Initially she could not see, hear or speak properly
and had severe ear and nose infections, but after a month she was
strong enough to leave hospital. She returned to the
family farm near Lancaster where she had raised a small herd of rare Hebridean sheep,
as well as being a senior university lecturer.
Monica’s
faculties improved slowly but life was not easy. She was totally
dyslexic. She could not use the telephone or the microwave, but was determined to stay in
touch with her academic work. She was totally
dependent on her husband Charles to read proofs and professional documents. She
says," I could not see properly. I could write but couldn't read what I was writing
let alone read anything else."
There was
nothing that anyone else could do for her. Therapy was not an
option. It was just a question of time. She had simply to wait and see what
happened, but at the same time she looked at the possibilities available through her
computer.
She first acquired a voice recognition system
so that she could dictate copy into the computer. It
took her a couple of weeks to become fluent in it, but with determination she succeeded by
reading out long texts so that the computer would understand her particular habits and
pronounciations.
Still
suffering enormous frustration, she set herself small challenges. "I
found I was able to read very large letters so I turned to the computer where I
could maximise the script." She began to email friends
Each day
she read and wrote a little more on her computer. As she became more proficient she used
the voice recognition system less. Her
choice of provider was BT Openworld. It is available
at any time she needs it and delivers broad band and
narrow band services. Monica uses narrow band which gives 50MB of web space, 10 e mail
addresses and anti-virus and anti-spam protection for £15.99 a month.
Monica
says, "Without it I would never have been able to resume my academic contacts, I think that my intellectual life would have
come to a standstill. I am sure that the drive to use my computer to
communicate with others helped me. It allowed me to read and construct sentences.’
Monica was housebound during the foot and mouth crisis
and her newly found ability to e-mail friends was a lifesaver
during the tensions of that time, with the threat to her Hebridean sheep a major
preoccupation.
 Now, she has more or less resumed normal life, defying
doctors’ predictions. Although
she has permanent damage to her vision she can now drive a car.
Having taken early retirement, she still manages to work with the university. She
supervises PhD students, is executive secretary for the Forum on Human Resources and is
editing a book series. Through her work with Hebridean sheep she is a director of
Lancaster Auction Mart and she is also involved in the building of a new village hall. Her
computer enables her to do research and to make contact with a wide variety of people.
For further
details on broad band and narrow band contact
www.btopenworld.com/anytime. Recently BT
Openworld launched various sites aimed at computer games,
music fans, classical music and sports and betting enthusiasts, a
mixture of free and subscription services.
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