‘Wake up to yourselves’: Sick mum’s son’s plea to stop panic buying

A full-time carer of his elderly mother, who also lives with medical conditions, is calling on the public to ‘think of others’ before panic buying.

Toowoomba resident George Helon is frustrated with Covid-influenced panic buying – making it difficult to buy essentials for his mother Elizabeth Helon. Picture: Morgan Burley

Some stores across the region are all out of basic essentials, and one son of a sick mother is all out of patience.

When the first cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the region last year, concerns of panic buying were raised, and since the borders reopened, it’s been a case of deja vu for George Helon.

The Toowoomba resident is a full-time carer for his elderly mum who has Lewy Body Dementia, incontinence and mobility issues.

But every time Mr Helon has left his home in search for essential items such as toilet paper, tissues, paper towel, flour, eggs, bread and meat, he has come home empty-handed.

“No one spares a thought for the most vulnerable, high-risk and disadvantaged in our community, and I’m talking about the elderly, ill and disabled,” he said.

“The community needs a dressing down – they need to pull their heads in because a lot of people just seem to be selfish, ignorant or oblivious to the plight of other people, and the retailers are responsible for a lot of this too.”

Toowoomba resident George Helon is frustrated with Covid-influenced panic buying – making it difficult to buy essentials for his mother Elizabeth Helon. Picture: Morgan Burley

Travelling to stores across the region in search of basic items, the Toowoomba man said often the shelves were empty or only the expensive branded goods were available, which he was unable to afford.

Unable to work for two decades due to his own medical conditions, Mr Helon and his mother live off his carer’s allowance and her pension.

“That (income) doesn’t even keep my car on the road, and I have to drive around to various stores with the exuberant prices of fuel, looking for theses basics, and while I’m doing that, I’m leaving the person at home who I need to care for,” he said.

“The elderly don’t have the luxury of having money in their pockets, so they turn up once a fortnight when everything is gone and they’re told to come back – but come back when?

“It’s very disheartening, and it really cuts me to the bone to see elderly people there with a full trolley going up to the shelves where toilet paper usually is and there’s nothing there.”

George Helon stares at the empty shelves of a local supermarket.

Mr Helon said the situation had placed a strain on his mental health, and he wasn’t sure where to go for help.

With the high demand for RATs and after observing minimal social distancing in public, he said he was also worried about his mother’s heath and the risks of her catching Covid.

“An elderly person can’t go down to the chemist and check to see if there is stock of rapid antigen tests every day,” he said.

“Complacency is the biggest shortfall of a society – in this day and age there is no ‘she’ll be right mate’ because Covid was a curveball.”

Mr Helon said he believed a diaster management process was required where the elderly and most vulnerable members of the community were checked on during times of crisis.

He said a distribution centre for these residents which allowed them to access stock when needed was also a potential solution.

His pleas come after several grocery chains and stores in the Darling Downs were forced to implement buying restrictions.