Kati
My name is Kati. I have a rare condition as a result of been born with my thyroid not working. It has resulted in me getting mini ‘thyroid storms’ every now and again throughout my life, sometimes the effects are temporary and other times it leaves permanent damage. As a result of this I went deaf at 16, although I could still speak clearly then and then later after another ‘attack’ in my early thirties I was left with Ataxia permanently.
The Ataxia now severely affects my ability to speak (also my balance and co-ordination in arms/legs) and get any sounds out consistently. A few sounds may come out clear like ‘hi’ but most are slurred or don’t come out at all when I’m trying to speak. As I can’t hear my own voice properly either I can only judge by other persons face whether things are coming out right or they haven’t a clue what I just tried to say to them. It makes communication very frustrating!
My condition also causes sudden and severe allergic reaction as my immune system is affected.
I had a Lightwriter® SL40 for a week's trial in September 2008 and it was essential during a medical emergency when I had to communicate with an on-call doctor after an allergic reaction. The lady doctor was Chinese and I had never seen her before, so I was having difficulty lip-reading her. It was lucky that it was that week I had the trial as I was able to pass her Lightwriter® so she could type questions on and I could quickly bring up the replies that I had stored whilst waiting for doctor to arrive.
Often Sign Language Interpreters have to be booked 1-2 weeks in advance but when you are going into anaphylactic shock you don’t have time to worry about finding an interpreter!! So fortunately for me, my local NHS agreed to fund the Lightwriter® SL40 for me.
I finally got my own around March 2009 and I’m thrilled to bits with it. I like the text messaging and been able to change channel on bedroom TV when batteries run out on remote control! It saves me having to get out of bed and hunt for more batteries!!
My favourite feature is the word prediction as it is much better on the SL40 and I also got the black keyguard put on mine, as the black Lightwriter® wasn't available when I got my funding agreed. I think it looks cool!
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