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
Friday, 26 August 2011
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
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