Recent content by COlisa

We always added water to 2 cans IsoCal (and added coffee in the mornings if my husband wanted it) to the gravity bag so it was pretty thin. If the valve was opened up all the way, it would go into his stomach in as little as 10 minutes, which was way way too fast and it made him feel sick. We...

Also check with MDA - ALS Division in your area. They keep list of folks who need vans and can contact you when they hear about vans for sale. This is how I sold our van after Dave died.

Hi Stephanie, Go to a kitchen store and buy a small mortar and pestle. I bought a small marble one for $15. It is FANTASTIC for crushing pills. It is much, much, much, much more effective than those crummy plastic pill crushers the pharmacies give you. It crushes pills into a very fine...

Here is a copy of Dave's obituary. My kids and I sat at the computer and wrote it together, along with editing help from additional family members. David Richard La Rue, age 48, died peacefully at his home in Manitou Springs, Colorado on Friday, October 8, 2010 after boldly confronting ALS...

My husband was not able to bounce back from the 2nd bout of pneumonia and he died peacefully at home the evening of 10-8-10. I was with him and his mother was also here. He had labored breathing and had been experiencing pain in neck, shoulders & chest. He was on an assortment of meds to help...

katekath: I don't know what cupping is...can you elaborate?

Last month my husband came down with pneumonia, and was so much better after just the 1st two days of antibiotics. He really bounced back afterwards and seemed better than he had in a couple of months. He aspirated again over the weekend and has pneumonia again. Started antibiotics Monday...

My husband used iPod touch then later iPhone with Proloq2Go for 2 years. At first, he carried it on a lanyard around his neck, then later when he was in a power chair we used velcro to attach the iPhone to his tray of his power chair and he chatted away until he could no longer move his thumb...

Katie, what is your experience with respite & hospice? Hospice here does not provide respite care, just medical support. They only provide a CNA 2-4 hours per week between 8am-5pm and even then not much use as they will not do hoyer transfers alone, administer meds or do PEG feedings, so I need...

He has had hospital bed since January. When he is "on his back" he is actually sitting up in bed, propped with pillows on the side as he has no muscle to hold him up. The saliva and mucus still get in his throat. On his side, the shoulder just gets too sore. He is on hospice. They are the...

Dave is still not sleeping. He requires turning every 45 min or so. Between 10:30 pm and 7:30 am I am up at least 10 times during the night turning him to and fro. On his side, his shoulder gets sore (the muscles are totally atrophied in shoulders). On his back, saliva & mucus run down his...

Hi, We have an Atmos Air 9000 with Self Ajusting Technology bed on loan from ALS Association and I have no idea how it works. It has an electric pump that pumps it up, and it is supposed to be "self adjusting" but how the heck does it work? Do I need to keep the pump running? Or do I pump...

They told us that Medicare rules were that they wouldn't pay for bipap until FVC was below 50% and our insurance co. follows medicare rules. My husband was at 54% FVC, but the resp. therapist did additional tests that qualified him for the bipap. I think it was flow test and peak tests? It...

If you are interested in used conversion vans, check with your local MDA/ALS Division or ALS Association. The ones here keep lists of folks looking for them and can match up with those selling. We got a 2003 Town &Country Chrysler mini-van (33K miles for 20K) from the wife of a friend who...

Not going with any pretty colors :). We were unsuccessful in attempts to use that type (cleaned up a few messes....not sure what I was doing wrong). Thanks all for your help. Dave uses the external cath every afternoon/evening now. What a relief ;). He had ALS Clinic appt today and the...