Monday morning’s walk was fabulous because it was so bright and sunny. It was cool, but I was warmly dressed. The forest fragrances were like perfume. And best of all, I had a lovely warm and cozy home to come back to, and a new and long (800 pages) book to begin. A few pages into that huge book and I realized that I’ve already read it, but I’m going to read it again. The rest of Monday easily idled by, but there was nothing of note to say about it.
Tuesday was decent—still cool and not as bright as Monday. At 9:00, the inspector came to look at the installation of the firebox in the studio. It had to be done for the insurance company. After he left, Her Highness and I went for our morning walk and then we went into the village to shop, then home for more idling, reading, eating and a spa.
But … my firebox is non-compliant, and that means I have dirty work to do. I must extend the foundation that the firebox is on and then Frank will come back to move the firebox further away from the wall and realign the exhaust pipes. While I was in the village, I went to Arbutus Lumber to get the bricks, cement, mortar, paving stone and grout that I need to do the work, and while I was there, I ran into Daryl who put the firebox in back in 2018.
I asked Daryl if he had a tile cutter and he does, so I’ll be able to cut the tiles to fit that will surround the foundation. Thankfully, I saved the leftover tiles from when the floor was done, so the extension of the foundation will be an invisible mend.
•
And oh my God, Rheanne is an angel who just keeps giving. I got an email from her yesterday with links to a new service with which I can become completely independent again. It’s the same service that deaf people use. Now, when I have a complicated call to make, I contact the service on my computer, and a live operator makes the call for me. I can hear the person I am calling and I can type my thoughts and answers and the operator speaks to the party I am calling for me.
In Canada, the CRTC requires two types of message relay services (MRS) be made available to all Canadians: (1) Teletypewriter (TTY) relay service and (2) Internet protocol (IP) relay service.
Message relay services (MRS) enable people with a hearing or speech disability to make and receive telephone calls via text with the assistance of a relay operator. In an MRS call, the relay operator communicates with the person who has a hearing or speech disability via text and with the other party via voice.
TTY relay service is offered to all home phone subscribers in Canada. In a TTY relay service call, a person with a hearing or speech disability uses a TTY and dials 7-1-1 to reach a relay operator. A TTY is a telephone-typewriter hybrid that transmits text-based messages to another TTY over the telephone network. Conversely, the other party may call the person with a disability by dialing a toll-free number (1-800-855-0511) to reach a TTY relay operator.
IP relay service is offered to all subscribers of home or mobile phone service in Canada. In an IP relay service call, a person with a hearing or speech disability uses an Internet-enabled device (e.g., computer, laptop, tablet, mobile phone) to reach a relay operator by logging into the IP relay provider’s web portal. Conversely, the other party may call the person with a disability by dialing a toll-free number to reach an IP relay operator.
In 2018, the CRTC introduced quality standards to enhance the user experience of MRS. The new standards are, for example, providing MRS users faster response times and increased accuracy of the services, as well as accessible IP relay interfaces.
In addition to MRS, there is another kind of relay service available in Canada, called Video Relay Service. Unlike an MRS call, which is conducted via text, a VRS call is conducted via sign-language.
It moves me to receive this information from CAYA and to the federal government for the TTY program. Rheanne, my CAYA caseworker, sent me the information along with links to Telus, my provider, and the CRTC webpage about the service. The Telus link tells me how to register with Telus. It’s a lot of work getting registered and set up, but I will persevere and then I’ll have use of this service.
Having this service gives me a greater sense of privacy. I’ve been grateful for the help of friends who make calls for me. I’ve been very grateful. But now I have an anonymous and professional helper to make complex calls with lawyers, for example, for my will. (I did online instead.) Having a service like this gives me power and respect. I continue to adapt.
With this service, I can do anything and everything I want. It makes me feel good. I feel fully adapted. My feeling is all coming to me from the provincial government. I feel deeply grateful for these programs and all the assistance I’ve received since being supported my CAYA.
And there’s more…
Rheanne also wrote to me about testing a new device. The staff at CAYA are assessing a new device that I will get if CAYA decides to buy the devices. When they have done their research with the device, they are going to send it to me to use and assess.
If I were younger, I’d want to raise funds from the government to become a voice for people without a voice. There are cancer victims, brain injury people, people with many conditions, diseases, surgeries, and traumas.
It’s taken me almost eight years to get to this TTY service. I’ve needed it since the onset of the second coming in mid-October. And long before that, Kris found CAYA and I had all these devices in place before my speech got so much worse. I was ready.
I can make restaurant reservations now. It’s so simple for you, my readers; it’s these simple things that mean so much to me. “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone;” Joni Mitchell.
•
I’m off to Nanaimo this morning, for a pacemaker check-up and some shopping. Because of the medical appointment, my ferry fare is free. Bonus!
 |
| Alpine or Mountain Lotus |
No comments:
Post a Comment