunteers Wednesday afternoons on Reception. I had to telephone the BOC people about coming to top-up our Oxygen, as it is getting a bit low. There are two tanks and one is on about 60% full, but the other was only on about 18% full. I have been assured that even if one runs out, operations can continue as normal with only one tank. I had to leave a message on BOC's answer-phone, so I hope they come and top us up soon.
Back in tomorrow....
Rod
Friday, 27 May 2011
A Quiet Friday
Hello again all. Just a short-ish entry today. Fridays at the MS Centre have never been the busiest day of the week, but this morning it was really very quiet. Two Oxygen Therapy Sessions took place, run by myself and my No. 2 (which was Jean today) and both went very well without any problems at all. The Physio dept. seemed a little busier than we were, which is usual... On a Friday, as it's the end of the week, we wash the tubes which connect to everyone's masks. I may have already mentioned that before though...
We began using the new log sheets on these sessions. The No. 1 Operator monitors various things throughout the session, such as O2%, pressure and temperature, and there is also a section on the log sheets for the inclusion of Members taking part in the session, and a pre- and post-session check-list. I think the new 'dive' sheets are an improvement, but there is one small problem - the space to write the readings I mentioned above is very small. This isn't a problem for me since I have quite small hand-writing... but I can see it being a problem for other No. 1's who have bigger writing styles. Oh well, not a huge thing, but will have to talk with Nicki who designed them and see about a quick re-design! Riveting stuff, eh? Told you it was a quiet day... :) Looking forward to seeing the Saturday people tomorrow.
Sorry for not writing much this week - I'll write more soon, stay tuned!
Rod
We began using the new log sheets on these sessions. The No. 1 Operator monitors various things throughout the session, such as O2%, pressure and temperature, and there is also a section on the log sheets for the inclusion of Members taking part in the session, and a pre- and post-session check-list. I think the new 'dive' sheets are an improvement, but there is one small problem - the space to write the readings I mentioned above is very small. This isn't a problem for me since I have quite small hand-writing... but I can see it being a problem for other No. 1's who have bigger writing styles. Oh well, not a huge thing, but will have to talk with Nicki who designed them and see about a quick re-design! Riveting stuff, eh? Told you it was a quiet day... :) Looking forward to seeing the Saturday people tomorrow.
Sorry for not writing much this week - I'll write more soon, stay tuned!
Rod
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Walsworth Festival 2011
I went along to man the Centre's stall at this annual festival in Walsworth, Hitchin today. The main thing I think we will all remember from it is the wind. It was so windy that we spent a lot of time holding everything down, and in the end most things were tied or taped or blue-tacked down!! Still, it was a lot of fun. We had 4 games which people could take part in - there was the chance to win a bottle of wine for the adults, or to try your hand at the miniature golf or getting balls into a bucket for the children. This proved quite popular, especially as there was a small consolation prize even if one didn't succeed at it. :) Then there was also 'name the teddy bear', but this proved least popular. I think this was largely due to the fact that there were lots of similar stalls set up at the festival, and a few of them had bigger bears than us. Note: get bigger bear for next year!!
As I write the festival is still going on. My wife Mandy and I, along with David and Jan, ran the stall from 12 noon till 2pm, and Josie and Charlene arrived to take over from us. I think the festival runs till around 5pm, so hopefully we will raise a bit more money for the Centre. There was a lot to do there - see the pics I posted for a brief taster of it. Mandy was particularly enamoured with the Ferret Friends tent - lovely little creatures, and she got to hold one, so that was her highlight. With 3 cats though, I do not think we shall be taking home a ferret any time soon. We have kept rats in the past, which are also adorable little pets. Also there were show dogs doing an obstacle course, a couple of different bands playing, demonstrations by the local sea cadets, morris men dancing, and lots and lots of stalls.
The next big occasion for the Centre is the Family Fun Day of course, on 21st June (Father's Day) which we are all looking forward to. I'll be back in at the Centre Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday next week, so you'll be hearing (or rather reading) from me again soon I'm sure -
Best wishes to all -
Rod
As I write the festival is still going on. My wife Mandy and I, along with David and Jan, ran the stall from 12 noon till 2pm, and Josie and Charlene arrived to take over from us. I think the festival runs till around 5pm, so hopefully we will raise a bit more money for the Centre. There was a lot to do there - see the pics I posted for a brief taster of it. Mandy was particularly enamoured with the Ferret Friends tent - lovely little creatures, and she got to hold one, so that was her highlight. With 3 cats though, I do not think we shall be taking home a ferret any time soon. We have kept rats in the past, which are also adorable little pets. Also there were show dogs doing an obstacle course, a couple of different bands playing, demonstrations by the local sea cadets, morris men dancing, and lots and lots of stalls.
The next big occasion for the Centre is the Family Fun Day of course, on 21st June (Father's Day) which we are all looking forward to. I'll be back in at the Centre Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday next week, so you'll be hearing (or rather reading) from me again soon I'm sure -
Best wishes to all -
Rod
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Annual Meeting of No. 1s
Today, Saturday 21st May, was the annual gathering of No. 1 Operators. Around half the No. 1s who volunteer at the Centre attended the meeting, which was led by Ray from Diveline. Much was discussed, and the basic premise behind this occasion is to ensure that we're all up to speed and on the same page. And also it is nice to meet the other No. 1s as often our paths do not cross much. I myself am taking on the role of a Senior No. 1 Operator, which sounds a fancy title :) Basically I'll just be responsible for checking / maintaining a few more things than I do already each week and logging any problems with staff and / or Diveline. I have been taking more of an interest in the technical side of operations for a while now, and as I'm in so often, it made sense for me to assume the new role.
One good idea which did come out of the meeting, and which I hope will happen, is a once or twice yearly meeting with No. 1 Operators and Members / Clients sitting down together. I think this is a really good idea; anything that furthers communication and gives people a forum is a good thing.
The two dives ran today as well, as usual. The first one went fairly well, though the O2 alarm did sound at the end. The 2nd session, which involved the children, unfortunately had to be abandoned. The Oxygen levels rocketed before the dive was half way through. I flushed once, and brought the level down. But within 5 minutes it was going off again. This time the flushing was ineffective, and though the levels began dropping, they soon were climbing - they quickly reached 28% - 3% above the safety cut off. There was no choice but the abandon the session. I think the main problem involves the little 'widget' devices which the children use - these allow the oxygen to free-flow. However, it does also mean that more of it (much more of it!) escapes from masks and hood.
We will have to try and sort out a new session for one of the children and family, Any way, more from me another time -
Rod
One good idea which did come out of the meeting, and which I hope will happen, is a once or twice yearly meeting with No. 1 Operators and Members / Clients sitting down together. I think this is a really good idea; anything that furthers communication and gives people a forum is a good thing.
The two dives ran today as well, as usual. The first one went fairly well, though the O2 alarm did sound at the end. The 2nd session, which involved the children, unfortunately had to be abandoned. The Oxygen levels rocketed before the dive was half way through. I flushed once, and brought the level down. But within 5 minutes it was going off again. This time the flushing was ineffective, and though the levels began dropping, they soon were climbing - they quickly reached 28% - 3% above the safety cut off. There was no choice but the abandon the session. I think the main problem involves the little 'widget' devices which the children use - these allow the oxygen to free-flow. However, it does also mean that more of it (much more of it!) escapes from masks and hood.
We will have to try and sort out a new session for one of the children and family, Any way, more from me another time -
Rod
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
A Tuesday in mid-May
Not a lot to report today, a typical Tuesday lunch time session. My assistant Josie and I ate lunch at the Oxygen Treatment desk, whilst we ran the dive, and chatted a lot. Today's dive was without any problems and ran smoothly from start to finish. We spoke with Jan, who was pricing up items for sale at the Centre, which had been kindly donated to us by people. There were a large amount of collectible spoons which I am going to look up on eBay, see what sort of price range we can expect to get for them if we sell them that way. Loads of other things too, so it's always worth having a little look when you visit the centre, see what there is.
Jan Turner is one of the people who took part in the Letchworth Garden City Rotary Club Greenway Challenge - hmmm, that's even a mouthful as an acronym, so perhaps better to say - Jan was one of those people who did a "charity walk" to help raise funds for the Centre last Sunday!! She showed us a few pictures, and said it was a nice walk - she completed the 15 miles in 4.5 hours (including a couple of stops), which is impressive.
Once (3 or 4 years ago) my wife Mandy and I, and one of our sons, attempted to walk the circumference of Letchworth (which is what the 'Greenway' essentially is), but we miscalculated and it ended up being probably the hottest day of that Summer! We got about a quarter of the way around before giving up and desperately heading into the town centre for ice cream and cold drinks (and shade!!) It is a nice walk though, so perhaps next year I might take up the Challenge myself and try and raise some money.
Not much else to report today... Apparently the Tuesday evening Oxygen Treatment session has stopped running for the time being. People have changed to other days and times. It can always be re-started if it is required, or requested... I am back in to run a double session tomorrow morning -
Bye for now,
Rod
Jan Turner is one of the people who took part in the Letchworth Garden City Rotary Club Greenway Challenge - hmmm, that's even a mouthful as an acronym, so perhaps better to say - Jan was one of those people who did a "charity walk" to help raise funds for the Centre last Sunday!! She showed us a few pictures, and said it was a nice walk - she completed the 15 miles in 4.5 hours (including a couple of stops), which is impressive.
Once (3 or 4 years ago) my wife Mandy and I, and one of our sons, attempted to walk the circumference of Letchworth (which is what the 'Greenway' essentially is), but we miscalculated and it ended up being probably the hottest day of that Summer! We got about a quarter of the way around before giving up and desperately heading into the town centre for ice cream and cold drinks (and shade!!) It is a nice walk though, so perhaps next year I might take up the Challenge myself and try and raise some money.
Not much else to report today... Apparently the Tuesday evening Oxygen Treatment session has stopped running for the time being. People have changed to other days and times. It can always be re-started if it is required, or requested... I am back in to run a double session tomorrow morning -
Bye for now,
Rod
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Saturdays at the Centre
On Saturdays it is only Oxygen Treatment sessions which run at the Centre, there is no physiotherapy, or even anyone on reception (though us Oxygen people have been known to answer the phone! :) ) There are two regular sessions at 9am and then 10:30am each week, which were put on a year or two ago for people who could not attend during the week for whatever reasons. Saturdays at the centre are very informal and relaxed, and we usually are usually all treated to doughnuts and coffee by a very generous member who comes in on that day.
Today we had a bit of a trial session with some children with autism, who had previously been in separate dives, coming together into the same dive. I have to say I was quite nervous about it - how would they react to each other, would it be a disaster? I am happy to report that it went fairly well, and depending on the next few sessions together, we should have successfully combined the two sessions... Meaning no-one will need to come in at the awkward time of 12:30pm on a Saturday lunch time to run a separate session now.
Often people bring in a CD to listen to whilst they are in the Chamber - there are headphones set up inside for people to use if they wish to do this. One man will bring his spoken word / audio books in each week on a Wednesday morning, whilst other people just prefer the radio (Heart FM is by far the most popular choice). The children who come often have a favourite CD, usually a mix of different pop songs. Today however they forgot their CDs, and we were forced to pick one from those lying around at the Centre. Luckily there was a Britney Spears CD amongst the Frank Sinatra, Jazz, Bee Gees and Nat King Cole selection.
I was made to feel old though when my young No. 2 assistant today (Hannah) told me that she used to listen to Britney's first album when she was aged just 6 or 7!! I still think of Britney Spears as a newer pop artist, but apparently she's been going for a while now... Pop music though - can't be doing with it, I prefer my classic rock and heavy metal... bit of a dinosaur, I must confess...
Till the next time, take care all -
Rod
Today we had a bit of a trial session with some children with autism, who had previously been in separate dives, coming together into the same dive. I have to say I was quite nervous about it - how would they react to each other, would it be a disaster? I am happy to report that it went fairly well, and depending on the next few sessions together, we should have successfully combined the two sessions... Meaning no-one will need to come in at the awkward time of 12:30pm on a Saturday lunch time to run a separate session now.
Often people bring in a CD to listen to whilst they are in the Chamber - there are headphones set up inside for people to use if they wish to do this. One man will bring his spoken word / audio books in each week on a Wednesday morning, whilst other people just prefer the radio (Heart FM is by far the most popular choice). The children who come often have a favourite CD, usually a mix of different pop songs. Today however they forgot their CDs, and we were forced to pick one from those lying around at the Centre. Luckily there was a Britney Spears CD amongst the Frank Sinatra, Jazz, Bee Gees and Nat King Cole selection.
I was made to feel old though when my young No. 2 assistant today (Hannah) told me that she used to listen to Britney's first album when she was aged just 6 or 7!! I still think of Britney Spears as a newer pop artist, but apparently she's been going for a while now... Pop music though - can't be doing with it, I prefer my classic rock and heavy metal... bit of a dinosaur, I must confess...
Till the next time, take care all -
Rod
Friday, 13 May 2011
Friday 13th...
An ominous date, Frday 13th - but nothing ominous happened at the Centre today. At least not whilst I was there at any rate! It was a usual Friday morning and I ran two Oxygen Therapy sessions (or "dives") along with my trusted long-time assistant Carolyn. Both dives went very well and were without incident I am always happy to report :) We call the sessions Dives because clients / members who enter the chamber for treatment are pressurized to certain simulated depths. They do not actually do down under any water or anything, but it is the equivalent of this happening. To aid in this illusion the interior of the Oxygen tank / chamber is decorated with fish and other marine life :) (Actually these were put there to make the chamber friendlier for children who use the service)
Members stay pressurized at either 16.5 feet (5 meters), 24 feet (7.5m) or 33 feet (10m) for 1 hour whilst they breathe in pure Oxygen. Depending on the depth it takes around 5-12 minutes to take the dive down, and bring it up again at the end. Many clients find that breathing pure O2 under pressure helps alleviate or lessen some of the symptoms of MS. As MS is an individual condition though, people will find they have an individual response to the O2 treatment. Some do not use it at all, as they have found they get no benefit from it, and prefer to solely rely on physiotherapy. But others find they need their regular O2 top-up sessions to help them function. People usually come for one or two sessions per week, after initially doing 20 sessions in rapid succession to allow the treatment to 'build up' within their bodies...
Any way, I think I've told you enough for one day. Tomorrow is Saturday and that means it is 'doughnut day' - I am English and will not spell it 'donut' despite what numerous spell-checkers tell me - all will be explained....
I wish everyone well. Till next time -
Rod
Members stay pressurized at either 16.5 feet (5 meters), 24 feet (7.5m) or 33 feet (10m) for 1 hour whilst they breathe in pure Oxygen. Depending on the depth it takes around 5-12 minutes to take the dive down, and bring it up again at the end. Many clients find that breathing pure O2 under pressure helps alleviate or lessen some of the symptoms of MS. As MS is an individual condition though, people will find they have an individual response to the O2 treatment. Some do not use it at all, as they have found they get no benefit from it, and prefer to solely rely on physiotherapy. But others find they need their regular O2 top-up sessions to help them function. People usually come for one or two sessions per week, after initially doing 20 sessions in rapid succession to allow the treatment to 'build up' within their bodies...
Any way, I think I've told you enough for one day. Tomorrow is Saturday and that means it is 'doughnut day' - I am English and will not spell it 'donut' despite what numerous spell-checkers tell me - all will be explained....
I wish everyone well. Till next time -
Rod
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Introductions
Hello, my name is Rod Maughan, and I do voluntary work at Herts Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre. That's a bit of a mouthful, so will hereafter be called HMSTC (do be careful trying to pronounce it) or simply The Centre. I have been there for 3 years now, and for a fuller summary of my involvement please have a read here - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=202561136450141 - a little something I wrote about my experiences of volunteering at the Centre.
This blog has been set up in order to add content to HMSTC's Facebook Page, but also can be followed in it's own right direct from this blogsite. I plan to try and update it at least 2 or 3 times each week - we'll see how it goes. The plan is to give you my personal insights into Oxygen Treatment, though I do tend to go off on tangents sometimes, so who knows what you'll end up reading about :) I do promise to always try and make it interesting and informative, and I welcome any and all feedback.
So... now to try and get this set up so it posts automatically on Facebook..........
More from me soon,
Best wishes,
Rod
This blog has been set up in order to add content to HMSTC's Facebook Page, but also can be followed in it's own right direct from this blogsite. I plan to try and update it at least 2 or 3 times each week - we'll see how it goes. The plan is to give you my personal insights into Oxygen Treatment, though I do tend to go off on tangents sometimes, so who knows what you'll end up reading about :) I do promise to always try and make it interesting and informative, and I welcome any and all feedback.
So... now to try and get this set up so it posts automatically on Facebook..........
More from me soon,
Best wishes,
Rod
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)