Note: Such a trivial thing,,,a hand rail,,,,maybe trivial to you but to us
it could be a saviour.
EPISODE 1,017 RESCUING OUR HOUSE…A RAILING BETTER THAN A MOVE
alan skeoch
feb. 15, 2024
pictures by marjorie
SUDDENLY our whole way of
life was in jeopardy…all due to a knee operation
thst was supposed to be successful.
We love our house that now sits among megahouses but once, not long ago say 200 years ago, was hidden away in a white pine forest where the indigenous
Misissauga people lived.
When we came here in1968 there were dozens of trees and shrubs thriving as the land gently sloped down to a babbling brook (Mary Fix Creek) where wild things thrived….. Today a coyote family has mated and await the rival of pups. Maybe they are already here. So wild is our 55’ x 400’ lot thst we have fenced off a fragment to protect Woody, our dog, snd Chelsea Bun, our kitten (she is howling in her ‘heat’ this moment so has become a cat I surmise.
Survival of pets is doubtful without the fence.
SHANGRI-LA IS SHAKEN BY KNEE SURGERY
Lucky us! We feel lucky to have this fragment of wilderness. At least we did
until December 12 when I had knee surgery. Suddenly alll we held dear was torn away.
“Alan, you must do the exercises if you expect walk again.”
“But something has gone wrong. My knee will not straighten as it should. I need
a walker just to move from kitchen to bathroom. My balance is gone. I am a totem pole about to collapse. Should I dare to do a walkabout. A prisoner.
Maybe time to think about moving ..downsizing as they say.
Which gets me to our story for today. Marjorie called in an Occupational Therapist
who made a tub full of changes that once acted upon would make our house livable once more. Hand rails for the shower, rubber mats for bathroom floor, Handles to hold …………..
“You will need a handrail along the stairs. Urgently needed. How do you get from the
first to the second floor?”
“I crawl like a lobster grasping anything that looks rooted. “
“Have you ever fallen?”
“Yes! When I let go of the walker and reached for the stairs. Toppled like a whirling dervish.
Sliced my hands on a tinware fox and cut my skull on a fireplace duck. Lots of blood.”
“How did you get help??]”
“Marjorie was asleep so I had to drag myself upstairs. Left a bloody trail for her to cleanup. How do people living alone manage?”
“They have great difficulty,”
(What would I do if Marjorie were not there?)
“You need the wall railing immediately.”
“We have lived here for over 60 years and never thought of that.”
THE CREATION OF OUR WALL RAILING
Andrew came to the rescue.
Imagine yourself with one leg that will not share the weight with the
other leg. People feel sorry for you…that is hard to handle…nice
but I want to walk like other people. What an arrogant person I have
become. Wishing I was perfect physically when there are so many
people with worse afflictions.
alan skeoch
