Re-establishing a level of independence can be a key to maintaining good moral in people who suffer from disability or who are infirm.
Based in Clontarf on Dublin’s North side of the city, we have a number of people who call us regularly to assist in bringing them to a lunch appointment, an optical appointment or medical appointment. Some ask for the help of a Care Assistant others are accompanied by a friend or family member, and some like to travel with just our driver.
On such journeys we have a chat about just about everything you can imagine, from the latest state of political shenanigans to the growing condition of traffic in Dublin. Sometimes we talk about our respective families and sometimes we are just quiet.
One regular customer makes contact with us every two weeks or so. This particular person uses a large electric wheelchair and experiences increasing levels of immobility. She is always bright and happy when I meet her and is always accompanied by the same faithful friend. We use the time in the car to catch up on our news since the last trip and have discovered the inevitable overlaps in our respective circles.
On one recent occasion we received a call from this customer to tell us that she had the Flu and would not be able to travel for a further two weeks. This puzzled us since we had no existing appointment for a trip with her. I wished her a speedy recovery and advised her that she should make a booking in good time should she need our services when she was feeling better.
Not dwelling on this incident, two weeks later we got a call from her to bring for a shopping trip, accompanied by her loyal friend, and we were very happy to accommodate her. After the return leg of the journey, her friend approached me and explained how important these trips were to her. She said “ You have no idea how important these outings are to her and knowing she can depend on you for the personalized transport service is keeping her going.” It was then I realized what her earlier call was all about!
