The snowy days of winter

Yo & hello,

A cold crisp day (-11 C this AM), sunny and the 10 plus inches of snow is sparkling in the sunshine. I am a virtual shut in. The cold air drys my lungs out and then I cough for hours. When I had this trachea tube put in the folks from Respiratory Services called in to see me and give me a care package of supplies to take home with me. One of the items was a small supply of Portex Thermovents (6). It is a small device that slides on to the end of my trachea tube like a miniature gas mask. I filters the air as I breathe it in and adds moisture to it so my lungs do not dry out.

Last week when Dolores and I were in PG we stopped into Medi Chair, one of the Medical Supply Houses there, and inquired about the Thermovent. I received a call today. These little devices are $450 for a box of 50 and each Thermovent can only be used once. Yikes! Guess I'll have to think of something else. I'm open to any ideas you may have.

I'm 64 today, just one more year and I will get Old Age Pension cheques. Again, yikes or maybe a small yippee. I'm feeling better and while I have this on going cough and mucus, it is a small price to pay for having the third airway. Everyday I seem to be able to eat more real food and in larger quantities. I am even getting hunger pangs once in a while. What a pleasant feeling that is after all these months of having no appetite at all. My taste buds are finally coming alive albeit slowly and that is something to be happy about. Now I wish my thin saliva glands would come back.

SO long for now everyone. I'll be posting again really soon.

Love and hugs,

Rick