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Separated by snow: cancer sufferer reunited with blind husband

By Alix Miller
December 27, 2010 at 3:00 pm

emergency response volunteers in snowFor many of us the prolonged Arctic snap engulfing the country is inconvenient, especially for those caught up in travel chaos. But can you imagine what it’s like for a blind, diabetic, elderly man living in a remote village, whose house has no heating thanks to a prolonged power cut?

Carrie Metcalfe, one of our emergency response volunteers, has a good idea. The man in question was just one of many vulnerable people she’s been very busy helping in Lincolnshire throughout the recent bout of severe weather.

Carrie took vital provisions to the man, whose village was cut off by snowfall in early December. She recalled:

“The poor man had struggled through a three-day power cut. He had no heating, electricity or gas and needed food. Anita Moore, a fellow volunteer, and I gave him his first hot drink in three days.”

Meanwhile, the man’s wife, who has cancer, was in hospital in Nottingham where she was stuck following being discharged, unable to get home due to the weather.

“Anita and I – with the help of my 4×4 – managed to go and pick up the man’s wife from the hospital the next day.

“We had to do the conga down the drive through knee-deep snow to get her into the house, but it was worth it when the man and woman were finally reunited. They were very emotional, crying and holding each other. They’ve been married for 61 years, and up until now only ever spent two nights apart.

“It’s so rewarding to see the joy on people’s faces when they see  British Red Cross volunteers.  Even though we can’t fix everything, I feel we make a difference to people’s lives, which is why I love volunteering for the Red Cross.”

With the big freeze set to continue, make sure you’re prepared for bad weather.

Comments (6) »

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The Red Cross values comments both complimentary and critical. However, we will not tolerate the following: aggressive or personal criticism of the blogger, breach of copyright, obscene, defamatory, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive or likewise objectionable comments.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 27th, 2010 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Emergencies, UK, Volunteering. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • http://twitter.com/kanu321 shubham agg

    Hello buddy!Many of us the prolonged Arctic snap engulfing the country is inconvenient, especially for those caught up in travel chaos. You can imagine what it’s like for a blind, diabetic, elderly man living in a remote village, whose house has no heating thanks to a prolonged power cut? And in this the story given was very interesting.Thanks for sharing…

  • Howard House

    I do wonder what proportion of “British Red Cross” money is spent in the UK. It seems that a high percentage is spent in foreign countries or helping asylum seekers but I cold be wrong hopefully.
    The question was asked of me when I mentioned I contributed monthly via direct debit.
    Big H.

  • http://blogs.redcross.org.uk British Red Cross

    Hi Howard. It varies from year to year but in 2009 we spent roughly half our voluntary income in the UK and half on international work.See page 37 of our accounts online for a full breakdown of how we spend our money: http://www.scribd.com/doc/33953745/Trustees-report-and-accounts-2009

  • benefitcheatchaser

    is this the same Carrie Metcalfe that is signed off sick permanently and on disability allowance because she is too ill to work or look after her own children. Amazing that she was able to drive through such conditions and provide such help. she always told me she was too ill to work. Does this make her a benefit cheat and a liar

  • giuseppe losasso

    helo from itali my name is giuseppe and i m a nurse i would like attend at your program for help the  people ewerywhere. i worked for 35 years to  enmergency care in italian pubblic hospital so nurse. now i m retired and i m 57 y.o. i  have been 2 times to kenia for work to   horphanage and to a ambulatory to  the EMALI village.   i m a  italian red cross voluntary . please answer me about    giuseppe

  • http://blogs.redcross.org.uk British Red Cross

    Hi Guiseppe. Thanks for your interest, you will find more information about how to get involved on our website. For jobs please go to http://www.redcross.org.uk/Jobs or for volunteering opportunities go to http://www.redcross.org.uk/Volunteer.

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Alix Miller

Alix Miller

Alix is senior writer, based in London. She writes and edits across print and online media

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