Lynrogers

When I arrived today Dad said he was very worried about having to send Christmas cards. He had received some nice ones but had no way of sending any more. It just so happened, I said, I had brought some Christmas cards for him and thought it would be a good idea if we did them together. Dad seemed a bit unsure about this idea at first but when I explained if he wrote the card inside and I wrote the envelope it would be a lot quicker. Dad has an address book he has always kept. It contains addresses ...

My Dad currently lives, very happily, in a British Legion Poppy Home. Dad has just received notification of his Winter Fuel Allowance of £400 from the Pension Service. Dad doesn't need this money. He pays for the full cost of his care but can afford it. All Dad's care and personal and incidental costs are met including heating costs. I have spoken to the pensions people about returning the money and they simply say Dad is entitled to it and therefore. To think there are elderly people out ...

Dad was quite quiet when I arrived today. Didn't seem to have much to say. I asked him if he remembered we were writing his life story from his RAF Days. I showed him the bright blue folder I keep it in which he seems to remember. He said he did and I asked if he would like to do a bit more and he said yes. We went through quite a lot and he told me some extra stories and a bit more detail which was great. We only did it for a short period which seems to work better. Dad becomes very animated ...

An old friend and colleague from Dad's RAF days,Don, who now lives in Toronto Canada rang me at home a couple of days ago. He had tried to ring Dad directly (Dad has a phone in his room) but said Dad didn't seem to recognise him. As Don was coming over to London I arranged to ring him today from Dad's phone so that Don could speak to him. When I arrived at the home I asked Dad if he remembered Don. He said he definately did and I told him he was in London and I had a contact number so that Dad ...

Dad lives in the EMI unit of a British Legion home and has been there since June 2007. I have recently read Contented Dementia by Oliver James and wanted to practice the principles on Dad. I had already found out for myself that Dad became stressed when either faced with being asked lots of questions, being rushed or challenged. Reading this book confirmed this so I wanted to try and see things more from Dad's point of view. It is much harder than it sounds as I usually start by bombarding ...