Monday 11 May 2009

Ponderings

If a feed pump is set to feed 250mls at a rate of 300mls per hour, why, after 50 minutes, has it only delivered 169mls?

If I have to take one child to the doctor's, why does that child immediately become the epitome of good health, and why does an entirely different child appear to be at death's door?

Why do medical devices need to alarm when they are switched on? I can see the point of alarming when there's a problem, I can see the point of alarming when they have finished the job they set out to do. But why do they need to alarm when you turn them on, when, presumably, you are standing in front of them pressing the on switch? The concentrator shrieks for five seconds - this is not fun in the middle of the night. The feed pumps beep loudly three times when they are switched on (and then beep incessantly when they have finished, when they are blocked, when they think they are empty because water is invisible, when the battery is wearing down despite having been on charge all night, etc.). The only machine which doesn't beep is the suction pump - and this is actually less useful than one might think, given that the only sign you have that the battery might be dying (other than a distressing lack of suction when suction is needed) is a very brief flicker of a red light, mostly hidden by the bag.

On Saturday we went to a certain large toy shop to replace some of the Wahooligan's broken toys. We came home with some acceptable replacements, something new which has been so far rejected, and more playdough for Little Fish (because although I hate it, she loves it). Mog decided she was a teenager and too cool for toys, and was not interested in any of it.

So yesterday, despite not being able to get to church, we should have been set with plenty of things to keep the next generation interested and active. Instead, the Wahooligan has spent much of the day chewing a piece of muslin, Mog has spent the day kicking anyone who comes near her, *and Little Fish has alternated whinging for biscuits with hoisting her babies
And inbetween persuading Little Fish that if Mog is kicking her, the sensible option would be to move out of range rather than sit still crying lots, and persuading the other two that coughing is useful and breathing has much to recommend it, I have been wrestling with the computer to write this; apparently my internet access is now rationed. I keep being allowed online just long enough to mostly upload one photo, before everything goes into error mode once more.

Is it bedtime yet?
Tia


* the photo is in focus; her foot is just seriously on the move.

7 comments:

Tina said...

I love your shoes Mog!!!

That shriek from the concentrator is horrendous it wakes the whole household.

I think maybe you need to send the Feed Pump back for recalibration.

And please kids keep breathing and stop crying and give Mum a break!

Hugs all of you

Catherine said...

Were you using a mobile phone in the vicinity of the feed pump? Ours behaves oddly on the few occasions that I do, so I may have found one of the few pieces of medical equipment that is sensitive to mobile phone signals! But I realise that may not be the problem with yours!
Hope the poorly ones recover very quickly!
Hugs
Catherine

Tia said...

Oh yes mobile phones definitely slow the signal down a bit. But no, this one was just being randomly slow I think. It sped up again today though. Random.
Tia

Anonymous said...

I hate feed pumps and their aroooooogah alarms. Specially when I ask for a quite one given Celyn will go into status if she is woken from sleep.
How is Mog staying in her chair. Want a comfy chair for Celyn but she cant sit. She tends to flop her head forward and her chest because she 'thinks' she can move. Without straps this results in a face first fall from any chair.

MOM2_4 said...

beep beep buzz... I've thought about doing a "things that go beep in the house" post, but haven't gotten to it. You shoudl do one - you have many more things that go beep than I do!!

Very good point ~ WHY do machines beep when turned on? Maybe the same person who comes up with warning / direction lables sets the standards. If they feel one must be told to tip their head then obviously an alarm must sound to let said person know the machine is on.

HUGS, Laura

Tia said...

Since Mog has had her head collar she is much more relaxed about sitting - I think that now she doesn't have to worry about keeping her head up she is generally looser. But she has found this chair really comfortable for a couple of years now. The seat is ramped and we keep the chair at an angle so she's sitting tipped back in it. Then the backrest is very supportive and curls around her body quite a bit so she doesn't flop sideways. There is a waist strap and it can have chest straps if necessary, but she doesn't use them.

Tia

Michelle said...

You know, we're having the same trouble with our internet over here. I think the Information Superhighway has become jammed. Why hasn't someone come up with a Blog-pool lane?

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