| Two charities benefit from raffle
During last Saturdays sportstar banquet, a special raffle took place with the proceeds going The Irish Handicapped Childrens Pilgrimage Trust (IHCPT) and two athletes who will represent Roscommon and Ireland at the Special Olympics.
The Irish Handicapped Childrens Pilgrimage Trust (IHCPT) is a voluntary organisation which brings approximately 500 Irish children and young people with special needs from all over Ireland to Lourdes at Easter for a weeks holiday /pilgrimage.
Children from County Roscommon have been selected and invited to travel to Lourdes this year. Every child will have his/her own designated helper for the week. The holiday, besides being a wonderful experience for the child, allows the parents a weeks break from the often arduous task of caring fulltime for a sick or disabled child.
Kerb-side lessons
Have you ever parked your car and found that you cannot get out of it because the kerb stops you opening your door? Frustrating isn't it? It's worse when the door scrapes to a halt a few centimetres wide, forcing you into a Houdini act to climb out. When you get back to your car you are likely to have forgotten the incident. The door swings wide open this time. With your weight in the driving seat, the door is permanently fixed to the pavement. It happens everywhere, when you least expect it, but nowhere more spectacularly than in Gozo. Somehow the whole concept of kerb in Gozo is given a completely different interpretation. Whereas in most of the country the state takes over beyond your doorstep, in Gozo, kerbs are seen to be a private affair. Perhaps a reader better versed in planning history than I am can explain the difference.
Feds penalize self-sufficient seniors
Governmental loopholes can be akin to a slap in the face: They won't kill you, but can sure make you angry. Try as they may, government agencies often close a loophole in one law just to create more loopholes. I have found a bad loophole that affects Medicare B-aged people who don't care to finance things and prefer to pay cash for what they buy. My wife, Margaret, has been battling a brain stem tumor for more than five years. She is partly paralyzed on her right side and has to use a walker and wheelchair. Our typical 1960s house was not designed with handicapped needs in mind. .
New guide to improve information for disabled people
Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire, today announced the launch of a five point guide that will help public sector organisations to improve the way that they provide information to disabled people. The guide, written by the Office for Disability Issues (ODI), follows research which shows that a third of disabled people have difficulty accessing goods and services, all too often because the way information is being provided is not good enough. Ms McGuire said at the launch today: "Good quality information is essential in helping all of us in the public sector in providing a quality service. The ODI's research shows that a lack of, or misleading information, can be an important factor preventing disabled people from getting services they need. .
Furry therapy: dogs help hospital patients recover
George and Jean White are regulars in this fourth-floor room at Forsyth Medical Center, an area filled with wheelchairs, walkers and people in casts. But the first question they usually ask isn't about anybody's health. "Do you have a dog?" they ask. It doesn't matter if the answer is no. "It's about their life, and it sort of puts them back where they are in control," Jean White said. The Whites have two certified pet-therapy dogs, Molly and Kelly, golden retrievers who wear their own hospital ID tags as they trot through the long, institutional halls, their blond tails waving like fans. Glenda Hinton, 63, of Mount Airy was happy to see them on a recent afternoon. She is at the medical center recovering from a stroke. The stroke left her right hand curled and stiff, so she was worried that she would hurt Molly as her stiff hand raked gently across the dog's back.
|
