Mother Goes into Neighbor's Home for First Time in 21 Years: 'It Was Horrific'

Jan 29, 2019 by apost team

You never know what happens behind closed doors. Life is different for every single person. They may be in deep pain but put on a happy face and bury the pain deep within themselves. Most of the time we have no idea how others feel or what the condition is behind their feelings.

Sometimes, people don't have anyone to rely on. This can be due to their age, mental health, physical health, or may even be a combination of all of these circumstances. This seems to get worse for some as they age. It can even be extremely depressing if no one is there to step in and help out.

This couldn't have been any truer for one older women in Fulham, London. She had began living her life completely in her home. She hadn't ventured outside in decades. Her home was slowly rotting away day by day with her inside. No one was aware, no one had stopped in to check on her until her neighbor did. Lucy Ashen, who was her neighbor for 21 years, stopped by to check on her.

It took quite a bit of convincing before Ashen was allowed into her home. We will refer to the homeowner as "My Lady" just as Ashen does. Once in, Ashen was floored by the condition of the home.

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Ashen remembers there wasn't any food. All of the clothes were beyond dirty. No-one had helped My Lady bathe. Ashen remembers it was a complete loss of despair and loneliness.

My Lady hadn't showered or bathed in many years. Ashen wrote on Facebook, "I gave My Lady her first bath in 13 years!…....prior to that she had only washed her face and cleaned her teeth in the kitchen sink." Ashen wasn't going to allow this to take place any longer. She was going to get things set straight for My Lady.

She remembers just how horrible it was. She didn't want My Lady or anyone living like that. They shouldn't have to. She didn't even give herself time to think. She began to gut the house. She cleaned out everything, even the toilet seat was thrown out. She knew she wasn't going to be able to do everything by herself so she did what most people do and made a post on Facebook. She posted a backstory and a long list of what needed to be done.

Ashen felt overwhelmed by everything that was needed and had to be accomplished. The list she posted was more of a wish list and a plea for assistance. Astonishingly, in only a day, the majority of the items were funded by people that were in shock and their hearts were wanting to help.

Ashen and her daughter spent a total of 60 hours working in the home. They worked on tearing out the rot, cleaning the fridge, replacing the old carpet, scrubbing everything, and basically just getting everything back to where needed to be so that it could be repaired. And without thinking twice, Ashen made sure My Lady was given an appropriate bath herself. She took her time to carefully wash her and took precautions so that she didn't fall.

Thanks to Ashen, My Lady has everything that she needed. She was no longer sleeping on the floor. She had a bed. Her furniture was cleaned and she had fresh bedding. My Lady has been blessed with brand new beautiful clothes. She received three full meals each day and has people stopped by to see her.

Over the next couple of years, My Lady lived happily in her home that was in much better shape. Ashen came by quite often. Sometimes My Lady struggled to remember Ashen's name but she never forgot who she was or the love she had shown her.

Ashen was able to contact some of My Lady's relatives and they were able to spend some time with her. My Lady passed peacefully in her sleep on July 20, 2018.

In the last couple of years of her life, she was filled with joy, laughter, new friends, and reunited with some. She was very thankful for everything that Ashen had done for her.

This is quite a selfless act from a very loving individual. Would you be willing to step in and help someone like Ashen was able to? Do you know someone that needs help like this? Tell us all about it in the comments below.