In the Bible there is the story about a man who is waylaid by robbers who beat and strip him, rob him and leave him for dead. Various people of the same culture walk on by and ignore the man lying in his trouble, but then a Samaritan, someone who has no ties to the man or his culture, comes by, sees the man in trouble and helps him.
This is what happened to us in September when being discharged from hospital. My elderly Mum had gone in as an emergency in the back of an ambulance dressed only in night clothes. Various tests had been undertaken including a CT scan. The Emergency medic said it was safe to go home and she'd be seen in a clinic a few days later. I went to get the car, and when I came back, the streets around the hospital, and the hospital car parks were awash with flooding, and the rain continued to lash down without let up. Driving was tricky.
Having parked as close to the hospital discharge area as possible, I had my elderly Mum in my care in a wheelchair, dressed only in her nightdress and dressing gown with slippers on her feet.
Looking at the weather I had no expectation of being able to get my Mum into the car in a dry condition. I felt that getting drenched and perhaps catching a chill would not be a good idea.
As I stood in the hospital foyer deliberating what to do, a woman of about my age, dressed in a coat with a fur-edged rim to her hood, and dark hair appeared as if out of nowhere and asked if there was anything she could do to help?
I explained the situation. She said she'd got an umbrella. Then she spied a nurse in the hallway, and roped her into helping, telling her that this was no way to discharge a vulnerable, elderly patient. The nurse went to get a hoodie.
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Next the three of us, pushed my Mum in her wheelchair out into the carpark.
The rain was lashing down.
There was flooding.
The wind was howling around.
Somehow, the umbrella did not blow away or blow inside out, and it stayed up and over the top of my Mother's head keeping her relatively-speaking, dry.
My Mum remained bemused, exhausted and quiet through the whole episode.
The Nurse and I got my Mum out of the wheelchair and into the car, slamming the door, whilst the rain hammered down on the roof of the car and we splashed through the flooding all around the car.
The Nurse disappeared.
Katie took the wheelchair back into the hospital and abandoned it. As it was ours, I went and fetched it.
Putting it into the car boot, I turned to Katie, thanking her profusely for all her help. I could not have done this alone. She grinned. She told me that she had been visiting her Father in the same hospital. Sadly, she did not think that he would survive his current illness. She said that he had "lost the will to live".
In pouring rain, we chatted about parents, about hospitals. About the state of healthcare in the UK. About the nitty-gritty that mattered to both of us at the moment. We sheltered from the driving rain in the shadow of my car's boot lid, two women with elderly, unwell parents, a meeting of minds in support of each other.
As she turned to go, I said, "I'm sorry, I don't know your name". The reply was "Katie" and then she was gone.
I finished packing the things into the car, still in the pouring rain with water cascading from my waterproof. When I looked up there was no sign of Katie or her car.
She was truly an Angel in disguise and I am as thankful now as I was at the time, to have received her help.
Katie had no reason to help us, apart from the goodness in her heart. She could have kept walking by and gone to her car, but instead, she chose to stop and offer assistance to two complete strangers.
Next time you need help, think on this, and when you receive aid, know that it has been sent by God, by the Universe, for you to learn how to assist others, and how to receive and give kindness.
[Katie, if you ever have a chance to read this article, please know that I remain incredibly grateful for your kindness to me and my Mum. I could not have done it without you. You are a truly beautiful soul. ]