09/03/2025
Some of you may remember earlier on this year I posted about my plan to take Elsa’s dad to the cinema as he expressed to me he really missed going to the pictures.
He hadn’t been able to go for a very very long time due to problems with his health and mobility so I vowed to take him asap. However I wasn’t able too as he sadly ended up in hospital for three months and then I also discovered that I couldn’t get him in a car/taxi due to the special support he needs for his back and hip and he cannot bend to get in as such so I was unsure how it was going to happen. The only way I could get him there would be if he had a mobility scooter but he had said previously he didn’t want to have one which I respected.
Then more recently after he came home from the 3 month stay in hospital he told me he had changed his mind on the scooter and he wanted one. I gave his social carer a call to tell her the good news and asked her if she could push the button on this before he maybe changes his mind. She sorted it all out and it was delivered last Friday 🎉
So I wasted no time in getting the cinema trip booked and arranged and Sunday evening we went to watch a film together. The weather was great for the journey down there and he absolutely loved the film and was so excited to have his hotdog and popcorn. When I arrived to accompany him to the cinema he was waiting outside ready on his scooter with the biggest smile on his face. It truly was magical to see how much happiness Sundays trip out brought to him. He described it as absolutely amazing, 15/10 and said he finally felt like a member of society again.
I also suprised him last week with the news that I am taking him out for Christmas dinner this year and I have booked and paid for it. The venue is very close by to where he lives so he will be able to meet me and my family members at the venue on the day. I checked with the venue and he is able to pull up to the table on his scooter and will not need to get off of it (he can’t sit on a dining chair due to his hip and back issues). He was so so excited. He’s never been out for dinner on Xmas day and usually spends it alone as he has no family who he can have contact with due to them being awful people who did horrible things to him which is why he had to move and give up Elsa to begin with. He excitedly said he is going to do a countdown to the big day and wanted to get a calendar to mark the days to go which was so sweet. So Sunday after the cinema I gifted him a fishing calendar (he’s a big fishing fan) so he can do just that. He was absolutely thrilled with it bless him.
Finding elsas dad and reuniting them with visits and the friendship we have created is the best thing I have done this year. He truly inspires me and teaches me so many things. He has gone through so much and still is yet he is always so bright and positive and always has a big smile on his face and always cares about others.
As humans we all take for things for granted some of us consciously and others subconsciously. We all know there are others who face massive challenges in their lives but it’s one thing knowing that and another thing having someone in your life where you actively witness it. It makes you so greatful for the things you never would usually even think of - like being able to get up and walk for example or have someone at the other end of the phone to talk too.
I’m posting this as I think it’s important to highlight it and I want to raise awareness about the differences we could all make to others who are in a similar situation as Elsa’s dad. Did you know you can join the AGE UK befriender service? You can do it via telephone or in person and it’s flexible based on whatever time you have to give. I encourage anyone reading this to sign up. We all think we’re too busy but we’re not. I have 9 cats, a house to keep in order and I have my own company I run and I still make it work. Even an hour every few weeks could make such a MASSIVE difference to someone who is elderly and housebound or perhaps has no family. The only company they have often being their TV.
It doesn’t matter how much money you have, how successful you are, how big your family and friends circle is. It could all change one day and we would all want someone to help us if we were one day in that situation.
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/services/befriending-services/
Also If anyone’s wondering I say Elsa’s dad instead of his name and blank out his face in photos - it’s to protect him. I don’t have loads and loads of followers but you never know who is looking at your social media and due to awful things he has experienced at the hands of those most closest to him he has to be kept safe.
