Slipper-ing in a Friday Night Good Deed

Possibly one of the sweetest missions I’ve had to do, on Tuesday I signed up to making sure Mrs M was comfy and warm as it started to get colder. The task at ask was to purchase a specially selected pair of slippers for Ms M and drop them off to her.

First job was to purchase said footwear. I’d been given a link to the pair that Ms M was after, a fluffy pair with pearly beads on, easy.

Computer says no.

A fight with my amazon account ensued, and unfortunately the big guys won. Luckily I had help by way of my housemate Sam, who was able to use his log-in to help me helping Ms M out. The house shoes sourced, I slipped them into my virtual basket, and was able to use the power of the internet and a click of a few buttons to confirm their delivery. Now the waiting game...

Friday arrived and I came through my front door to be greeted by a brown paper bag, which contained the power of foot-warming goodness for Ms M. I hit the road, whizzing along High Street Ken and through Hyde Park to get to Ms M’s flat. The next part of the mission was to actually locate said flat. She lived in a concrete jungle, and I got a little bit lost working out which building was hers, where I could leave my bike safely, then which floor was hers... after about 72836 steps later, I knocked on her front door.

Ms M was delighted to see me, and made sure we had the right pair of slippers ‘with the beading’. She was very slow on her feet, using a Zimmer frame to get around, and we chatted as she went to get her money to pay for the slippers. It took a long time but Ms M came back, and had brought the wrong note with her. So back she went, and returned with a £10 note. My turn to be a nuisance, as I hadn’t any change.

I left Ms M to it, and ran back down the stairs and cycled along to a local shop, where the gentleman behind the till kindly changed her paper money for some coins. Whizz back up to Ms M’s flat, and we did a proper exchange, with the correct change.

I thought that it would be a quick mission. A quick drop off and head off, but the task ended up taking almost 40 minutes (not including the cycling). Although Ms M was on her own and had mobility problems, she still likes to chat! She asked me what I did, and when I informed her I was a physiotherapist she lit up ‘I’m in luck - I get my slippers and a physio’. She asked me a bit about what she could do to help her mobility, and whether I did any private work. I don’t, but I was able to slip her in a bit of advice on simple exercises to do (and not just all the lengths of her corridor I’d made her complete getting the money sorted!).

I finally was waved off by Ms M, and it made me realise how lucky I am. I see it every day at work, where I treat people with all sorts of mobility problems. But for Ms M, she couldn’t leave the house, and she didn’t have any of the mod cons that we now see as basic life essentials - the internet, online banking, smart phones. For Ms M, she can’t just click a few buttons and have her shopping dropped off, the way I do with an ASOS order. Or the ability to just nip to the shops. I was glad to be able to make such a difference with such a small and simple thing.