The story of Rhaugh is a wonderful story and I would like to share it with you.
It is a story of how four companies, SMC, MSA, Atlas Copco and Cummins of Lansvale, worked together to create a wonderful machine which at present is giving me some symptom relief and hence improving my quality of life and will one day, when I am strong enough, allow me to go outside again, maybe even to the seaside I love so much.
In October 1995 our local member in State Parliament, the Honourable Wayne Merton, made a Members Statement to Parliament asking Dr Refshauge to assist us in the provision of a positive internal air pressure purification system for our home as my health was deteriorating. The print media reported this. An employee of SMC Pneumatics read one of these articles and approached the management at SMC asking if they could assist me in any way. Consequently one of the executives, Tony Luongo, faxed the Foundation with a general offer of help. Tony stated that he did not know how SMC could help but they had engineering expertise and if they could help in any way they would like to. He suggested that Mum should come to a meeting with their design engineers to explain my needs and they would see if they could be of assistance.
At the meeting Mum explained my situation and needs. SMC with expertise in compressed air and filtration could not offer assistance with the positive pressure system for our home as their expertise did not cover this field, (the system for the house would not operate on a compressed air system). However, they came up with the suggestion of a portable system of air purification which would operate on a compressed air system and provide ultra pure air to a hood at positive pressure. What we needed for the house but mobile - a means of going back outside, maybe even to the seaside again. When Mum came home with this news it seemed too good to be true, it seemed unbelievable. Mum passed on SMC's warning that at this stage it was something that was theoretically possible and they would do everything within their power to turn it into reality but there were many problems to be overcome. SMC would also need to contact other firms with different expertise to contribute to the project.
Peter Howard, SMC's Engineering Manager, contacted Rob Sellers, of MSA, who has expertise in air flow control and regulation, types of hoods and breathing hose. Rob was keen to join the project . These firms had not previously worked together but were happy to share their respective expertise in the common goal of helping me. That these large firms cared in such a personal way is very comforting.
Peter and Rob worked through the proposed system and at the next meeting with Mum it was announced that the theoretical system would eventually be a reality but it would take time to bring all the strands together. A major problem was the odour of component parts. As my most urgent need was for the up-graded air purification system for the house as my health status depended on that and as my health was so poor going outside didn't appeal to me at that point in time, the time delay in bringing the portable system to fruition seemed unimportant - the dream was important but that it was some time away wasn't. The winter of 1995 had been very smoky (in my neighbourhood) consequently my health had fallen to its lowest point ever and improvement in the early part of 1996 had been slow as I was so terribly depleted.
The long process of out gassing of component parts began. Everything was completely dismantled to the smallest component and washed and aired over a stream flow of purified air and then re-washed and so the process went on. The greatest problem was those parts that would have to be used on the delivery side of the filters. These included: the delivery breathing hose, the hood, the gasket in the final filter, the flow regulator equipment. To minimise the odour problem in component parts aged parts were used wherever possible. Hence the hood and on-demand-mask were ones that were manufactured 3 years ago and had spent that time in a display cabinet - the normal out gassing that would naturally occur over three years gave us an important start in making them odour free. The delivery hose was the most crucial thing to have odour free and was potentially the hardest thing to make odour free. As with every step of this project lateral thinking was required and Rob came up with a solution that is a wonderful story in its own right.
As divers' breathing hose spends lengthy periods lying in the hot sun, on the deck of the boat, and because divers have only the air that comes from such a hose when under water, if their breathing hose was made of normal rubber, the fumes contaminating their air supply would be overpowering. Therefore a special hose has been developed for this application which is made of low out gassing materials. Such a hose was the right diameter needed for the project so this was the way to go to minimise the odour problem. However, newly manufactured hose is still very odorous by the standards needed in my application so Rob embarked on a project of his own - to source some old divers hose that had been lying in the sun on the deck of a boat for years. He found just that on the deck of an abalone diver's tank on the South Coast (NSW) and negotiated to swap this old hose for new. This creative solution to a problem that had the potential to hold up the project for years was a real break through. The abalone divers hose had already been exposed to years of natural out gassing and so the process of finally making it ready for my use was dramatically shortened. The hose arrived here and occupied a bath upstairs for months, each day Mum would run very hot water through it so to fill the bath and cover all the hose. She used a variety of solutions to encourage the last of the odours out - a bath full of yellow diver's hose caused much mirth.
The gaskets and hood were responding well to Mum's deodorizing routine but the on-demand-mask was not and it was obvious that it would probably take years to make odour free.
Now all of this was under way an oil free compressor had to be found. Peter contacted David Evans of Atlas Copco and after hearing Peter's explanation David agreed to be part of the project, Atlas Copco supplied the oil free compressor which was the part needed to drive the system. Now in theory all was going well and in time would come together.
As autumn of 1996 approached it became obvious that the Government was not going to assist in providing the positive pressure air purification system I needed in the near future. It was this realisation that lead Peter and Nick (Production Manager at SMC) to suggest that the project for the mobile unit should be fast tracked so that it could be used inside the house as a stop-gap measure.
When it was worked out that the machine could be housed just inside our front door and the air delivered to an outlet over my bed via the breathing hose running through the house and that this would supply me with a stream flow of ultra pure air across my face, 'it was all systems go'. Peter pushed on with the final designs, Mum increased her deordorising routine and the men in the factory, especially Johno, worked hard and long to bring the project to fruition in great haste.
There was great jubilation when THE MACHINE was finally delivered. A morning tea marked the event and Wayne Merton, MP joined in the celebration.
Then the final fine tuning process revealed more problems to overcome and required even more lateral thinking as Peter fine tuned his creation. Some of the gaskets were not completely odour free so Peter had to hand make some new ones from some very old material he found at SMC that was odourless. The hose still had a slight odour an that was a potential disaster as it had to carry the purified air to me without tainting it. The problem of the hose was fixed by Peter manufacturing a final end point activated carbon filter which took from the air any odour picked up from the hose. Then as the delivery hose from the final endpoint filter we used the transparent hose from my Racal respirator - it was years and years old and odour free. Between them Rob and Peter sourced the necessary bits and pieces in brass fittings to join all this together and it was up and running. I now have a stream flow of air purified to 0.01 microns passing over my face - the best air you could imagine - it is wonderful, its pure.
So this machine that means so much to me sits in the vestibule, just inside the front door, as on guard. It's compressor has a sound best described as a dragon's sigh so I decided to give this wonderful machine a dragon's name. It had to be named after a special kind of dragon, certainly not a fierce or mean dragon. I finally decided to name it RHAUGH after a dragon in one of my favourite fantasy trilogies, the Riftwar Saga by Raymond E Feist. Rhaugh is a kind dragon who loves life and has vowed never to kill so I think that is a good name for my dragon who is going to protect my life. I have since found out that Rhaugh in Hebrew means breath or wind so that makes it an even more appropriate a name doesn't it.
Some months after Rhaugh was delivered the hood was finally deodorised. So when I need more protection than just the flow of air I can use the hood and the hood is so comfortable as it stands away from my face, gives me excellent vision and does not muffle my speech.
Once Rhaugh was up and running Peter applied himself to the next problem, back-up power in case of electricity failure. He spoke to Keith Haggarty of Cummins of Lansvale and very quickly Keith organised to provide us with a generator. SMC went to work to put the generator on a mobile frame and provide it with weather protection. So now Rhaugh has its own back-up power supply!
I am so grateful to all those involved in the creation of Rhaugh, this dragon means more to me than words can express and although I say thanks so very much, such an expression seems too poor. I have seen how you have cared enough to think beyond the obvious, I have felt your empathy as was expressed in determination to push beyond the problems and I have appreciated your lateral thinking and creativity. These attributes you have shown I hope one day to be able to emulate as I am sure these are the attributes required for our society to show real caring and community.
Thanks a million, million!
