Early this month I had a rare venture out into the world to visit my GP for a flu vaccination. Since my last trip out, 2-3 months ago, our daughter, Fiona, had bought me a bright new face mask, in Gordon tartan (my father was a Gordon Highlander) to rival Doreen’s dinosaur mask! As we approached the surgery, Doreen asked me for my mask. Perhaps it was the excitement of going out, or maybe just being unaccustomed to needing a mask, but I’d forgotten it. Doreen, fortunately, had a spare (black) mask in her handbag. Maybe I’ll get to wear my new mask in another 2-3 month’s time!
A few weeks ago, our son, Adam, completed the purchase of his first home, a flat in South London. He is on a steep DIY learning curve so I have had numerous calls and emails from him, seeking advice. As an engineer, with a lifetime’s DIY experience, it is incredibly frustrating not to be able to be there to help. Since then, Nottingham has experienced a sharp rise in the Covid-19 infection rate. We have, now, entered the highest level of restrictions which means not seeing family and friends except in public open spaces; not an enticing prospect with winter weather approaching.
We did receive a flying visit from Adam this month, to pick up various things we’ve been storing for him. We’d have liked him to stay overnight but sadly, we couldn’t even invite him into the house. We only managed to talk a little through the open French windows before he loaded the car and headed home. But it was lovely to see him.
It was pointed out to me that last month’s blog made absolutely no reference to toilets. For those especially interested in such things, there have been some developments! Despite the furniture raisers under the elevated toilet seat, my success rate in standing up unaided had declined, almost to zero. Fortunately, Doreen had become adept at rescuing me with the hoist. What to do next? Even higher furniture raisers – potentially hazardous? Or accept the need to use the hoist every time? Common sense prevailed, the furniture raisers removed, and the hoist always used. To minimise the number of hoists from the toilet, I’ve taken to using a plastic, hospital-style, urinal bottle whenever possible. In practice, I’ve been using one at the night for over a year. Extending its use into daylight hours was a relatively small adjustment; but it is not without its difficulties.
One Saturday evening, I decided to watch Newcastle United (my second favourite team, after Forest) live on TV. At half time, I went into the bedroom to use the urinal bottle. As I elevated the wheelchair seat, the power button began to flash red. Strange! I completed my mission, returned the seat level to normal, but the chair wouldn’t move! With Doreen out of earshot, I settled back and waited for her to come in search of me, and bring me the wheelchair manual. The flashing red button indicated a fault which needed referral to the supplier. Meanwhile, wedged as I was in the corner of the bedroom, the chair had to be moved or I was condemned to stay in it all night.
The drive motors can be disconnected to allow manual movement of the chair, but the levers are deliberately inaccessible to the occupant. Doreen had to find them without my help! Previous blogs have described her complete hopelessness with such technical challenges, and to be fair, the
diagram in the manual was useless, so ‘the cavalry’ had to be called! Son-in-law, Tudor, soon arrived, and very quickly located the levers. One of them, somehow, was already up, which was causing the fault. Returning the lever to normal restored full functioning. I can only surmise that the seat belt, which was joined in a loop behind the chair, had caught round the lever, pulling it up when I raised the seat. Bizarre! Worse still, I’d missed the second half of the football! (Newcastle won 3-1).