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"I was diagnosed with relapsing / remitting Multiple Sclerosis ( MS) in 1976. During the preceeding two years I had been suffering vague and variable symptoms in various different parts of my body which, on the face of it, seemed to have no connection to each other, so in one way, that a definite cause had been found came as a great relief. But MS was incurable, so that relief was tempered by the fact that as, as a junior international basketball player just on the fringes of breaking into the full England team, life as I had known it up to then was going to have to change fundamentally.
As time went by specific relapses ceased, but so did the periods of remission. By the late 1980’s occasional wheelchair use for the sake of inconvenience became a necessity, I could no longer bear my weight independently, nor walk without assistance. My MS had entered its secondary progressive phase. At home I required constant assistance from my parents for all of life’s necessities and since they were both elderly there would inevitably come a time when the statutory level of assistance provided by my local social services would become insufficient for my needs.
When my parents died I raised the possibility of permanent live-in care with the adult disability section of my local social services department. I was advised to contact the Independent Living Fund but the level of savings debarred me from assistance from that source. I searched online and found that there were a number of organisations that offered live-in services.
I was immediately comfortable with the Helping Hands website. Other companies had much flashier sites with all manner of links, however Helping Hands was more accessible for the novice computer user, as I was at that time. This initial impression was repeatedly reinforced in my subsequent telephone contact and face to face meetings with Helping Hands personnel.
Since they are going to be sharing my house with me on a permanent basis it is vital that I am completely comfortable with the individual chosen to provide that care. Although there are many things that I cannot do for myself and require assistance with, there remain some that I can continue to undertake independently. I like to be able to get on with these at my own speed.
The only full time carer I have had from Helping Hands is Nana. There was a detailed selection process to ensure that the correct candidate was chosen initially and she has been absolutely ideal. She joined me in September 2008 and has had a couple of breaks since then. On both of these occasions eminently suitable replacements were provided, in the first instance a Polish carer named Peter and in the second, by Gavin from Liverpool. Both fitted in extremely well with my routines, and although neither may have had Nana’s exemplary culinary skills, the food they served up for me was more than adequate.
Nana always accompanies me on my weekly visits to a local MS Therapy Centre which I was involved in founding over 25 years ago. I no longer drive independently and am therefore reliant upon taxis using the London Borough Taxi Card Scheme. We go out for an Italian lunch once a month at a local restaurant ( like me and my parents used to do !) and occasionally we attend ad hoc functions arranged to support the therapy centre.
It would not be going too far to say that live-in care has revolutionised my life. It is now possible to do things on the spur of the moment. It is obvious to me now that I had been getting into something of a rut. I am planning to go back to driving an adapted car provided by Motability, ending the restrictions previously imposed by my reliance on taxis. I am also starting Open University soon, it is Nana’s influence which has given me the confidence to even consider such a step.
Helping Hands Care Managers make it their business to get to know their clients individually and thus be in the best position properly to guide them. I have nothing but praise for the way which this system has worked for me.
My immediate reaction was that live-in care would be extremely expensive. However, when the statutory contribution from the local authority previously providing care services is taken into account the amount involved becomes readily more affordable. I would urge anybody seriously considering live-in to weigh up this cost against the undoubted peace of mind that this contribution buys for them.
I only wish that I had done this years ago rather than suffering the dissatisfaction of local authority care for such a long time." |