Life's therapy

A friend introduced an old lady, in her seventies, to me recently. She is independent and living on her own in a one-room flat rented from the government.

While we were at her place, she had mentioned that her washing machine had broken down. Dorcas was helping with her laundry once a week (I think) when her machine was down. But sometimes she could not wait for Dorcas and wanted to do some washing on her own. It inconvenienced her as her legs were giving her trouble.

I approached H, an old friend of more than 20 years and who is also doing charitable work overseas, and he agreed to help. Saturday, H and I went shopping for a washing machine, found a suitable one and delivery was arranged for the following day.

H and I were at her place on Sunday to help her take delivery of the machine. While the deliverymen were installing the machine, somebody came by, asked H, who happened to be in view, if the carton was needed and when told no, promptly took the carton away. It happened so fast that I didn't even see who the person was.

H asked that I call the old lady on Monday to make sure that the washing machine was working fine as it comes with a 7-day free exchange guarantee. I made at least 5 calls between 6+ to 8+ in the evening but the calls went unanswered. I tried again on Tuesday morning at 8+ and still couldn't get her.

I was concerned and my highly imaginative mind did not help much. I have a friend whose mother insisted on staying alone, until she collapsed one day and was left lying on the floor for two hours before she was discovered. She was rushed to hospital and surgery was required for her head injury. There were occasions when I had also been sent rushing to check on my mother-in-law and my own mother when phone calls had gone unanswered.

This lady had complained of pain in her legs and I feared the worst. Out of desperation, I smsed my friend, and within 15 minutes, he had managed to reach her and got her to call me. She told me she had been out the night before, had also gone out in the morning and had just got home when my friend called. What a feisty little old lady! At her age and pain in her legs, she could still go wandering around for a couple of hours straight.

H was initially not keen on meeting up with her, but had changed his mind later. After the visit he told me he was glad he had gone as he observed that this little old lady is very independent. He was also impressed that she had kept her place neat and tidy. (Erm, this - I am not sure if it was entirely her effort alone or with the volunteers' help.) On the whole, he was glad that he could and had helped. He told me to let him know if there are more such cases. Yeah, I am sure there are more, sooner and more than he expected. Now, all I need is to get used to asking H for help. I have realised that asking for his help on other people's account is easier than for myself.

For me, I am glad too that I got to know this old lady and that we have been able to see to her needs. Or rather, the only thing I did was open my mouth to ask and H ended up paying for the machine. It happened at a time when I have been affected by the untimely deaths of a couple of friends from cancer and this is therapeutic for me.