I didn’t think it was a possibility

There are only a handful of days until Bob returns home after 11 months at Lavender Hills. His wife, Dorothy, beamed:

“Bob was at another home before here, for about two months but this is where we wanted to come in the first place. It was ok, but it wasn’t as nice as this one!

“He went in there straight from the hospital, he couldn’t walk and couldn’t do anything for himself at that stage and had lost a lot of weight.

“When he came here, he had to be hoisted, he couldn’t walk at all really. He’s back to how he was now, and he can walk a little bit, it’s just his balance he struggles with.

“He was always on his feet, always walking before he got dementia and he’s done really well to get back to where he is. They’ve looked after him here, he can walk now.”

Bob’s determination has been inspirational, adamant he would walk unaided he’s achieved his goals.

“It’s great to see him back closer to his usual self, twice in the last 18 months they’ve told me he won't last five minutes, but he’s fought through it, he’s been through a lot. It all stems from a heart operation and he’s never really got over that.

“I didn’t think it was a possibility, coming home but now he’s up and they keep telling me he’s walking in the corridors. I just think why keep him in here when I think I can look after him myself and get help when I need it?”

With Christmas just around the corner, Bob’s family are ready to embrace him with open arms:

“One of my sons is coming over with his family and it’s lovely he can come home just in time for the holidays. We can get into a routine, and I can be with him all the time.

“It’s been hard, I’ve been visiting every day, but I wasn’t just doing that for him I was doing it for me as well, but it does get hard.

“We’re thankful to the team at Lavender Hills, Kala and Stacey for all their support this year.”

To find out more about Lavender Hills, please click here.