Hi All, Erin Here

Well it has been a hectic last month or two but thankfully everything has returned to some semblance of normality. Bill made it through those dark days and has come out the other side none the worse for wear thank goodness. Then just as the going is good, bang CONSTI.....DANG.......PATION..... Tried everything to get his bowels to move then after a very very tense week and a half the lovely hospice nurses showed up with some microlax enimas. Now, ordinarily know way would Bill even consider it, this particular day however he couldn't wait for the nurse to leave so I could do what I had to do and he could relieve all that pressure.
I tell you, he came out of that bathroom fair grinning from ear to ear......all done and dusted.

Have made the full transition to the sling hoist now, and thats taken a wee while for us to get used to. I can definately see the benefits in it for me or the kids down the track, but he misses the standing hoist. At least in that hoist he was able to reamin upright and fully extended for several minutes at a time, that made him feel so good. The harness bore all his weight, so he wasnt actually standing but it enabled him to stretch out and feel normal.

Now he has only two options, to lie on his back or to sit in a chair....so he spends most of his day on his chair.
2 weeks ago had a scarey night. Power Cut.....oh boy....that was an experience I can tell you. Bill's electric bed OUT...his bi-pap OUT....and do you think I could find a torch or the candles OH NO.....that would have been just too easy. Bill moves the back of his bed up and down all night using his remote control, and the power cut happened just as he was moving from flat to slightly upright.....he can't lie flat without his bi-pap so all hell broke loose. I'm running around in the dark looking for those damn candles.....had to wake the kids to come sit their dad upright in the bed. After 15-20 minutes of swearing and cursing finally found the candles so could see what I was doing with his hoist, so that I could get him upright in his chair for a while. I have one of those touch lamp thingys next to his bed but when I went to turn it on the darn thing wouldn't work. TYPICAL....unbeknown to us at the time the kids had nicked the batteries out of it for their blinkin playstation control but of course not one of them said a word until the following day....Took us awhile to get him into his wheelchair but he was alot more comfortable in it. Sat there talking weighing up our optons, decided to put him in the van and take him to the hospital so we could "hook him up", he was nackered, and needed to sleep, I was just as tired. So we started loading him into the van, by this time approx 45 minutes had passed and what do you know the power comes back on.....sheez. So back to the house we go, all abit grumpy but grateful. Got Bill back into bed and spent a wakeful night hoping the power wouldn't go off again.
Following day the older kids come clean about the batteries and go buy me a whole bunch of new ones.....and the day after that we got a portable generator, I'm not gonna take another risk like that. Still have to go buy another torch and have put the candles somewhere I can get my hands on them fast.
Exciting aye?
So we are now getting a battery pack for his bipap- (too big for the kids to nick lol), will be cool because we will be able to travel a bit furher afield with it in the van. We've only been able to go out really for half a day maybe at the most before having to come home and put him on his machine.
The "water works" and the "earth works" have both been out of sorts too, so its been pretty rough for him just lately. He is still eating well though and speaking well which is good.
Starting to get cooler in the evenings and in the mornings, I think we're going to have to be extra careful this winter wih him, but he is still quite perky for all that.
Won't say when we'll check in again, as you can tell we're pretty slow putting things on here. I hope all of our followers are well, and talk again soon.