About Don
Don is the husband of our client Sylvia. He is a huge support to her as they bravely face the challenges of Parkinson’s together.
As well a carer for Sylvia, Don is also a chemical engineer, a supporting and loving husband and wonderful Grandfather. As you’ll have already heard Don first met Sylvia at a delicatessen where she worked.
He would pop in most nights on his way home and get a sandwich. Dons career took him to work in Qatar but they both did not let this discourage them and in 2008 they married in Australia where they both have family. They now live together in rural Lincolnshire.
Our Day with Don
We went to visit them both so that we could speak with them to find out what their thoughts were to our team, their service and to get to know them better.
Don began by telling us about the challenges they faced with Sylvia’s first diagnosis
“The first diagnosis was 3 years after we met. Parkinson’s is a progressive disease and it took a very rapid decline following a fall and we weren’t sure what the outcome would be. But they pulled her through, the NHS support and palliative care support was extremely good.”
When Sylvia first came home from the hospital she had a care provision in place from both Marie Curie and St Barnabas, Don told us
“The level of support Sylvie got coming out of hospital was tremendous and was a big influence in determining the way Sylvia began regaining some mobility.”
The further we got into our chat about Don and Sylvia’s life living with Parkinson’s it became clear that being able to receive home care has given them the opportunity to share many special memories together some of which Don reminisced over with us.
“I remember the first time we went out in the car we chased the sunset right away across the Wolds, had a picnic and came home. It was beautiful."
Why Don Prefers Home Care...
The opportunity to receive care at home is something that impacts not just the client, but the clients family too. We loved hearing from Don on how the level of support makes things easier for him too.
“I am hopeless at dressing Sylvia and trying to cope with Sylvia getting dressed in the morning is, for me, a complete nightmare. The girls are fantastic, it’s like a fashion parade every morning with Sylvia deciding exactly what she wants to wear for the day. I am just so pleased she is relaxed at the end of it. There are quite a lot of characters and they always bring a smile on Sylvia’s face”
Don spoke very fondly of the girls that are able to support Sylvia each day and finished by telling us
“It really has made a big difference, the level of care that we get in helping Sylvia, not to getting back to normal but to get a life that isn’t just a bedroom. That has been very valuable”.