Trapped in a bath for 5 days.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail....d-bathtub-5-days.html

What a sad reflection of the times we live in.

Here is a poor old man of 85 trapped and all alone for 5 days.

If this old chap hadn't enjoyed a drink at his local pub, nobody would have missed him.

i am sure we all wish him a quick recovery.

[mungbeanz]

I think it's the opposite. He was missed by his friends at the pub and was saved from a bennyhillerising. I'm sure many pensioners offspring wouldn't be too worried if they didn't call for 5 days.

[chelle7272]

Not sure it's a sad refelction, if he had not been found then perhaps. He clearly has a social life and friends which is more than some people have, young or old.
It doesn't say if he has children but even so, 5 days is not a long time to go without calling / visiting without a particular need.

I'm gald he was found an is recovering though.

[cathfromsaron]

there are many organisations and agencies who ARE looking out for the elderly and infirm, but they are not psychic!

maybe his concerned friends can get him a neck pendant now? then if he falls again he will get straight through to social services ...

[NoMercy]

Poor chap.

[hellywelly4]

A lot of elderly people don't have a Lifeline pendant which is absolutely invaluable. I've had one for several years after my daughter asked me to get one, and I have used it in emergency once when I passed out in the kitchen. The ambulance was there in just a few minutes and I would recommend having one to everyone living on their own.
I hear of so many people who fall and can't get to the phone, and just have to wait, like this poor gentleman.

[Canary42]

Sinking to a new low, using a poor old pensioner's misfortune to prop up your constant tirade against modern times.

[cathfromsaron]

'a reflection of the times we live in' is surely the fact that he is alive at 85!

[ChuckFickens]

Modern times are fantastic, he has a bath with running water, much better than a tin bath in front of the fire back in the old days.

(I do wish him well and hope he recovers soon, but a fail to see how you think this is a "sad reflection on modern times")

[Brenden]

Chuck, I hope if I were in the same predicament it would not be 5 days before I was discovered.

[anotheoldgit]

It would seem that it is not the subject matter of a thread that matters on AnswerBank but who in fact posts it.

I refer of course to Canary42's answer:

/// Sinking to a new low, using a poor old pensioner's misfortune to prop up your constant tirade against modern times.///

The reason I entered this thread on ChartterBank was because unlike the often abusiveness of some on the News Section, ChatterBank seems to contain a more sympathetic type of contributor, how wrong can one be.

In answer to this poster and also to ChuckFicken's glib answer:

/// Modern times are fantastic, he has a bath with running water, much better than a tin bath in front of the fire back in the old days, but a fail to see how you think this is a "sad reflection on modern times") ///

I say this, my reference to my comment "What a sad reflection of the times we live in", I maintain that was a perfectly reasonable comment to make, taking into account that most these days don't even know the names of their neighbours, also the fact that most families have been uprooted from all living in the same street, to being scattered across many miles of the country.

This is a fact that cannot be denied, so therefore it is a 'sad reflection on the times we live in'.

Chuck I don't know whether or not your references to the types of baths was a joke, but never the less, in the circumstances I think it was in very poor taste.

[cathfromsaron]

isolation and old age are not new or unique phenomena, so i therefore respectfully disagree with your viewpoint!

[chelle7272]

It doesn't say he has any children 'scattered across many miles' or not. He has a social life and friends who helped him so I don't see the 'sad reflection of our times'.
A sad incident yes.

[pa___ul3]

he says he remained hopeful because he believes in gog, well it seems it wasn't the holy spirit that saved him more the kind from a bottle.
You can look at it that way AOG but it's nice that his pals down the pub noticed he was missing, a tight community doesn't have to revolve around a family and it was his pals that came to his rescue.

[anotheoldgit]

Yes but what if he hadn't been a drinker in his local pub?

And even if he had no family, why didn't any of his neighbours miss him, surely they live much closer than his drinking pals in the pub?

[Ann]

A lady in her mid 80s who I know fell into her bath a couple of weeks ago - her mechanical bath seat tipped up and came off the side and tipped her back into the water which she couldn't get out of......... she kept filling the water up with her hot tap until the immersion heater ran out of hot water then she sat in cold water which she let down the plug. She was like that for several hours until a neighbour popped by to see if she wanted shopping and was able to let herself in with a key as she was concerned she couldn't hear her. Fortunately after a spell in hospital the lady is now home. Lets all make the effort especially in our own street to keep our eye out for elderly neighbours.

[joko]

I agree its very sad that he suffered but i dont think 5 days is a particularly long time not to see someone in a social setting...had he not turned up for work or for an appointment or some regular meeting, then yes people would notice, but to not see him in the pub for a few days, people would naturally just assume hes doing something else at first... then theyd assume the family would deal with it... i think its great that people missed him and made an effort to find out.

one problem is those emergency buttons are expensive, i think they should be free or at least very cheap.