The world is a sad place right now. This is something that we’ve all felt since November, and it seemed to get worse when the pandemic hit. Since then, people have been avoiding other people, avoiding public places, and trying to stay at home as much as possible. It is now May, and the world is on the road to recovery. It’s still dangerous to be out there, especially now that it’s safe to go back to work. There is still a lot of pain, and a lot of people feel lost and lonely. That’s certainly how Charlie Pattinson & family felt after it was announced that Cobh was to be closed to visitors.

Cobh Losing Its Appeal

In 2018, a visitor to Ireland named Charlie Pattinson discovered Cobh (pronounced ‘kobh’ as in ‘cobh salmon’), a small island in the Irish sea off of the coast of Clare. It was love at first sight for the British tourist, who purchased an Airbnb property on the island that year. This was despite the fact that it was the height of the season, and most places in Ireland had closed down. Since then, he has become one of the island’s biggest supporters.

Cobh has close to 20,000 people living on it, much of which depends on tourism. Seasonal workers arrive on the island to help with the hustle and bustle of the summer months, when it is busy and lively. It is not uncommon for visitors to arrive on the island with some form of dementia, or Alzheimer’s. It is widely known that wandering can be a problem, and so getting lost is not unusual. One thing is for sure, when the season ends, so does most of the action on the island. This is certainly a problem for someone like Charlie Pattinson, who had made the island his home while it was still busy. He had seen its potential during his six months there.

Staying True To His Heart

It was going to be a glorious day, a day that Charlie had looked forward to for a long time. The British Airways flight from London was about to land in Cobh, bringing with it his wife, three sons, and a dog. They had traveled all the way from London to see a football match, and they were ecstatic about the opportunity. That was until the news came through that the fixture was postponed until further notice. The excitement turned to dread as they waited for the next announcement.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, once the match was postponed, a follow-up statement came around saying that the game would be played at a later date, but that it was still uncertain when that might be.

Charlie has a heart condition, and this was a problem. The stress of the day was adding to his medical issues. At one point, he was so unwell that he had to be rushed into emergency surgery. This was a major turning point in his life, and put a real damper on what would otherwise have been a perfect day. The family had to cancel their trip to see the football game, and had to return to London instead. The next day, they found out that the surgery had been a complete success, and were over the moon about his new lease on life.

Since then, it’s been a rough road for Charlie. He had to cancel a lot of his social activities, including an engagement party that he had planned for later in the summer. This is a man who had been looking forward to celebrating his 45th wedding anniversary with his wife. Instead, he had to be hospitalised for over a week. Since returning home, he has been trying to keep busy, although it’s not been easy. He’s found it hard to bounce back from such a traumatic event, and it’s safe to assume that he will have to take it easy for a while. He has been known to take the scenic route home from time to time, just to be sure that he doesn’t miss a thing.

The Biggest Surprise

The biggest surprise for Charlie was the turnout at his fundraiser in London. It was the first time that he had hosted a fundraiser, and the interest in his story was so great that he had to put a cap on the number of tickets. He had no idea that there was that much interest in what he was doing. It was humbling, and truly amazing. He has since learned to appreciate all of the kind words and the generous donations. It makes what he’s doing so much more worthwhile.

A Lesson In Determination

Charlie is a very determined man, and it’s a trait that has served him well. After his fundraiser, he decided that he would tackle the issue of getting lost on his own. To avoid any more stressful scenarios like the one that he had just gone through, he hired a local man to help him walk his dog every day. The dog is called Ranger, and he has been known to help Charlie keep an eye out for danger. Ranger is a rescue dog who had been through a lot himself. Walking the dog gave Charlie something to focus on, and it also gave him the opportunity to meet other people. It was something new for him, and he loved it. It took some time, but eventually Charlie began to feel more comfortable venturing outdoors again. He had been through a lot, but he hadn’t given up, and that’s what made him such a worthy opponent.

The moral of the story is that if you’ve been through something bad, don’t give up. You may not be able to do everything at once, but you can take one step at a time, and eventually you’ll get there. Sometimes, all it takes is one determinationed man to make a difference.