Thursday Fostering Blog
Today was definitely not a day we were expecting. And this time it was nothing to do with the children. It started off as a normal school day. Rushing around trying to get everyone out of the door on time for school. Annie was procrastinating as usual and now she was running late. After she’d gone Charlie went out to get Alice’s wheelchair in from the car.
“Where have you left the car Harriet?” What do you mean where have I left the car. It’s on the drive. Thinking he was pulling my leg, I went to the front door. The car was clearly not on the drive.
I tried to retrace my steps from yesterday. Its amazing how your mind goes blank when you are in a panic. I head to the family calendar to remind myself what I had done the day before. I had been out to the supermarket in the afternoon, so I had definitely brought the car home. I have been known to leave the car up at school and walk home without it. But no, I definitely parked it on the drive yesterday. I remember unloading the shopping from the car, and I know I didn’t go out again. Then my attention turned to my keys. I am always misplacing my keys. However after (another) huge panic I located both sets of keys.
I took a deep breath. The realisation of what had happened dawned on us both. Somehow our car had been stolen from the driveway, though the thieves had not broken into the house to steal the keys. Then we started remembering all the things that were in the car – Alice’s wheelchair and special needs car seat, Sat Nav among many other small items.
I spent the next few hours reporting it to the police, insurance company, Motability, blue badge services etc. It was quite upsetting to find out that the Motability Car Insurance do not cover any of the contents of the car – not even the Special Needs Car Seat which is permanently fixed in the car. This is devastating news as it was only purchased in the new year at a cost of £2,600. None of the other car related items were insured either. Our home insurance have agreed to give us two thirds of the cost of the wheelchair – I guess that is something, We are just so glad that we decided earlier in the year to privately fund a second wheelchair! Without this we would have been totally stuck with no way of getting Alice to school.
At times like this we are grateful for small things – our safety, the kindness of friends and family who send us messages of support as the news spreads. By the end of the day we have a courtesy car that will help us get by for the next few weeks, until we can sort out a more permanent solution. Some flowers and chocolates turn up from our local church and our fostering agency. Though we would have chosen a different means, it is has been encouraging to realise how well supported we are.
A Less Ordinary Family Blog
