One of the members of The Live-in Care Hub has recently shared a heart-warming story of a couple who receive live-in care and have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary during lockdown.
Dennis and Pat are 91 and 89-years-old respectively and have continued to enjoy life in their own home with carers helping them 24/7 since January 2019. They both still enjoy going to church, cooking, and doing creative activities, which their carers help them with.
As Ian Glen pointed out in his article about the Queen and Prince Philip celebrating their 70th or Platinum wedding anniversary in 2017 only about 1 in a million people in the UK will ever celebrate 70 years of marriage. So Dennis and Pat literally are 1-in-a-million.
They first starting using a live-in care service after Dennis was diagnosed with cancer and Pat was suffering from impaired speech and mobility due to a second stroke so couldn’t manage on her own while her husband was in hospital. A care home would have been too disruptive for her and they both love their own home too much to want to leave it.
Live-in carers help the couple with day-to-day tasks such as cleaning, cooking, medication and personal care. They also provide much-appreciated companionship.
Since the lockdown started the couple have not been able to see family as much as they would like to or get out and about as they used to. But it is a relief for them both to have their main carer Joana living with them for longer than usual to reduce the number of carers coming in to their home.
Joana has been caring for people since 2002 and it runs in her family – her mum was a nurse and her dad a social worker. She helps mainly with personal care and getting Pat in and out of bed and takes turns with Dennis cooking. Whilst Pat can no longer do upholstery and tapestry work as she used to Joana has helped her continue with some knitting by using shorter needles. Together they have knitted a blanket and other items.
Joana helped with Dennis and Pat’s 70th anniversary celebrations, which included a special candlelit meal and Zoom chats with friends.
Live-in carers can give undivided attention to one person or a couple. It is also very safe for vulnerable people during the corona virus pandemic and carers like Joana feel safer too.
Dennis and Pat’s story is a heart-warming reminder of how people can happily continue to live in their own homes with the right care and support.
