Awake and up all night

The tiredness is definitely something else! 

You get to no there names because if you call them and they don't answer you then you no that's is not their names but at christmas hour house is on a mountain there's one road down and one road up so we have a lot of the family that stay with us and where do i sleep to on the floor down stairs when there is about most of the grandchildren i think about 10 ov them are all asleep in hour bed 

Was you in eny unian if so should they have had help of them 

I didn't get any help from my union. It was a bit easy for me. I had been thinking of retiring for a couple of years. When I got long COVID I just made the decision.

Hi Ray.

OH has got an electrolarynx, provided by his SALT team. Unfortunately, just as his practice with the device began after surgery, his RT also got underway. As the beam was trained on his throat and neck for several weeks, they got sore, with a couple of minor burns, and these rendered finding the 'sweet spot' too uncomfortable. A few months down the line, practice resumed but lymphoedema decided to put in an appearance and the swelling, plus residual numbness from RT, got in the way yet again. And then he more or less gave up the ghost.

If he's prepared to carry on communicating as he does at present, fair enough but if it was me I'd be going for the e-larynx hell for leather. If I could take over his head for a few days I feel he'd make more progress, but it's not to be and I can't force him. He was always, and still is, made to feel inferior to his elder brother and I feel his confidence isn't as good as it should be. 

Thanks though Ray, and I appreciate your post but the will must come from OH and he's not willing enough right now. I won't give up on him, so watch this space xxx

Sounds like a really tough time. I can totally understand him giving up. Give him a hug from me.️

Thanks kiddo, I will. It's very tough for him, becoming mute so suddenly and losing his voice for good. He could have had a TEP at the same time as his surgery but he turned it down, just wanting rid of the cancer but not being fully prepared for the aftermath.

We all cope with things differently, and he'll always have my full support, no matter how difficult things might get. Hey, talking of which, the old farm cottage I was born in had no bathroom or toilet, no heating other than a coal fire and windows that got a thick layer of ice on the inside every winter. I loved it, even sharing the tin bath with my sis in the kitchen on Friday nights! xxx

Ow how you doing today 

Thanks for replying. OH has obviously been through a lot. I can understand why he has lost interest in the e-larynx for the moment with the sensitivity of that area and memories of powerful RT. He is made of stern stuff to plough through so much. At a suitable time, start using the device to talk to him. He may grab it from you to show you how to use it properly. I don't suppose handwriting lessons would go down well either. I am sure your persuasive diplomacy will succeed in helping him find an easier way to communicate. There's always the Stephen Hawking technology if the e-larynx proves unsuitable. I think it comes with a wheelchair though and maybe only copes with astrophysics. Ray xxx

1. Remember the open fires.