Dear Jan and Rheanne and William,
Thank you for all of your assistance to Jenny and me through these four difficult years. As the ALS progressed in Jenny’s body, her ability to communicate deteriorated. She lost her ability to use her hands early in the progression. Then quickly followed by her ability to speak. The combination of these two symptoms rendered her unable to communicate with others. As her primary care giver, I found this to be the most challenging problem to deal with. It was not easy to understand what she was gesturing, and it frustrated me to the “breaking point”.
Fortunately, the Vancouver Island Health Authority introduced me to CAYA. It was through this introduction that I met you. Your prompt action in teaching us how to use the Eye Gaze system changed our lives. This amazing technology enabled me to understand the needs of my wife and it made the challenges of ALS easier to manage. The Eye Gaze made communication easier, and it also allowed Jenny to reach out to the rest of the world.
We are separated from our respective families by hundreds to thousands of miles. The Eye Gaze made it possible to keep in touch with relatives and friends regardless of them being in another province or across the Pacific Ocean. Emails, photos, and voice contact with others made life tolerable. As you are aware, there is no cure for ALS. There was only watching one’s life slowly slip away while enduring the unpleasant symptoms. Having support and closure from family and friends made the remainder of life more meaningful.
The Eye Gaze also provided access to the internet. Being able to “slip” away on a virtual holiday to a far-off land was a wonderful escape. It also provided an opportunity to learn and experience new ideas. ALS is one of the nastiest afflictions, it robs the body of function, but it leaves the mind intact. Being a prisoner in a non-responsive body is probably one of the worst conditions that I can imagine. With the Eye Gaze system, Jenny could explore possibilities that would be otherwise impossible.
The final act of the Eye Gaze was to allow Jenny to express to her physicians that she wanted to exercise her right to die in dignity. By law, the physicians must ask the question and Jenny had to clearly give her consent. The Eye Gaze enabled Jenny to give a clear answer to pave her way to the other side. After Jenny left us, I had the task of signing off the Eye Gaze system for the final time. With a heavy heart, I thank CAYA for the opportunity to use this wonderful system. I have arranged with you for a timely return of the Eye Gaze hardware and pray that it be swiftly deployed to another individual in need of this amazing technology.
Thank you and may the Gods bless you all at CAYA,
T. Lim
Dec 6, 2021