Do you, like me, hardly ever leave your house? ?

I have to go out at least once (usually twice) a day to walk a very active dog. I know it does me a world of good - both physically and mentally. I feel much happier when I'm outdoors, even though I'm not going anywhere special and I may be alone.

Therefore, I think it's important, for everyone who can get out and about, that you make the effort to do so - and stay strong.

I think most of us have found that going out and about is harder due to being confined during lock-down. Last night I had to pick a visitor up at the station. We had to go through town. I had almost forgotten the way!!!

jenni123

Hi, I haven't left my flat in over 2 years, apart from when hospital transport come and take me to appointments.
I DO have a problem leaving the building, I am now in a wheelchair and to get outside I have to negiotate 6 very heavy fire doors. I have ti try to open the door, have to use right hand, but I then need the right hand to operate the wheelchair, so I have to let the door go and it promptly shuts in my face. So unless I have someone with me I can't get out.

Jenni That really doesn’t sound acceptable in the slightest.
I know absolutely nothing about housing, but I’m sure that you shouldn’t be living in those circumstances.
Have you spoken to someone about it?

Pearlsaminger

I’ve been housebound for the last 3 years or so. Had to give up work due to poor health and mobility issues. I can still drive anywhere (with plenty of stops to get out and stretch) but once I get there, couldn’t get much further unless they had a mobility scooter for use or hire.

So I have purchased a mobility scooter. I don’t need it for home as there’s no shops I use nearby. But I have used it twice for going out on trips to my beloved football stadium to see my team play.

The difference it has made is amazing! No more struggling for an hour on stop/start with having to sit and rest. No more taking 3 days to recover from the day out.

I have felt quite lonely in the past, until lockdown where my daughter has worked from home. Having here around every day has been brilliant for me.

But… she’s preparing to go back to work soon so I’m guessing the loneliness will rear it’s head again. But at least now I’m able to get out and about a little more on my own.

I’m thinking of starting a mobility scooter club in the area, where we can all meet up in the local park (there’s a cafe there)

I’ve never seen a Mobility Scooter Gang - should I insist on leather biker jackets and motorbike boots?

That’s brilliant! Well done you Pearl! (You still have my favourite user name ? )
What type of scooter do you have?
I did some research a while ago into foldable ones, but I’ve forgotten the name of the one that I thought about getting, but I do remember that it was yellow…
Your club sounds a fantastic idea. I wish that you lived near to me, I’d join like a flash! Good luck with it

MayBeMaw thank you for replying to Gwyllt, I was going to myself but now don’t need to bother.

Thank you for the flowers AGA
Gabrielle I’m so sorry for the loss of your little dog
Do you think that you might have another dog?

I am not housebound but bound by the situation I am in. My husband is poorly and also needs two new knees so cannot walk much at all. As he is clinically vulnerable I have limited myself by only going to small village shops or online shopping and I try to avoid crowds. Luckily I have been able to work from home so I am on hand for his meds or if he falls. So really apart from hospital or doctors appointments I/we haven’t been anywhere.

It’s easy for you to say you never leave the house.
Gwyllt I don't think it is an easy thing to say.

For those of us who have 'known' Anniebach for years and, I hope, given her support through difficult times, some people do find it impossible to leave their homes for many different reasons. Some have described their problems on here.

I' m pleased that you have friends and are motivated and can get out. Although social activities are opening up again many are still reluctant to go.
As we get older we lose friends and it's harder to make new ones even if we do go out and join groups as friendships are established already.
These lockdowns have not helped many who may lack motivation even if able to get out.

So really apart from hospital or doctors appointments I/we haven’t been anywhere.

Oh yes, it gets us out too, Keeper1!
I'm not complaining, we can get out, we can drive but do know people who can't leave their homes at all.

Gwyllt I thought that was rather a thoughtless post. You are obviously making great efforts to overcome your difficulties and good for you, but many people including some posters on here are physically or mentally unable to achieve what you can and have no family or friends nearby to visit or to support them. You obviously have problems but spare a thought for those who for various reasons don’t just say they don’t leave the house - they can’t and have no hope of doing so unless their circumstances change. Best wishes for your rehabilitation.

FC I’m so sorry that you are housebound. I am not but do choose to stay in a lot doing my crafts.

My best friend from school has had MS for years and sadly she has been in her bed since the summer of last year! Honestly, I do not know how she does it. Whenever we speak on the phone she is so upbeat yet she has been dealt a rotten card throughout her life. We are both 69 years old now and she has had MS since her early 30s.

Thank you MayBeMaw Calistemon yes it was here I had support for very difficult times and that support saved my life x

Annie as ever x

Thank you PurplePixie
How are you doing? I haven’t seen you post for ages! Hope that you’re okay

Yes, if not leaving the house is easy, I must be doing it very wrong…

Anniebach sending hugs and ?
You’re a very special lady x

I live alone, but most days I try and get out. I did that during the lockdown. Getting out and about walking keeps you fit.

I know so many people who are currently choosing not to go out because the world just seems too crazy! I’m just trying to stay optimistic.

I was very interested and quite relieved that quite a few of us prefer to stay at home rather than go out. I am one of them. I do not drive because it is impossible in the heavy traffic and lack of parking in London. I depend on the bus, as I cannot manage the steps down to the underground or to the local overground. I am now 87 and when I go along the road my legs feel shaky and my breathing is not very good as I have A Fib. I now use a walking stick which helps balance and people generally let me get on the bus first and seem generally sympathetic.
I keep wondering if it is loss of confidence or is it my age? I have now given my children power of attorney and I do not think I can go on living alone as none of my three children are near me, so I am considering selling my flat and moving to St Lucia to live with my son, who lives alone in a rather large house. There I do not have to do anything to do in the cooking, cleaning and other household chores. And I will be with two darling dogs who give me so much joy. So thank you for this thread which I and many others have found useful because so many of us are in the same position. Much more enjoyable than politics!

Thank you Annie!
Goodness me, yes, ? go to St Lucia to be with your son and the dogs. It sounds absolutely wonderful!
I’ll meet you at the airport!

Annie that appears to be a wonderful idea but practical me would be wondering what would happen if you were ill because I would think you are too old to be insured. Would you be able to get prescription drugs easily and at a reasonable price? What would happen if you were hospitalised?

Sorry to put a dampener on it!

That would be my first thought too!

re medical matters. Only one of the many drugs I take is unavailable in St Lucia. So I Fedex it over from UK. My GP over there is lovely. Thinks nothing of spending 20 mins examining and chatting. I can get my Warfarin levels checked easily and if anything really serious happened, Martinique which is part of France, is 10 mins away by air and has all the facilities you would neeed ( not free since Brexit) Nobody will insure me because of my age and various health conditions and it has been that way for years. So that is it. I will write more after I get there. Thank you all! Merry Christmas!!

AnnieI
You go for it, well done ????
Everything’s on your side. Your son, sunshine, 2 lovely dogs, and, selling a mortgage free flat in London ?
It’s a win win all day long.

I'm not housebound but listening to stories in this forum has given me so much hope. I'm in my very early 60's and retired October 2019, I was able to take 2 vacations (alone), one to Puerto Vallarta to celebrate my retirement and one awful trip with my selfish adult daughter to Jamaica early February 2020, then COVID-19 hit...I've done nothing since I was 20 years old but be a single parent to 4 selfish adult children who rarely (never vist even though we live in the same town) and work, nothing more just take care of them and work, yes they've all messed up their lives - not completely but they're not living the life they want and they all blame me. I gave up everything and never ever shunned my responsibility, I never received child support so I dug my heels in and gave them a good live on a Secretaries salary which you know is not very much. I have a beautiful new home (my second new home since moving from a small town with no opportunities to a major US city). I'm so thankful I found this forum, I spent Thanksgiving alone and it was rough. I felt I was the only person in the world that felt so lonely and misunderstood, you all have given me hope and I thank you for just telling it like it is! I just couldn't wrap my brain around how I sacrificed my youth to give my adult children a better life and now they treat me like dirt pretty much. I decided today to get out the house and start enjoying myself, I have very few friends and unfortunately the ones I have still work and have adult lazy children at home. I refuse to pay for visitors like most of my friends my age group do. I told them all to stop handing out money and gifts and then you'll see how much they "love and want to visit Meme, Maw Maw, Grant Gran, GG etc). When I stopped worrying about what my adult children did, stopped babysitting paying bills bailing out of jail cosigning for things etc they all stopped coming around and have no use for me. I'm planning something now for Christmas so I won't be alone...there's more but I'll post another day...so thankful I found this forum, I still have a lot of living to do and by golly I'm changing my mindset and start enjoying my life and making new friends now that I know the world is full of people just like me!

Not exactly housebound but I won't go anywhere outside alone. This started when I was a child at primary school, but I got thru it. It happened again awhile after I split from my partner, leaving me slightly away from friends & family, with 2 toddlers. If I made it past the first lamppost to pop to the shops, I'd be reasonably ok.
But it really hit hard, and for no explainable reason in about 2012.
I think the last time I managed to go out alone was in summer 2013.
Since then, I ALWAYS have someone with me!

My lovely sister-in-law, 84, is more or less housebound as her mobility is very limited due to spinal stenosis and she is now nearly blind so she can’t have a mobility scooter. We speak to her every Tuesday and some weeks she is very down as she can’t get out of the house as much as she would like or do any of the things she used to do, ie reading, puzzles especially jigsaws, knitting and driving to browse in the shops. She lived in Canada for 30 years which she misses very much but came to live with her daughter in Devon three years ago when her husband died. She is lucky in that she’s not on her own but her daughter has a part time job and helps care for her two young granddaughters so she is alone for a lot of the time and finds time hangs very heavy. She passes the time by watching television, particularly snooker, and after we told her about Alexa her daughter bought her one and she plays music through that. She was also bought a FaceBook hub for Christmas so people can call her through FaceBook messenger at no cost, her cousin in New Zealand called her last week and they were able to talk for ages without worrying about the cost if the call. We are trying to get her daughter to look into talking books as she was an avid reader. We wish we could do more but we are in Shropshire, it is a long journey and we have to make arrangements for care of our little dog.