One-To-One Time

After the lockdown had been eased in the UK in early July, (The 4th I think: Independence Day) the people who I help to support were finally ‘Let of the leash’ so to speak. They had been locked in for months because they had been collectively labelled “Extremely vulnerable and highly susceptible to contracting the dreaded virus”. So when the green light was given, all the staff worked collaboratively and independently to take them out of their ‘Prison’ and get them back out into society. I was asked if I was willing to take one of the more ‘Challenging’ guys out a couple of days a week. This particular chap has a multitude of learning disabilities and can be very unpredictable in a funny-ish way.

I knew that it would be potentially dangerous for him to come into direct contact with other people (He cannot understand the wearing of the mask concept and violently refuses to wear it) The only option was to drive into the countryside (Which is quite challenging because he is constantly kicking my elbow, especially when I’m trying to change gear) and find a park to push him around in his wheelchair.

It was a task in itself to keep my eyes on his trainers because I quickly discovered that he doesn’t like to wear them. On one occasion I took him for a leisurely push around a lake in the country only to realise that he had kicked his trainers off without me noticing! So I had to backtrack for about half a mile and scan the tree lined puddled path until I spotted them. After that first occasion, I bought him some long thick socks and didn’t bother putting trainers or shoes on his feet! I also discovered I could possibly have been a goalkeeper or a cricketer because everytime he had finished his cup of tea he would throw his cup, one of which was lost because it ended up floating in a duck pond!

The photograph below captures the back of his head (Obviously for anonymity reasons) but this one is very recent. (I think he enjoys getting out and about but I can’t really say if he does) The photographs below the first one are from another occasion that deserve a whole blog to itself, which will eventually follow this one.