Has 'Good morning' acquired a new meaning in these pandemic times?

I’m sure OP will feel that many people in this thread have been judgemental when what he really needs is help and support, not harsh words.

I can understand your difficulty re getting to your GP for the vaccine as it’s 25 minutes away by taxi. But if you ring your GP tomorrow they may be able to arrange a home visit as. Vanecam suggested. Alternatively maybe a taxi drive to a vaccination centre, wearing a mask (and ask the driver to also wear one when you book the trip) & take along hand sanitiser? I know it’s a big ask when you’ve been shielding for so long, but it could help you feel better protected.

Best wishes, and let us know how you get on.

MerylStreep

ElderlyPerson
So you want social interaction but only through online forums, yes? I get that.
So why not join in some of the other threads. Are politics, climate change, brexit, the royle family, Afghanistan, travel, tv, books etc etc your thing.
Life doesn’t just have to be about covid. You might find that if you joined in some of these threads it might, just might, take your mind off covid.
Give it a try.

Hear hear MerylStreep!
Let's see you popping up elsewhere and contributing to other topics.
On Mick's daily Good morning thread, you can greet the day, tell us what the weather is like with you, share with others how you intend to spend your day...

And thank you, finally, for acknowledging that it is not solutions or views that you are seeking, but human interaction.

That was a brave admission.

What a lot of very kind, supportive comments from everyone.
Please, ElderlyPerson, take your courage in both hands, make that phone call and arrange your vaccination.
Then come back and tell your friends on here ?

EP My apologies about assuming you are housebound.

You say you would not refuse the vaccine.

I got the call in late January. I asked if a nurse would come here and I was told no, they needed me to go to the surgery.

Even though you appear to not allowing anyone into your home, if the surgery were to offer to come to you, would you let them in?

That's assuming you do ring the surgery to find out. Will you?

ElderlyPerson

ixion

I am perplexed, ElderlyPerson, as what you are seeking to achieve when you continue your Coronavirus posts?

It is clearly not seeking advice (tho' plenty has been offered over the months).

It is not seeking approval for your modus vivendi, as you appear to have no desire to change anything.

It seems only to be telling us what you do to survive (sic).

How are we supposed to help, please?

Thinking about it, I suppose that the truth of it is that I post for human interaction. Oh dear. Perhaps best not to in that case.

Human interaction is why sites such as this exist, so don't feel that you should stop posting. Please try to ignore the people who seem to think they know what's best for you, even though they don't know you.

Nevertheless, you should think very carefully about getting vaccinated. From reading your posts, it seems that you think logically, so maybe you should sit down with a piece of paper and ask yourself some questions. For example:

Am I personally unhappy about the way I lead my life?
Would I prefer to feel safe enough to interact with other people?
Would my life improve if I were vaccinated?

There is no doubt that you would be less likely to be seriously ill if you were vaccinated, but I can tell that in your mind there are barriers.

Think through those barriers and work out how serious they really are. Nothing is risk-free, but you can do much to minimise risk. If your GP surgery won't do a home visit, think about your journey to a vaccination centre. If you can walk, there is almost no risk if you keep away from other people. If you have to order a taxi, you could explain the situation and insist that the driver wears a mask (as should you) and ask for the windows to be kept open. I'm sure that the vaccination centre will be taking precautions.

Whatever you decide to do, you might need to step out of your comfort zone for a while and it might be quite frightening to do that.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

PS. I might be imagining this, but I have a feeling you're a wheelchair user. If that's the case, you really do need to contact your GP surgery and insist on speaking to somebody sympathetic.

PPS. Just seen that the thread moved on while I was posting.

EP In answer to your question about where people are catching Covi-19, the answer is that most transmission has taken place in educational settings and in family groups. It's highly unlikely that you are being exposed to either.

Germanshepherdsmum

EP, it beggars belief that with your level of phobia about covid you haven’t been vaccinated. I’m astounded. You say you’re not housebound so I’m not surprised the doctor won’t visit to vaccinate you. If there is no public transport in your area (but how did you manage, pre-covid, to shop, take your cat to the vet, visit the GP for the flu jabs I hope you had etc etc?) and it takes a 25 minutes each way taxi ride to get the vaccine, for heaven’s sake put your mask on (I hope you have at least one?) and do it. Isn’t your life worth that? Or have you actually become afraid to go out - agoraphobia - in which case please speak to your doctor about that, and vaccination, Tomorrow Morning. Without fail. And let us know the outcome. As has already been said, if you have to go into hospital you are very much at risk of catching covid and dying without being vaccinated. Won’t you at least do that for your cat’s sake? What would he/she do without you?

EP didn't say he isn't housebound. He also said that he was having grocery deliveries before the start of the pandemic.

EP you said this upthread
The prescription delivery is not about being housebound
from which it does sound as if you are indeed not actually housebound - have I got this right?
But there may be a thousand reasons why you do not feel able or confident to go out.
However, a taxi with the windows open and wearing a face covering is very safe. And you would be much safer vaccinated than not.
Of course it may also be possible, now that things have quietened down a bit, to get a home visit.

growstuff

EP In answer to your question about where people are catching Covi-19, the answer is that most transmission has taken place in educational settings and in family groups. It's highly unlikely that you are being exposed to either.

Not forgetting the unfortunate souls who go into hospital for something else - after a fall for instance, or with a UTI or chest infection - and contract Covid there. .

Elderley Person, I'm sorry if I seemed unsympathetic, that was not my intention, I know we are all at some risk from covid, especially as we get older - but when we reach 80, if not sooner, we need to realise that life does not go on for ever, and I want to make the most of the time I have left, doing the things I enjoy most. After all, on my day out I could have fallen as I got on the bus. The bus might have been involved in an accident, I might have eaten something that gave me food poisoning, I might have slipped and fallen in the lake we walked alongside - life is full of risks, but we seem to have avoided most of them to reach old age, not everyone has been given so many years, so enjoy them!

growstuff I might be imagining this, but I have a feeling you're a wheelchair user.

OP confirmed that he goes to an upstairs window to speak to the postman/postlady and collects parcels once they've left. Plus, he said that pre pandemic I would have walked towards her so I don't think he is a wheelchair user.

ElderlyPerson there are a million ways of living a life. If yours suits you, that's all that matters.

MawBe

EP you said this upthread
The prescription delivery is not about being housebound
from which it does sound as if you are indeed not actually housebound - have I got this right?
But there may be a thousand reasons why you do not feel able or confident to go out.
However, a taxi with the windows open and wearing a face covering is very safe. And you would be much safer vaccinated than not.
Of course it may also be possible, now that things have quietened down a bit, to get a home visit.

My interpretation of that was that the reason he gets prescriptions delivered is because his local pharmacy offers the service. He doesn't actually say whether or not he is housebound.

Chewbacca

growstuff I might be imagining this, but I have a feeling you're a wheelchair user.

OP confirmed that he goes to an upstairs window to speak to the postman/postlady and collects parcels once they've left. Plus, he said that pre pandemic I would have walked towards her so I don't think he is a wheelchair user.

ElderlyPerson there are a million ways of living a life. If yours suits you, that's all that matters.

Fair enough. I was obviously imagining it, but I'm not playing at being a detective about EP's lifestyle. I honestly thought I had read it somewhere on another thread.

MawBe

growstuff

EP In answer to your question about where people are catching Covi-19, the answer is that most transmission has taken place in educational settings and in family groups. It's highly unlikely that you are being exposed to either.

Not forgetting the unfortunate souls who go into hospital for something else - after a fall for instance, or with a UTI or chest infection - and contract Covid there. .

Indeed, but currently most cases have their origins in educational and family settings. That wasn't true at the beginning of the pandemic.

The point I was trying to make is that if EP (or anybody for that matter) avoids educational settings (which most elderly people can) and is especially careful when meeting anybody socially (eg only meeting outside and keeping apart) the risk of catching Covid is very low.

I saw her later, from a distance, and waved and did a 'thumbs up' as a sort of 'Thank you for your consideration over social distancing' coupled with 'I am feeling a bit sheepish and silly for rushing off like that but this COVID-19 stuff has got me jumpy'.

ElderlyPerson I just don't know what to think now.

On the one hand we are told rules are now relaxed, night clubs open etc, but when we went out to lunch today, staff were wearing masks and guests were requested to wear them too (except at their table).
I have heard of more people getting Covid recently than I did last year (not from official statistics but friends and acquaintances), a couple of them hospital-acquired.

So do whatever makes you feel most comfortable but I would urge you to chase up the vaccinations with your GP.

I can only assume that EP has left this thread, has no intention of being vaccinated and will remain a prisoner in his home for ever, because we have been told that covid will always be with us and we have to live with it as best we can, which means getting vaccinated, having boosters when offered and being sensible - not being paranoid. I still wear a mask, will continue with grocery deliveries as it’s so much more convenient and less time-consuming, and interact with delivery people and the postman as normal, no mask (the Tesco delivery people always wear them though). A brief friendly chat is most welcome all round. They are not lepers and I have never, at any time, treated them as such. Decant my groceries into bags just inside the front door, always have, put groceries in the cupboards/fridge/freezer ready to use, clean the work surface as normal after setting the groceries on it, wash hands as normal and get on with life. Have never quarantined my groceries - you certainly couldn’t do that for the six days EP mentions with fresh fruit and veg or bread so I can’t imagine what EP eats but none of my business. Just very disappointed that here is another person who will not take steps to get vaccinated but would rather live in total isolation instead and refuse to interact with people trying to help him live, rather than survive as though affected by a nuclear explosion.

You're good at the assumptions if I may say so Germanshepherdsmum

EP posted yesterday evening so he's hardly missing in action.

Germansheperdsmum You also don't know anything about EP's situation. For all you (or I) know, he could have been diagnosed as agoraphobic or autistic or clinically paranoid and it's not really anybody's business.

It's obvious from his posts that he's not anti-vaxx because he hasn't tried to dissuade anybody with ludicrous myths.

There is an NHS Coronavirus Telephone Service on 119 for anyone who has difficulty for whatever reason including fear of needles, mobility, access etc in getting the vaccination.

Growstuff, EP says nothing to help us to understand his situation but is happy to start a thread which shows him to be paranoid in the extreme. I felt he thought the behaviour he described was quite normal for the times. We have collectively shown him that it isn’t. He doesn’t reply to questions that would give some insight into his situation, as to how he got around pre-covid for instance, after he stopped driving. He may very well have become agoraphobic before the pandemic and I believe he is now, also I have long suspected autism is at play neither of which is anything to be ashamed of and if any medical condition is mentioned on GN other sufferers pop up and sympathy is given. A discussion with his GP, which has been encouraged by me and others, may well enable him to be vaccinated at home and get some help with real human interaction even if that’s just saying ‘Good morning’ rather than literally running away from people. If he doesn’t do that he will spend the rest of his life running away, as covid will be with us for years to come. That is a very sad waste of a life, however it’s his life and his choice. He is, I believe, lonely but there’s another assumption I’m making. I would simply like to see him take the first step towards safety and release from the prison he’s made for himself.

The text I received from my practice in January, with the dates of the vaccination sessions, also asked patients to let them know if they would have difficulty getting to and from the venue. I assume that meant that they could arrange either transport or a home visit. I realise that the idea of transport would not appeal to EP, but if he had a home visit from a GP or community nurse, how would he feel about allowing them through his front door? Just asking.

I think it depends where you live. As ex-Greater Londoners it took us a while to get used to the greetings of strangers in Norfolk - but how much nicer it is for your existence to be acknowledged!

You are completely overthinking all this. Calm down woman!!!

GraceQuirrel

You are completely overthinking all this. Calm down woman!!!

Op is a man Grace

The thread is now in the Daily Newsletter, so ElderlyPerson is going to be deluged by folk who haven’t RTFT.

EP hope that you are okay