Harry is 102 years old and served in the Army during the Second World War. He is currently being cared for by our Living Well team.
“I was called up to the Army in 1942 and went to a place called Ossett, in Yorkshire,” he said. “We did basic training, and then I was taken to a place in Cheshire where I did a course in wireless operation and driving. After that I was posted to an anti-aircraft unit as a driver wireless operator. That was my designation. After D-Day, we went over to France to join the regiment that was at Ouistreham. We did a tour in Belgium and parts of the Netherlands, in Arnhem and Nijmegen. Then we went on into Germany, to Hanover.”
“I left the regiment in January 1946 and went to GHQ Second Echelon in Brussels, which was a British Army administrative organisation. I was a clerk there, and my job was to ask soldiers who were in the building trade before they were called up, if they wanted early release so they could go back and start rebuilding Britain. I did that until 1947, when I was demobilised and went back to civilian life. Before I was in the Army, I worked for the electricity board, and after you'd been called up, they guaranteed your job if you came back, so I was happy because I had a job to go back to. I stayed with them until 1982, when I took early retirement aged 59.”
When Harry was referred to our care, he was visited by Gem, one of our clinical nurse specialists (CNSs), and Dr Sarah from our Hospice at Home team. Our CNSs and medics are often the first of our team to meet new patients and families who have been referred to our care. They complete an initial assessment and refer them on to the most appropriate specialty within our organisation. This could be to our Hospice at Home team, which visits and cares for people in their own homes, or our Living Well team, which offers group sessions to help people manage living everyday life with their illness.
"Dr Sarah sorted out Dad's medication,” said Harry’s daughter, Janis. "Gem used to ring up every couple of weeks too, to see how he was. We also had a rehabilitation assistant visit, and she supplied a few things, like a trolley which Dad can put plates and cups of tea on, so he doesn’t have to carry them, a perching stool, and a step to get in and out of the shower. I also know that if there’s a problem, I can ring them, and everyone's always very helpful if you ring."
Our rehabilitation assistants work within our physiotherapy and occupational therapy teams to support patients to continue doing the things that are important to them. They can provide equipment to help patients with activities such as showering independently and taking their meals to the table to eat. By focusing on what each individual patient wants and needs to do, they can empower them to participate fully in life, and sustain their quality of life even as their condition changes.
As well as being visited by our Hospice at Home team, Harry was invited to our Living Well sessions at the Beacon Centre in Guildford. Our team there runs two eight-week programmes: Living Well with Illness and the Creative programme. Each weekly session lasts for two hours, and includes time for tea and biscuits, during which patients can talk with our nurses and therapists and get to know the other patients there. The Living Well with Illness sessions cover topics such as Food and Nutrition, Remaining Active, and Improving your Sleep, while the Creative sessions focus on activities which offer patients the opportunity to learn new skills and share past experiences and knowledge with others, which boosts their confidence and self-esteem. Activities include Cooking with Confidence, Therapy through Nature, and Mindfulness with Clay. At our Therapy through Nature session, Harry planted a pot of flowers which are now outside his lounge window, and made a bird house which he gave to his great grandchildren, Sienna who is eight, Arthur who is six, and Molly who is three.
“They all love Dad, but Molly absolutely adores him!” smiled Janis.
“The Living Well sessions have been very helpful; I enjoy the company and having a chat and a laugh,” said Harry. “I did a bit of indoor gardening, putting plants in a flowerpot. It’s outside my window now and the plants are flourishing. The last session I did was exercises, which was quite helpful. They gave me a pamphlet to take home, and I can do those exercises now, just sitting here. We made a Christmas pudding too, one day. There were about a dozen of us. Janis said it's turned out well, so I'm quite pleased with that! It really helps me to get out and be around a mixture of people. The nurses look after me there. They keep feeding me with tea and biscuits! I'm pleased that I've been, and I hope to keep going.”
Harry is taken to and from the sessions by one of our volunteer drivers. Not having to drive him there and back gives Janis some time to herself. She can continue going to the gym, which she enjoys, knowing that Harry is being looked after and is taking part in activities which benefit him and which he really enjoys.
“I'm really pleased he's been going to the sessions,” said Janis. "He’s enjoyed them and all the things that he's done there. I think it's been really good for him. They're lovely; they ring up every week and let us know who the volunteer driver is that’s going to be picking him up, and they tell us that they’re looking forward to seeing him at the session. They're very friendly. And the volunteer drivers have been very good. Dad’s had Jim a few times. They’ve had a good chat on the way and have got on really well. It's been nice that he's been able to get a lift. It's meant that I can still carry on with my hour at the gym.”
As well as attending our Living Well sessions, Harry has been to one of our men’s pamper days, where he has had a massage and enjoyed tea and cake with the other patients there. At the pamper days, our therapists also offer nail care, and our volunteer hairdresser provides haircuts, too.
“They make you welcome,” he said. “The staff come out to greet you and help you in. The first thing they do is offer you a cup of tea. They ask if you want tea or coffee, or a fizzy drink. Then other people come in, and they nod to you and you have a chat. I always have trouble with this hand; it’s always cold. So I had a hand massage, which was very good, very helpful. We had lunch there too, and the chap next to me was quite talkative; that made a real difference.”
