Saved By The Kindness of Strangers

I usually blog about the inconsiderate or unhelpful nature of people or how little care is found in our society if not world, but today my faith in humanity was slightly restored and I wanted to share this new found faith with you all.

I had an appointment at the hospital today, it was an emergency kind of appointment after I had developed a severe infection on a pressure sore that has troubled my elbow for the past 3 years. Just before I left the house, there was slight drizzle, my mother told me to call a taxi but I knew it would take a while and I risk being late, which may mean losing an appointment that I had fought hard to get. I took the brave decision of driving my wheelchair to the hospital which would take me 25 minutes.

9 minutes into my journey the rain started to get heavier, wind stronger and before I knew it there was a hail storm! Due to my weak respiratory function, I could not breath, turned my back to the wind and kept trying to fight the rain, and sought protection next to a nearby Sushi Tapas Bar. At that precise moment the closed Bar suddenly opened and a waitress came out calling me to go inside, I was overcome with mixed emotions, my anger, frustration, helplessness all vanished and were replaced with happiness, relief and overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the waitress and for God who had answered my prayer as I asked for help.

Once I was inside the rest of the Bar staff got kitchen towels and started drying me, then offered me a drink. I was so impressed by their kindness and kept thinking 'there is hope after all'. I stayed inside and asked my carer to hail a taxi although I kept thinking that there is no way a taxi driver would stop, let alone have a ramp and be willing to use it. For the second time that day I was pleasantly surprised and proven wrong, a nice taxi driver did stop, did have a ramp and got it all ready for me, then drove to the hospital and I made my appointment with ten minutes to spare.

I can never thank the Bar staff and the taxi driver enough, not just for their kind act but for restoring my faith in humanity and teaching me a valuable lesson: never give up hoping for a solution to a problem or for a mercy from above.  

Food Glorious Food... is Best Served Cold

As the Government cuts continue to hit the people that needs it the most, I felt it is important to blog about incidents that I have been hearing about through reliable sources. Therefore in the next few blog's entries I shall narrate these little stories, to give people a better idea of what the cuts mean to certain individuals.

We might be able to survive without physical ability, friends, family, outings, daily activities but can you imagine living life without having hot food? That is precisely what an elderly man living on his own was told by a social worker, basically the council's cuts meant he will only have 30 minutes carer time - during which food will be prepared, when he protested that it is not enough for the food to be cooked and served, the reply he got was 'eat sandwiches or have salad'! For so many people the only joy they have in life is food and even that is now deemed as a luxury.

I wonder if the people who have the power to make such decision have ever tried to place themselves in the situation of this elderly man? would they give up their daily hot meal? I can not be angry at the people who implement such rules, they are only following orders and have no input in any decision, but surely we are not robots, don't they feel for the pain, deprivation and suffering of others? Can a job make you sell your principle and switch off your conscience for the sake of survival. Don't the social worker, carers, council workers etc all realise that one day they will be the same situation if not worse, nothing in this life is guaranteed, so why agree to follow orders and not fight them? If not for the sake of the people being affected then for your own interest, as it will easily be you one day.

This elderly man, does not have family, lives alone, and has mobility problem, having a hot meal once or twice a week was the tiny joy that the world offered him and now because the government has decided cuts must be made this solitary enjoyment has to be sacrificed.  At the end of the day, he is just a number in the government's data, a sum of money that has to be cut, but his rights as a human being is not considered. Ironically though it is exactly these so called 'cuts' which will lead to higher spending, as people in need of care will eventually be affected physically and mentally. The inability to live a fairly independent conventional life will cause depression, illness and eventually health deterioration, which will mean frequent visits to the doctor, being on long term medication and possible hospital admission all of which can be interpreted into the  governments language as more cost, hence totally diffusing their objective.    

I find it astonishing that people can just sit and think 'oh it is not affecting me', or 'the government has no choice'. No, there are always choices, other options that can be sought, and trust me I write this blog knowing that one day I may find myself in a similar if not even worse situation than this elderly man. Failing to feel the pain and misery of others will lead our society to becoming even more detached and dysfunctional and this will be reflected on the level of care and attitude of people around us.

I end the blog with few simple suggestions, maybe cuts need to be made but surely health, education, social care are the backbones of any developing country and should be improved not slowly diminished. If that is the only option which I personally doubt, then find an alternative, another way for the elderly man to get his hot meal, maybe encourage unemployed individuals to volunteer, grow a sense of community. Simply search for a way that food can be heated without increasing the allocated carer's time, anything just offer the elderly man and so many others the hope for a better tomorrow and the will to live.