FREAK storms that cut power supplies in Kesgrave left one disabled pensioner stranded in his bed for nearly four hours longer than usual. After suffering two strokes in March 2000, 78-year-old Brian Thompson is totally paralysed down his left side and is reliant on an electricity-powered hoist to get him out of bed in the mornings.
FREAK storms that cut power supplies in Kesgrave left one disabled pensioner stranded in his bed for nearly four hours longer than usual.
After suffering two strokes in March 2000, 78-year-old Brian Thompson is totally paralysed down his left side and is reliant on an electricity-powered hoist to get him out of bed in the mornings.
When power supplies to their Montana Road home were cut off between 6am and 11.30am on Tuesday, Mr Thompson's wife, 76-year-old Dorothy, was left helpless as carers were unable to move the 17-stone man without the hoist.
Mrs Thompson said: "He has an electric air mattress and that was totally deflated. His electric hoist was not working either."
"He was in agony. It was terrible. No one likes to see someone they care for in so much pain."
Mrs Thompson made efforts to track down a manual hoist so carers could use it to get her husband out of bed.
She was told that Ipswich Hospital had no spare hoists to give her and, although social services did provide a hoist, it arrived just as the power was restored.
Carers were finally able to help Mr Thompson out of bed at 12.30pm, four and a half hours later than he usually gets up at 8am.
She added: "It was so cruel. He was so sore and he couldn't get up to a commode or anything. I am in my seventies and I can't move him."
A spokeswoman for 24seven, the electricity maintenance company, said: "We did have a power outage in Kesgrave yesterday which affected approximately 3,500 customers. It is thought that the fault was caused by water getting into the system.
"We managed to restore power to the majority of those customers within the hour but there were approximately 500 who were left without power for a longer period of time."
"We would like to apologise to this customer and to all those customers who were affected by this incident."
WEB LINK
www.24sevennet.com
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here