New shoes in an autistic world
So the story of my brother continues. I am still seeing him once a week to keep his spirits up while we wait for the funding panel to say YES on Thursday…. Notice what I did there? Positive thoughts and writing will manifest the result!
Today, I drove to town to meet him from his bus. The rain was torrential. No sign of the ‘hottest September day’ that everyone was talking about. We had thunder and lightening, the heaviest rain and just 15 degrees. My brother doesn’t really dress for the seasons and only has one pair of shoes – a pair of canvas deck shoes I had given him when he was taken to hospital back in the summer. This was an idea opportunity to take him shopping for some more weather proof trainers. You’d think that would be easy wouldn’t you as we were pretty wet and his shoes weren’t waterproof? No. It wasn’t easy, but it was interesting.
‘Shall we have a look for new shoes for you?’
‘Not really, these are ok aren’t they?’
‘Well, they are fine, but they are really lightweight summer shoes. Your feet will get wet in this rain.’
‘They aren’t wet now’
‘No, not now, but if it keeps raining your socks will get wet. they aren’t waterproof. Winter is coming so why don’t we have a look today while we are together?’
‘Just look then?’
‘Yes, just look.’ – That was my compromise, hoping he would change his mind while we were ‘looking’.
No. He didn’t. His argument was that I bought him the deck shoes and they were fine. He can’t see ahead to a change in seasons. The torrential rain today wasn’t going to continue, so he doesn’t need new shoes. Yet.
So we ran along the high street to find somewhere for tea.
‘Are you hungry?’
‘I don’t know’.
‘Well, what do you fancy to eat?’
‘I don’t know.’
Interesting. He has lost a considerable amount of weight over the last few months. He doesn’t know when he is thirsty, so unless a member of the medical team actually gives him water, he could go all day without any hydration at all. No wonder he is tired and asleep all the time. He’s dehydrated. If he is dehydrated then his mind isn’t alert at all. Whenever we meet up, we go for tea. Tea, because he would out of choice drink pepsi. It’s a habit, so I’ve managed to wean him off a bit by suggesting it’s too early for pepsi and shall we have tea? The answer is always ‘OK!’
So, asking him what he wanted to eat was pointless. I deceided on a bacon roll and another pot of tea. After all he’s not looking to lose weight! Simple. Bacon rolls in Brazz are the best. Always plenty of bacon, and always on a lightly toasted roll.
‘Have you had a bacon roll before?’
‘I don’t know’. He says staring at it.
Showing him how to eat it with some ketchup, and cutting it in half for him was quite an eye opener. How on earth could a 47 year old man not know what a bacon roll was? Well, there you go. When would he have ever made one, seen one or been given one?
It’s just the little things.
One happy man. Back on the bus before the next rain storm came in. Happy, smiley and waving. No new shoes, but the seed has been sown. At least he had been fed.
So, the next stage, is the funding panel that meets on Thursday. Lets see what happens there.
