Some years ago, following advice on a Channel 4 programme, I reported certain symptoms to my doctor, the late Andrew Reed, who had the admirable quality of giving credence to his patients’ own knowledge. The result was a swift referral to a specialist, a twenty-minute operation, treatment at intervals over nine months – and problem sorted. Recently, I was again alerted by the media and I pass on this advice: if you have any small facial lesion, seemingly innocuous but which doesn’t not seem to heal, do tell your doctor about it. In my case, the problem was soon identified as potentially dangerous but early diagnosis and treatment will remove the threat.
Because of this and other stressful events, this week’s column will be a very personal paean of gratitude and a tribute several people who have helped and supported me over recent days. First of all, Dr. Andrew Senior who, as with Dr. Reed, gives the utmost respect to his patients’ concerns and acts swiftly if they prove valid.
Norfolk House and its staff have created a caring and supportive ambience and provide a corrective view to horror stories about care-homes that appear so often in the media. It would normally be invidious to single out one carer but during a crisis over the weekend, Madeleine went way beyond the call of duty in providing support and offering assistance at a very worrying time.
Lifestyles, too, provide a wonderful service of extra care to the vulnerable elderly and thanks to the vigilance of carer Alison Knott and her supervisor, a potentially serious problem has been identified.
Those readers who, like me, have become almost Internet addicts, will understand my dismay when my connection failed at the weekend and a call to my provider, AOL, failed to solve the problem. When I was passed on to the company who provide AOL’s routers, I baulked at the quoted charge of 50p a minute and, instead, made an urgent plea to Jon Rudge of Elm Computers (01568-614999). Without hesitation, Jon promised a speedy visit and, indeed, was here by 6 p.m. on Saturday evening and his magic touch promptly restored the Internet connection. Then, as I had been having numerous other problems with my computer, he worked on it again on Sunday, and hey presto! my sulky machine is now working swiftly and happily. Thank you, Jon.
We have all, I’m sure, suddenly realised that we have missed marking an important birthday, but when this happened to me last week, Posies of Leominster in the High street(01568-612132) provided an admirable solution. Ordered by ‘phone about 11 a.m., the delighted recipient rang me at 1 p.m., full of praise for the quality of the bouquet that had arrived on her actual birthday.
Small kindnesses by strangers are especially heart-warming and so my thanks to the very kind gentleman who, on Monday, carried two heavy bags of bird-seed to my car, some distance away in West Street. Thank you from me and the voracious army of birds that throng my garden feeding-station throughout the day.
And thank you, my editor and my tolerant readers for allowing me to convey my thanks in print to these well-deserved recipients.