A PENSIONER has told how he had to watch in a state of panic as water flooded his Stonehaven bedroom while his invalid wife was confined to her bed, unable to move.
Olga McLean (84) was left disabled following a stroke in 2009 and her husband Alexander (76) could do nothing other than watch and wait by her bedside after the water entering their house destroyed her mobility equipment.
Rescuers eventually arrived at Mr McLean’s home in Arbuthnott Place and managed to lift Mrs McLean from her bed and take the couple to safety.
However the trauma of that event during the morning of Sunday December 23 still lingers with Mr McLean as he and his family continue the clean-up operation of their home.
“It was a disaster,” said Mr McLean. “I feel traumatised. I was lying in my bed and I woke about 20 past four in the morning. I put my feet on the floor and the water was running over my toes.
“By the time I got my clothes on the water was halfway up my legs and, by the time we were rescued, it was flowing over into my wellies.
“Olga couldn’t move as she had a stroke in 2009. She’s got a bed in hospital now but she’s OK.”
Mr McLean explained how he and his wife were taken out of their home on a boat and taken to safety.
Alexander’s daughter Elaine Law feels the couple should have been tended to quicker, given her stepmother’s mobility situation.
“The lifeboat came and took them but Olga ended up lying on the floor at a chip shop,” said Elaine (50).
“I’ve heard that people had been warned that this (the bad weather) was going to happen and she should have been telephoned to get them out.
“It should have been highlighted but there didn’t seem to be any priority. You can understand business being important but disabled and elderly people need to be a priority.”
All Mrs McLean’s mobility equipment, including a motorised bedroom winch and an £800 motor-powered wheelchair have been damaged beyond repair and will have to be returned to the hospital for disposal.
Their living room, halls and downstairs bedroom were also damaged during the storms but the rear of the house took the greatest damage, with their kitchen and bathroom ruined.
Raw sewage and waste is still lying at least an inch deep in places on the floor of the couple’s bathroom.
Now Mr McLean’s youngest daughter, Pauline McBeath (42), said the family are at a loss in dealing with the situation.
“There’s sewage in the toilet and the water board and insurance company are saying they can’t put people in there to clear it, which is fair enough, but what do we do?”
Mr McLean was out of his house for 13 months following the last severe flooding in 2009.
Given last month’s rain was heavier than that of three years ago, he added he expects to be out for even longer this time.
mdalziel@dcthomson.co.uk