Grannymar

With each day the knees creak a little more, the hip aches and I am now unable to run for a bus. The fact that buses seldom come my way is beside the point. I still drive and the car is my lifeline. What would I do if I had no car It is a topic that to date I have avoided like the plague.

It made me think…. I might find a pair of

Nowadays there are so many contraptions to aid with mobility, I might upgrade to this

I could always call a Taxi…

Mind you if the state of the office is anything like the driving, I might walk.

What am I worried about, sure I have a Son-in-Law and he is a good driver with a nice car. But oh dear!…

Now that will never do so I must dig a little deeper….

Now you are talking. That was just made for me!

BBC Radio 4 is devoting the month of January to Care in the community. Discussions this week dealt with Dementia and Alzheimer’s. ‘Women’s Hour’ and ‘You and Yours’ approach the problems from different angles. Each day a Podcast of the programme is available, and if you have an aging parent, or are at the butt end of the nursing home jokes, they are worth a listen. There is something to learn for everybody.

One horrendous fact I learned on Wednesday was that for 2008-09 if someone foster’s a young child the allowances are about £121.68 per week. Yet if you are a full time carer for the elderly the allowances are £48.00 per week and that is means tested! If the carer earns over £100 per week the allowance is reduced. If the same patient is admitted to a Nursing Home or Home for the Elderly, the fees range from £500-£600 per week. Very often when someone ill remains within their home it falls to one person to provide the care 24/7 (£48.00), while in a Nursing home the staff change at least every eight hours providing fresh energy to look after the patient.

There is a lot to be said for a fatal heart attack!

Will the person nearest my Elly at this moment, give her the Kiss-of-Life and drag her up off the floor! I can do nothing these days because she worries about me so much.

Is she upright again?

Well then I will begin.

Following a Power cut on a Monday the other week I have experienced fluctuation with the light levels every evening. At first I thought it was my eyes. The lights dimmed but did not go out. After about an hour or sometimes two they went back to normal. Now I am not a heavy user of electricity. Lights in the living room were on as were the computer & the radio. My oil fired central heating was pumping away and the place was warm. The fridge/freezer was working normally and several clocks through the house were showing the correct time. The only problem was with the lights.

This continued to happen three nights in a row. A little worried that the power might be cut again I decided to phone my provider NIE (Northern Ireland Electricity) on the Thursday evening. I spoke to a very nice young lady and she seemed rather puzzled by my query. She was aware of the break in power on the Monday and said she would pass the message on to the engineers so that they could check things out the next day.

I explained very briefly my health situation and my need for heat, light and access to a working telephone in case of emergency. Immediately she said “You are not on our Critical list!”

“Critical List” I said “What’s that?”

She told me that NIE offers a critical care information service to customers who have health issues or are dependent on life supporting electrical equipment. Once registered with NIE they can provide up to date information during a power cut or a planned interruption. If I need to call them my number would be recognised and I would be given priority.

I never realised this service was available. Did You?

So if you live in Norn Iron and know of anyone in any of the situations listed above then tell them to call NIE. If you live anywhere else in the wider world, check out your electricity provider. Who knows when you might need the service I hope you never do.

Did you ever hear the tale of the Wooden Bowl? I guarantee you will remember it tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now.

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year - old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered.

The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about father,” said the son. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.”

So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.

The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.

He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?”

Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up. “The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

Do you really need TLC when you have a senior moment?

You don’t stop laughing because you grow old:

You grow old because you stop laughing.