Joyce's story

Joyce loves being close to nature. On sunny days you’d always find her pottering about in the garden at home, enjoying the trees, plants and animals that fringe the family home on the edge of the Dales. Each day, a roster of friendly Avanta Care healthcare assistants would arrive first thing in the morning to help her rise, cook and prepare for the day, and once in the evening to help her wind down for bed.

That arrangement worked quite well for Joyce until circumstances changed and dementia began to get the better of her. She’d sometimes wake in the night to an empty house, unsure of her surroundings and in need of friendly reassurance and support. When our carers arrived in the morning, Joyce, tired and confused, began to refuse her medication - mixing up the group of regular faces who usually came to administer it.

For a short time, her family felt a little powerless to help - living so far away. Existing arrangements always worked so well that they never really needed to worry about their mother’s well-being - up until recently, she was happy and reasonably independent.

These latest developments complicated things. Joyce now needed attention beyond what casual care could deliver, combined with whatever the family were capable of, whenever they could visit. Plus, they had families of their own to care for, and mum had always been so proud - she didn’t ever want to be a burden.

The first course of action was to review Joyce’s care plan. Avanta suggested Joyce could move to full-time live-in care, with a dedicated carer. This would reduce the chance of confusion and give Joyce 24-hour attention, in case she became disorientated during the night. Her family mulled this over, and carefully explained the option to her.

The new arrangements soon turned out to be a great fit. Joyce took warmly to her full-time carer, Amy, who turned out to have even more in common than they ever imagined. They both love musicals, cinema, reading Agatha Christie novels and getting back to nature - things they quickly began to do together. The family even had Amy insured on Joyce’s car so they could travel further afield to holiday cottages for long weekends on the sunny coast - something Joyce hadn’t been able to do since her husband died.

Joyce’s regular medication is back on track now too - stabilizing her dementia. This is all down to the arrival of Amy, who she trusts like a friend. In fact, Joyce says it’s just like having a more able friend live about the house, taking care of housework, cooking and personal care. They even enjoy the same TV programmes (anything with antiques!) when the weather’s too damp to be in the garden.

Amy gets on well with the family too. She helps make their visits easier, and their time together always as care-free as possible for Joyce. She keeps them in the loop with what Joyce has been up to, involves them in her care plan reviews and makes sure she’s always getting the most out of life - with plenty of input from the family.

Finding a perfect match like this isn’t down to coincidence. It’s down to expert insight and access to the right people - the kind we have at Avanta Care. We hear stories like this every day. To us they’re opportunities to keep people doing the things they enjoy, for longer than you or they ever thought possible - just like Joyce.