Ruthy was lovely and she spent over two hours with Chris getting the cough assist right, showing us how to use it etc. I asked why we had to bring the NIV back and she said Chris could still keep trying it if he wanted. They leave the decisions on things like the NIV and cough assist to the patient, the choice is theirs as to whether they want to continue or not. Chris decided he would like to have another go so she recalibrated it so that Chris was in control of the breathing, he coped with it a lot better so we brought it home for him to try again.
The cough assist was weird, it looked like it was trying to suck Chris's face off! It didn't exactly make him cough, but I guess it helped suck mucous up into his mouth and did allow him to swallow some of it. She helped him with some breathing techniques too to help bring the mucous up. She was so patient and kind.
We got home around 6.30pm. Bad timing meant we were stuck in the Truro rush hour traffic again.
Chris tried the cough assist later and it really helped. The length of time using the suction and clearing the mucous was shortened considerably. He tried the NIV for about 15 minutes. Mucous build up caused him to stop it, but it was a little easier for him now. In Ruthy's words, 'Cut yourself some slack.' It is going to take time to get used to.
It wasn't so long ago that Chris wouldn't dream of me being in the bathroom with him when he needed the loo, now I have to go in with him when we are somewhere different and help him. It is strange how quickly you adjust to that kind of thing. It doesn't bother me, but it of course has taken Chris some getting used to. He was a little worried about using the convene sheath on the trip as they haven't been staying on properly, but there were no issues today and that helped a lot to make the journey more relaxed for him. He takes a while in the loo and all the time we are in there, there are people outside trying the door, that feels awkward. There are some funny looks sometimes when people see the two of us come out, but no one has been rude or anything.
We are both tired and I wish Derriford wasn't so far away, but thankfully so far, the trips have never been wasted.
