Sunday columnist Peter Leith has seen a lot of life. He’s 90 and says he is “half deaf and half blind”. But he sees a lot – a lot more than those of us with good hearing and vision. This article continues his series of true short stories labelled Aspects of Ageing.
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The front door opened and a casually dressed, elderly man tottered out on two elbow crutches. He held the screen door open and an attractive, smartly dressed woman in her 50s stepped out on to the front porch.
“Goodbye Janet. Thank you very much for visiting,” he said.
Janet gave him a shoulder hug and a quick peck on the cheek and said: “See you in three weeks’ time John. Take good care of yourself. I will phone you first.” She then walked to her small, white car.
Janet has quite a long list of regular clients who she visits in their homes, at regular, pre-arranged, intervals.
All are disabled in some way. Some are physically disabled, others are mentally disabled, some both. Some are even bed-ridden. Most have been Janet’s clients for several years. Janet cares for each of them.
The unkind and the ignorant might call Janet a prostitute.
The reality is that Janet provides all her client-friends with a high level of personal care that is both very personal and very caring.
Do you have an idea or observation for Peter? Send it to [email protected] and put ‘Sunday’ in the subject line and we will forward it to him.
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