Friday, September 10, 2010

UNCLE HARRY GETS A NEW SET OF WHEELS:))

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SPOTTED A GROUP OF WHITE EGRETS THIS MORNING (Officially called 'Great Egrets)

Picture perfect morning with blue sky's & big puffy white clouds.  Thoroughly enjoying these cooler temps & 60F first thing this morning made for a great start to the day. 

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HULLET MARSH WITH A BIRD VIEWING STATION IN THE BACKGROUND

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VIEW FROM THE BIRD LOOK-OUT

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The Ritz Villa where my Uncle Harry lives phoned a few days ago saying his old 1950's style lamp plug was not up to code & the lamp should be replaced so that was my mission for this morning.  Rounded up a newer lamp we had here at home & headed for Mitchell.

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THE HULLET MARSH IS MADE UP OF MANY CONNECTING PONDS & CREEKS

Because of the picturesque morning I took some extra back roads & made a few stops along the way at a large tract of land that had been set aside years ago as a wildlife nature area.  The HULLET MARSH covers hundreds of acres & before we moved to this area we would often drive here on a Sunday & hike all areas of this large Marsh.

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I COULD SEE SOME WHITE OBJECTS ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE MARSH & WITH MY 300MM LENS I WAS ABLE TO GET THE FOLLOWING EGRET PHOTOS

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(click on photos to enlarge)

Harry's room was a bee hive of activity when I arrived about 11:30 this morning.  Awhile back Harry had been measured up & fitted for a custom wheelchair & this morning it arrived about the same time I did.  Lynette, the Occupational Therapist lady from VHA REHAB SOLUTIONS who had done the original measuring was back along with two fellows from the company that built Harry's wheelchair.  CUSTOM MOBILITY is a fairly new company based in Southwestern Ontario specializing in custom built wheelchairs designed for the maximum comfort of it's occupants.  Instead of people having to wait months for a measuring & then have to drive long distances to Parkwood Hospital in London for fittings, Custom Mobility comes right to a Seniors place of residence & does everything in the comfort of one's own surroundings.

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LYNETTE CHECKS A MEASUREMENT

I was extremely impressed how Fred Geiger, the company's director of operations & his assistant Kevin, along with  therapist Lynette took the time, care, consideration & concern to help Harry adjust to his new chair.  Kevin is the fellow who actually built the chair.  Their warmth & friendliness was obvious as they had Harry take the chair for a test drive in the hall.  A few adjustments here & there & soon Harry was all smiles with his spiffy new set of wheels.  And, in his day, Harry always took great pride in is big, shiny & spiffy Detroit wheels:))

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LYNETTE & FRED LOOK ON WHILE KEVIN MAKES SOME ADJUSTMENTS

In my line of part time work I see & handle a fair few wheelchairs & I can honestly say Harry's chair was the best built chair I have ever seen.  He will get a lot of pleasurable miles out it & I'll bet there isn't another chair within 40 miles that could outrun his sporty new set of wheels in the quarter mile:))

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HARRY CHECKS OUT SOME TOOLS THE BOYS BROUGHT

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IT WAS PLAIN TO SEE THE WARMTH & CARE THESE GOOD PEOPLE HAD FOR UNCLE HARRY

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The LONDON TRAILER HITCH CENTER phoned today confirming they can indeed get the parts shipped in to turn our little Jeep into a towable Jeep toad:))  We'll set a date for that shortly then take the Santa Fe & Jeep to London & have them switch some of the towing gear from the Santa Fe to the Jeep.  Things are coming together:))

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GROANER'S CORNER:((  And remember, don't let aging get you down because it's just too darned hard to get up again!!

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

16 comments:

  1. I'm so jealous that you have egrets down there. Wish they'd come to our area.

    Your uncle's wheels look pretty spiffy.

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  2. I'm sure Uncle Harry will live longer and certainly better being able to get around.

    The egrets are beautiful!

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  3. I love to see how some people that work with the elderly take the time to actually get to know them and treat them like humans and not just another dollar.

    Good pics today, nice Egrets.

    Only a bit more time till you launch out!

    Cheers!

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  4. Wow looks like Harry is really getting good care. And yes if your lamp doesn't have three prongs, its outa there. I had to change the cords on the radio too when my mom was living at the care facility. Goes with the territory!

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  5. Why am I not surprised to hear your Uncle Harry still has a lamp from the 1950's? Hey Al, I'll bet it has really big print for the on/off switch too!

    It's great to see those workers taking the time to talk to Uncle Harry and make sure everything was working to his satisfaction. More importantly, it was great that they simply took the time to care and to listen. They must be pretty good guys! I'd do business with them for sure.

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  6. I think I detected a safety belt around Uncle Harry in the wheelchair. What a great idea! A person his age could easily fall out of that chair and get seriously injured. His new wheels look real spiffy and I'm sure glad they gave him the test drive and full instructions to go along with it. Uncle Harry looks great!

    Wonderful egret pics, Al.

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  7. It's neat that Custom Mobility comes to the location to get things set up for the people they are helping. Looks like Uncle harry is set and ready for the race.
    Your pics of Hullet Marsh reminds me of our stay at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in north Texas...so peaceful and serene in its own beauty.
    Thanks for the post and pics.
    Mike & Gerri

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  8. Looks like Harry's ready for his qualifying laps! My money's on him! Beautiful egrets! Always love your posts. K

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  9. how grand Uncle Harry's new wheels are!!..and it is nice to see people enjoying their work and making him feel like he is #1

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  10. We like Uncle Harry's new ride, Glad to see it is seatbelt equipped, Bet He'll be burning up the hallways now. Hope all goes well in getting the Jeep tow worthy, they seem to be the toad of choice so you should have plenty of choices in towing gear.Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

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  11. Sounds like you had a great day Al. A little nature to put things in perspective, an improvement in the life of someone you cherish and finally word that things are coming together for your long awaited trip.
    --Rod

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  12. Sounds like you had a great day Al. A little nature to put things in perspective, an improvement in the life of someone you cherish and finally word that things are coming together for your long awaited trip.
    --Rod

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  13. Looks like Uncle Harry is looking a lot better than he did for a while. You've done well by him with his new home, and I'm sure you have had a hand in other areas of his improvement!

    A lamp has to have three prongs? Not down here!

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  14. Our nephew Scott has one of them there powered wheel chairs. He even powered himself down the street and out to the fair this week. (Ya just gotta remember to keep it charged!). Mobility means everything to someone whose walking is compromised. Great to see Uncle Harry now has the Coupe de Ville model to get about in!

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  15. Al, I'm thinking that maybe you had better get Uncle Harry a nice pair of kid skin driving gloves! Don't want him to get blisters on his hands. :)

    A minor point...your egrets are certainly white, but they are officially known as Great Egrets. Cheep, cheep! :)

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  16. Okay, 'fess up, Al. You took those fine egret photos on the Gulf coast somewhere, didn't you? Everyone knows there are no egrets in Ontario! :-)

    Seriously though, excellent shots of them and I'm quite envious. Wish some of those rascals would find their way over here to the eastern side of the province.

    And I particularly like your banner photo of "Sunset On The Kofa Mountains". Stunning scene and well shot. Maybe Sandra and I will be able to see those mountains again someday.

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