What time is it?
When James who is severely visually and hearing impaired, woke up one morning, he was shocked to realise that his vibrating alarm clock had not gone off as usual and he had no idea if it was really morning or if it was still before 7am.
The home care ladies came at half seven, so he needed to be ready to open the door to them. Maybe they had been, and he had missed them?
James has a vibrating pendant receiver that he puts in his shirt pocket when he gets up and then it will vibrate to let him know that somebody is ringing his doorbell. He puts it in his pocket now. He goes outside his flat door and thinks it is probably light, so it is daytime. He waits and waits, he doesn’t know how long he waits, but nobody comes.
A taxi to take him to his Braille class is due to arrive at nine o’clock but he relies on the home care ladies to tell him when that is. He still doesn’t know if they are coming or if they have been. He gets himself something to eat and then he gets dressed and shaved. He holds onto the pendant vibrator all the time, in case somebody rings his doorbell.
Nobody does.
When he is ready for the day, James sits in his chair and waits, but still nobody comes. He decides to walk around to the office where the security men work, he walks carefully and slowly. He holds onto the wall to guide himself. He has done this trip many times before.
The security men touch his hand, he is not able to see or hear them, but he has a card in his pocket that Rachel, his social worker, gave him. It says TAXI TO ADULT SERVICES PLEASE. James knows it has a telephone number on for the office where the social workers are and for the taxi company that is most familiar with him. Its for emergencies, and this is one.
By the time he gets to Adult Services with his broken clock, James is very angry and determined to make sure that everyone realises what a massive difference to his life this alarm clock makes.
Adult Services make sure he has a new one for the next night.
The emergency card is such a simple idea but can be a very useful tool to a DSI person.
