Housebound and feeling vulnerable.

elizabeth01 · September 2022

Hope this is the right place to post. After a recent decline in my health and mobility, I am now completely housebound unless I have someone who can help me get out of the house. I am feeling very vulnerable because I often have urgent GP appointments and emergency appointments that I now can't leave the house to attend on my own if I needed to. I live with my husband who works full time so I'm on my own for the majority of the day. Any advice or even hearing from others in the same position would be really comforting. I couldn't go out much before but at least I could leave the house if I needed to.

SueHeath · September 2022

Hi @elizabeth01 so sorry to hear you feel like this darling, you know we are here for chats etc or even an eye into the outside world. Sorry i have no advice on the other issues but i don't know how i can help there. I myself don't go outside, only in my garden unless i am with some one, my hubby works 3 days a week at the moment, i do find the friend ship on the scope forum a great help and a distraction.

janer1967 · September 2022

Hi there

I was housebound for 2 years and only left my house for hospital appt and the ambulance service had to get me in and out so totally understand

I have moved to a bungalow now so access is easier I can get out the door but as I'm in wheelchair and visually impaired I don't go out on my own

You can request patient transport to hospital and you can book this yourself speak to your gp or hospital for details

You could also request gp appt when your husband finishes work if they have out of hours of maybe early appt and your husband could go into work a bit later

There are also services within the community to help as well as some talk buddy system

Lots of there just need to find what suits you best

elizabeth01 · September 2022

SueHeath said:

Hi @elizabeth01 so sorry to hear you feel like this darling, you know we are here for chats etc or even an eye into the outside world. Sorry i have no advice on the other issues but i don't know how i can help there. I myself don't go outside, only in my garden unless i am with some one, my hubby works 3 days a week at the moment, i do find the friend ship on the scope forum a great help and a distraction.

Hi Sue, thank you for responding and for your kind words. I'm sorry you're also going through this, your situation is very similar to my own. It is comforting to know I'm not alone.

elizabeth01 · September 2022

Teddybear12 said:

Hi @elizabeth01 Sorry to hear you are having such a difficult time. Do you have any help from your GP with your condition? We are a friendly and supportive forum and there is always someone ready for a chat. The Coffee lounge under Categories is a good place with games and lots of members to chat to. Please join in when you are ready it might help take your mind off things. Take care.

Thank you. Yes, I get some support from my GP, and need to look into more community support. It's nice to know you're all here

.

elizabeth01 · September 2022

janer1967 said:

Hi there

I was housebound for 2 years and only left my house for hospital appt and the ambulance service had to get me in and out so totally understand

I have moved to a bungalow now so access is easier I can get out the door but as I'm in wheelchair and visually impaired I don't go out on my own

You can request patient transport to hospital and you can book this yourself speak to your gp or hospital for details

You could also request gp appt when your husband finishes work if they have out of hours of maybe early appt and your husband could go into work a bit later

There are also services within the community to help as well as some talk buddy system

Lots of there just need to find what suits you best

Hey

Sorry to hear you have also experienced this.

Glad you have better access now. We recently bought our first house and will be having a stair lift fitted soon which should help a bit. I suppose I will get used to not being able to go out alone in time.

Thank you for all the ideas I have made a note and will do some research.

elahrairah · September 2022

we are not housebound but since my partner became disabled our horizons have shrunk down to the distance she can safely drive, about half an hour, and not going anywhere where people aren't masked, which is nowhere. i find it incredibly isolating, so i can't imagine how much harder it would be to be fully housebound. community support sounds like something that might be good.

daresbury1978 · September 2022

I cannot find the original post which has given rise to the feedback. However, with regard to the idea "being housebound" I am reminded of a project I got to know about some years back which was called the "Inside Out" project. It was geared to the situation of "housebound elderly" but could apply just as well to the "housebound disabled" (the groups overlap anyway). Basically, the project linked the elderly person to their local primary school. The elderly person was free to make contact with staff and pupils as a "friend" and could talk about their life situation and experience and offer advice or information etc. I cannot recall whether SKYPE was used. Such a project might help increase disability awareness? Maybe not the same as actually being able to physically leave the house but it did allow for meaningful contact with the outside world. Loneliness and isolation are not necessarily the same. What do you think?

Poppy_ · September 2022

Hi, i am sorry you are having such a challenging time. I also spend the majority of my time at home. What helped me, was social media, as my friends would video call me, we would talk, etc, and learning to drive using adaptations, as, even though I haven’t had my test yet, I feel free when driving with my instructor, or with my family in a motability car, that I have just received, and I expect this to grow, when I pass my test, and I am able to drive alone. This may be something to look into, alongside mobility aids, to help with your mobility. I also have a dog, and I did have a cat, which have also helped me, as they gave me more of a routine, and someone to talk to, even though they can’t reply 😂.

I hope this helps.

Tori_Scope · September 2022

Hi @elizabeth01

I also wanted to share that I'm sorry to hear you're going through this at the moment. How are you feeling today?

elizabeth01 · October 2022

Hi all thank you for all the kind words. My health hasn't been great so I'm not online as much but it means a lot knowing I'm not alone here x

Tori_Scope · October 2022

You're welcome to pop in and chat to us whenever you feel able to @elizabeth01

There's usually someone around!

I'm sorry that your health hasn't been too good lately. Have you been receiving any support for that?

SueHeath · October 2022

Good afternoon @Elizabeth1 lovely to hear from you, sorry to hear about your health i hope things are improving now.

Housebound and feeling vulnerable.

Comments

Categories