When Charlie Caldwell was released from hospital on his 90th birthday, there was no family to take him home and care for him.
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Due to the current Victorian restrictions his Melbourne-based family were unable to visit him, leaving the battered and bruised 90-year-old to fend for himself.
Even so, the president of the Wodonga Senior Citizens Group considers himself lucky that he has neighbours to look out for him.
On July 29, Mr Caldwell tripped on some pavement while walking and hit his head. He broke several ribs, severely bruised his face and was concussed.
He was released from hospital on his birthday on August 6 but two weeks later, the bruises are still visible and he's still in pain.
"My family can't get out of Melbourne at the moment, because of the virus I'm on my own at the moment," he said.
He also warned other seniors to be extra careful when walking as they might not be able to have family there to support them. If not for the lockdown, he said, his family would be in Wodonga to take care of him.
"My word they would, especially my grandchildren," he said.
"Someone took photos of it and sent it down to them and my face was swollen black and I looked terrible... The kids get very sensitive to see their Poppy looking like that."
Mr Caldwell said he's lucky he has a strong network of friends and neighbours locally to check in on him but worries for people, especially seniors, who do not.
He said a lot of older people were very scared and isolated from their loved ones.
"A lot of us have friends who are around Victoria and Melbourne and they've lost them," he said.
"It's so sad it seems to be going that way, they're concerned about it which is only natural because a lot of the seniors have friends who have died from it in Victoria."
Mr Caldwell said it was heartwarming to hear of the many people who had reached out to neighbours during the pandemic, especially to elderly residents who might not be adept with staying in touch via technology.
"Something's happened and it's brought people together in a very tough time," he said.