It was an idea I had a while back.

It's obvious really. The Internet has been in existence forever. We're all over Facebook and Blogger and shopping online, and hitting Google everytime we need to find out something. We've got music online with Spottify and free video calling with Skype and document sharing with Googledocs.
Except that a lot of cancer patients aren't getting the most out of this technology that can help in so many ways - whether it's simply something to get through the long nights or a way of keeping in touch with distant friends and family, or leaving last messages and photo albums.
I put the idea of rolling out this technology to the hospice. And the hospice were immediately interested.

Since then Gail, the Occupational Therapist has ran with the idea. She unearthed a laptop, donated but unusued till now. She download Skype and tested the set up, so that today we could give our first demonstration of video calling to the Day Care group.

Today we linked up Alice with her son in Australia.
And our video link showed two faces lighting up.

The sun came out.
As Gail said "A glass eye would have to cry".

The hospice is now arranging regular video conferencing sessions for patients. If patients can supply e-mail addresses for all those kids, cousins, grandkids and friends, the hospice will arrange to set up video calls. The hospice can link them with distant friends and family in those important last months.

Next step Flickr photo albums....

PS The photo above is one that W took during his last visit to the hospice - the week before he died. Seemed fitting. It was trying to connect him with NZ that sparked the whole idea.