Our columnist Frank Brandon on his experience at the set-down area outside Roscommon’s urgent care centre, a recent train trip to Dublin for a check-up (and in praise of free travel), and local sporting successes…
It’s Monday morning, and thanks to the wonder of modern technology I am writing this in a carriage of the Athlone to Dublin train.
I am making my way to James’ Hospital in Dublin, where I am expected for my six-monthly ‘NCT’. The pacemaker that keeps my old ticker in check needs to be reviewed to make sure the wires are still in place and the battery isn’t flat. I imagine it’s all in order as I would think I’d be fairly flat myself if it wasn’t.
Anyway, as I travel eastwards, I begin to think about the wonders of medicine. My mind drifts back to 2001, when I decided that I would never be able to mow the lawn again. In the words of the great song, ‘The Darling Girl from Clare’, I was sitting on the wall one Sunday watching my son Mark mow the lawn, and being barely able to walk (even though I was only 50 years old), I said to my wife Carol that I would never be able to mow it again.
Later that year, myself and my brother Duff travelled to the All-Ireland final (the last one that Galway won). Having got the train to Connolly Station, we had a long walk out to Croke Park – and poor old Duff must have thought we would never make the game as I had to pull up for a rest so many times!
By now you will have gathered that I was in a certain amount of trouble during that period – and you would be right. The doctors told me my hips were like those of someone twice my age, and the truth is I was just about able to walk at all.
Sadly, they thought I was too young at 50 to have the hip replacement operation, but thankfully five years later they gave in and replaced both hips inside a 12-month period. They told me that they would last for ten years or so, but eighteen years later they are still going strong and hopefully will see me out.
Later on, I got five stents into the ticker, followed by the pacemaker, so I suppose it’s safe to say that without all these medical devices, my life journey would be long over – or at least very different.
Anyway, I will let you know on the return journey later on how my NCT went, and whether or not I am for a breaker’s yard! Hopefully not!
It’s now a little before three o’clock and I have had my pacemaker checked, had an echocardiogram, enjoyed a bite to eat in the hospital restaurant, been seen by the cardiology team, and am on the train ready to hit back to the west.
Now I mentioned this once before, but the much-maligned Charlie Haughey brought in free travel for us older folk, and even though I very seldom use it, for a trip like mine today it’s a godsend!
If you drive to Athlone, hop on the train, get on the Luas opposite Heuston Station, then it’s two minutes to James’. Do the whole thing in reverse and you’re back in Athlone by about 4 pm, and apart from the grub and a drop of fuel, you’ve not a cent spent!
The old ad used to say, ‘Let CIE do the driving’ – and it still certainly rings true. If I had to do all the stuff I did today up in Galway, I’d be stressed out with the driving, the traffic, and the lack of parking. In fact all of that would surely have driven my pacemaker mad, and I probably wouldn’t be let home at all!
But the good news is that all seems to be in order, and they don’t want to see me again for six months. They must have Duracell batteries in the machine because they told me it’s good for another five years! I wonder am I?
‘Set-down’ upset tested patience of other motorists
I suppose the older you get, the more hospitals play a part in your life. One day last week, I found myself having to pay a visit to the urgent care centre in Roscommon – a facility that has proved itself to be a very useful one, although the loss of the A&E Department there will never be either forgotten or forgiven.
Anyway, I arrived outside the centre, where there is a set-down area, a space(s) that I always thought was exactly what it says ‘on the tin’ – you pull up, let out whoever is going in for treatment, and move on. However on that day, even though there are two spaces, a single car was taking up the whole area, and as I couldn’t pull in I had to stay out in the single lane while my passenger disembarked. As a result, I held up the cars behind me while all the time the car that was in the set-down area stayed parked.
When we left 35 minutes later, it was still there – although it had moved forward a bit so a second car could pull up. A total of four cars stayed parked in the set-down area during that time, with drivers leaving their vehicles and going into the centre themselves.
As a result, I saw severely injured and unwell people (some wheelchair-bound) being unable to access the set-down area, and having to walk distances they found very difficult.
I feel that parking your car and leaving it there is not a very nice thing to do. Surely there would be a parking sign there if they wanted you to park! A set-down area is just that, and should be treated as such.
And finally…
On Saturday evening, as I arrived into Creggs for the Junior 1A rugby league game against Dunmore, I happened to come across the cavalcade which accompanied the victorious St Ciaran’s intermediate ladies football team – and if ever a team deserved a proper welcome home, they did.
Four times in the previous six or seven years, they had suffered the heartbreak of a county final defeat. This time, in a titanic struggle, they got the better of a game St Barry’s outfit, and managed to bring the cup home.
I couldn’t make the game, but heartiest congratulations to the team and management on a famous victory!
As it happens, the rugby lads had a victory that was hard fought for as well. In the end, we were very glad to escape with a 19-14 winning scoreline.
So all in all, a great sporting weekend for our locality. Well done to all, but especially the St Ciaran’s ladies!
