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Hi my name is Ian, I was born
on march 4th 1960,as a youngster i enjoyed many hobbies including : camping, caravanning,, playing the accordion,,photography,yatching
and a host of other things.and at the age of four, i learened i ws a coeliac disease sufferer, this may not mean much to many
but it means that i am alergic to wheat flour,as are many others worldwide, I was one of the first in West Yorkshire to be
diagnosed, as there were then only about 6 or so, but now it is more like a 1 in 3 chance of someone having coeliac now.
As i aged, i found i enjoyed many more things,like driving,which
i didn't start doing until i was in my early 30's due to illnessand following a stroke,before which i worked as
a volunteer for a short while at our local hospice,where i started one morning per week to help the sick,as my doctor said
it would help me think less of my own problems and concern me more that some people are always suffering worse than i,although
these are not his exact words the meaning is the same,then i started slowly helping round in the afternoon when anyone was
off ill or for whatever reason, then it suddenly became a full time 5 days per week thing,always voluntary, and sometimes
not getting home until times like 10pm or so,but it's a job which gets hold of you and you feel as if you belong there
constantly helping the sick and needy,and each day is different,from chatting to one,to changing lighting bulbs etc,anything
and everything.This i found to be the most pleasurable job i ever did even though it was unpaid.
I was more or less on call out as i only live a few hundred
yards away from the hospice,and so if there was a problem, i could walk up within minutes,so i was classed as a volunteer maintainance
worker. After about 7 months of working there,, i had a stroke which took the use of my being able to carry on with this work
and now i am classed as retired as i don't work at all,but the memories of helping a fellow person will never drain from
my mind,sometimes it hurt just to see the sufferer,, so it's a pain that is not only in one,and when you experience such things,,
it makes you think about and be thankfull for the health you have. |
