what to do…

[Jackabee]

Hi everyone, I am not sure what to do. I don’t want to use my heart failure as an excuse but here’s the thing. I volunteer at a large, cold Workhouse museum bringing history to life for school parties. I am due in tomorrow to run an activity on a Victorian Christmas theme., so I will be dressed as a Victorian pauper. I can wear thermals underneath but it does get cold over the five hours. We haven’t had snow but the roads are icy with freezing fog and where I live the country lanes don’t get gritted. I am nervous about the whole thing. Should I go ahead or let them know today that I can’t go in? Am I being unreliable? Doctor wants to speak to me today about my recent blood test as well, I suspect that I am anaemic.

[Ageingfast]

I would go for it. Just go a bit slower . You don’t want HF to take over your life.

I thought my little rural village was the only place to be snow free. Serious heavy falls just 20 miles away, but nothing here.

Dangerous lanes is another matter. Would you have travelled last year ??

Remember to do things slower. At our age we need to do everything a bit slower. And to avoid a fall at all costs.

Sooty

[Hidden]

naw, call them up and cancel the school is more than likely going to be off anyway in this freeze . Your health is more important than your job . Also what a cool job you have !! I’d be in my element.

[winnabago in reply to Hidden]

I totally agree, your, health is the important thing, I'll, bet you would like to do this next year, stay healthy.

[Hidden]

Heart or head? Your heart (no pun intended) says you should go. Your head says you shouldn't. The weather and local risks are unlikely to change much by tomorrow and your medical conditions will be the same. But only you know how significant each and all of the risks are to you and all the balancing benefits to those risks, plus any problems you might cause at your event if you cancel. So go ahead and make your decision and don't feel bad about it for either yourself or others.

[Jackabee]

thanks everyone. I have decided to go. I think that I am mostly worried about the drive on icy roads but I will take it steadily. I will try to stay warm though a thin cotton dress, shawl and bonnet don’t really cut it for five hours in a vast unheated workhouse. I don’t give in to HF at all but I had nobody else to ask. You gave me the answers that I needed.

[ChoochSiesta]

If you don't need to drive on icy roads, don't. You're a volunteer.

[Jackabee]

update: what are the odds of this? The school turned up at the museum yesterday (the wrong day) so I am not needed today!

[stickyfingers in reply to Jackabee]

Phew!

[RJBme]

Definitely explain that you can't take the risk today. Extreme cold is very bad for heart disease and your health is far more important.

[Breesha]

could you take a flask of hot chocolate , and some sandwiches , egg and watercress

Watercress full of iron . And go and enjoy , the children will love it and that will warm your heart.

[Jackabee in reply to Breesha]

yes Breesha, we have a half hour break so that they can have their lunch but I wasn’t needed after all today as the school turned up at the museum yesterday, a day early. I got an email last evening. What a shock for them but they pulled it out of the bag and a good time was had by all accounts.

[Jackabee]

naughty Contax! As a retired teacher (40 years) I can tell you that I ( like most teachers) was always at school by 8 am and often worked until midnight including in the so called holidays…whilst being a wife and mother. It probably gave me my heart failure. Visiting the museum is very educational in a way that the children will never forget because we can give them a taste of life, indoors and on our farm, in times gone by ( from Neolithic camps to WW2) . 😋

[Jackabee]

not quite but they do stone picking and bird scaring in the fields even in the rain, they make oakum and we try to make the activities authentic. Of course we tell them about the hardships of past times. They don’t experience the privations of yours and my youth as the world has changed since we were young and we are not allowed to put them through that over a long period…we only have them for the day! I am sorry that you had a difficult time…I did too but children of today have their own problems. Indeed it was my difficult experiences in childhood that determined me to be a teacher…to protect those that came after me.