One small schlep for man

Amy, Lucy and James ran to Mr L's house before work on Thursday to help his wife prepare for the arrival of a hospital bed and hoist.

It was Amy's first mission - congrats! Lucy and James were delighted to welcome her to this wonderful way of helping our neighbours. And far from a baptism of fire, it was a coronation of drizzle as nature turned on the sprinklers during our run to the task.

Once there, we helped Mr L's wife prepare a room for the imminent arrival of a hospital bed and hoist.

The bed swap was to happen later today, so we helped her tidy and move items out of the living room that would become her husband's bedroom once the new bed and hoist arrived.

It is not easy to arrange and coordinate such a delivery, as this involves making space in a room, sometimes getting an old bed taken off the property, maybe organising carers to move a loved one to another room temporarily, then getting the hospital bed delivered and set up properly.

Now imagine trying to coordinate all that by telephone, not always being able to get through to people, being given delivery 'windows' rather than times, and having to worry about it all and your loved one too.

We're talking about absolute heroes here, and Mr L's wife was one. Her grace and good humour despite the challenging situation were inspiring. It was a real privilege to lend her a hand today.