My sister and I are both in our early 70’s and have a 95 year old Mum. Mum lives independently but has some mobility problems and very early stage vascular dementia.
Mum is determined to stay in her own home.
During lockdown, my sister and I took it in turns to go to Mums each day, shop for her, do her washing, clean and cook for her. She never went 1 day without one of us being there. As you can imagine, this became quite onerous, particularly as my sister lives 12 miles away.
Once ‘things’ started easing up, we looked for some help from SHOP. We started with one lady going 3 times a week to cook a lunch for Mum, have a chat and make sure all was ok. Mum really liked this lady and loved seeing a new face. It all went so well, we later decided to extend it to 5 days and now she has another wonderful lady who attends to her on the remaining 2 days. (Mum then comes to my sisters and mine for a day each at weekends.)
In August, it was suggested by her Dementia nurse that she try a Pensioners club for one day a week. Mum was a bit reluctant as it would mean ‘missing out’ on one of the visits from her SHOP lady.
This was quickly resolved by the SHOP lady collecting her from the club each week and taking her home. She makes sure Mum is comfortable at home and makes her a sandwich for later in the evening.
SHOP really has been a lifesaver for us. Mum is very fond of both these ladies and there is never any changing about with personnel, which is reassuring for us all.
Thank you SHOP for making all our lives easier!