The Table
Posted on 2003-08-18
Another item that was suggested at my disability assessment finally arrived today. This time it was the table which rolls over your bed, similar to the ones you see in hospital wards. Don't get me wrong, I know I'm very lucky to be getting these things given to me, but at the same time my home is looking more and more like a medical center what with hand rails on the walls, hospital tables in my bedroom, pill boxes in a crate in the kitchen and medication charts on the walls to remind me to take my tablets. There literally is no escaping it these days.
Anyway, the table arrived about lunchtime but the box it came in was huge and there was no way I was going to be able to get it indoors on my own so I asked the delivery guy if he could help me. His reply was
'It's not in my job description love, what would happen if I were to do my back in??? I'd be off work and my family wouldn't eat for a month',and with that he turned to walk back to his van.
I guess I can understand where he's coming from, but its obvious that I couldn't manage to carry a box that comes above waist height whilst trying to hold onto the hand rails so I don't topple over. In the end I spent about 20 minutes sitting on the garden wall guarding my parcel before a nice passer by offered to help me move the box inside; then, when we did finally move it to the front door, the box was too wide to fit through the doorway so this poor guy ended up helping me dismantle the box and the table in the street so that I could move it inside.
I felt so guilty for taking up so much of his time, but the man was more than willing to help - in fact he offered to give me a hand, which has restored a little of my faith in society. Not many people round here are willing to stop and help another person out of the goodness of their heart - I was only sitting on the wall waiting for my Mum to get home as she finishes work at 1:00pm
Now though my front room is covered in bits of table but I'm too tired to put it all back together, besides, it'll be easier to get it upstairs if it's dismantled. I hope I can remember how it fitted together though..... it didn't come with instructions as it came already made.....