Recovering from a bypass in a home without power
The family, who live near Ballynacarriga, Dunmanway, in West Cork, have watched as the lights have come back on in the neighbouring houses while their home stays off the power grid.
“Last Wednesday it went out at 12.45pm, I think,” Mary said. “A tree fell on it and cracked it.”
True enough, in the field next to the laneway of the house the line is down, coiled on the ground and almost creeping over the ditch. The Luceys can’t be 100% sure it’s not still a live wire, and are sensibly giving it a wide berth. As many as five or six trees along the lane seem to have been knocked. ESB technicians have been out to survey the damage, but the indications are that repair work may take some time.
“I rang this morning [the central emergency line] and just because we are the only house in this vicinity they said it could be Thursday at the earliest.
“We are really unlucky. I explained my situation but I may as well have been talking to the cat,” she said with a smile.
The situation is that Mary’s 72-year-old husband, Tony, has spent the past two weeks in hospital following triple bypass surgery and only returned home on Sunday to a house plunged into darkness.
That said, he was in fine spirits yesterday, resting in front of a roaring fire, his feet perched on a pile of firewood. “I’m doing fine,” he said, remarking that when he was growing up, electricity was a luxury for many families.
The family’s lovely house offers hillside views of the area between the villages of Ballingurteen and Ballynacarriga. They have simply been unlucky; many of their neighbours were without power until Saturday or Sunday, but in most cases the supply has returned.
Another family in the area have also been without power since last Wednesday and have been looking at the dead power line trailing across the garden. They said it has been “a nightmare”, with the woman of the house wondering why it has taken so long to connect up the power. It is undoubtedly a frustration shared by many others as ESB crews work overtime to repair all the damage caused by one of the wort storms in years.
The Luceys are bringing in bottled water and using the gas ring to cook. “At this stage you would want power or a drop of water, especially when you have someone sick in the house,” Mary said. Flushing the toilet requires filling a five-gallon drum and lugging it inside to fill the cisterns, all for about three flushes before having to do it all over again.
Mary and Chloe have spent much of the past two weeks travelling to and from Cork to see Tony, and have also availed of the kindness of friends and neighbours, either through spending some nights sleeping elsewhere or by receiving water and other supplies.
It’s easy to forget how much you take for granted.
“We have three phones in the house, two of which badly need charging,” Mary said. “The laptop needs charging, the Nintendo, no radio or TV. I actually came back yesterday and I said ‘I’ll throw on the heater for a small bit.’ I thought I could give his shirt and pants an iron. The washing machine is a big loss.”
They do have two fires lighting, however, compensating somewhat for the absence of the oil-fired heaters. The freezer has been emptied and the contents passed on to friends, while the fridge contains basics for a few daily meals. Night-time navigation around the house is done with candles and the like, and Mary is understandably concerned that Tony might find it difficult as he continues his recovery.
“We can’t blame anyone,” she said.
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