Our team go above and beyond every single day working tirelessly to ensure everyone affected by dementia can live the life they want. Nevertheless there are times when we are just completely blown away by the lengths people go to for the people we support.  Recently our very own Helen Caller (pictured above with some of the people we support), did just that.

One Friday evening Helen had finished her scheduled work for the day and was popping over to see her daughter and grandchildren. Her daughter made a plea to Helen to bring some fish and chips back for tea so off she went and headed to the chippy. After ordering the food she realised she didn’t have enough cash on her so she quickly ran back to the car to get her purse. Taken by surprise Helen heard a ‘Hello!’ and was stunned to see it was a lady that we support who had recognised her from across the street. She then went on to explain to Helen she had gotten herself locked out of the house, with no shoes or socks on and using her wheelie bins to barricade herself in from the wind.

Helen quickly took control of the situation and phoned the daughter of the lady but she was out of the area and would have taken her quite some time to get there. In order to give the daughter some time to think of a solution without hesitation Helen bought the lady some dinner and took her home with her. They sat and had fish and chips, a cup of tea and got her a pair of warm socks, as well as introducing her to the whole family!

Giving the relative this bit of time to come up with a resolution was so helpful and they were able to locate a spare key and get her back home safely. What could have been a frightening and potentially life-threatening situation turned into an enjoyable evening for this lady.  At her regular visit the next day she said she had a lovely time!

I think we can all agree Helen went far and above her call of duty on this occasion and we are so proud to have such compassionate people like her on our team.

This is what the daughter had to say:

“After just a few months visiting my mum, who as Alzheimer’s, Helen has become a trusted friend and companion to her – mum regularly comments on what fun she has with her. Myself and the rest of the family are also very appreciative of how dedicated Helen is to mum. She often texts me out of work hours with updates and is happy to talk to me whenever I call her. On one specific occasion when mum locked herself out of her house, and coincidently bumped into Helen at the fish and chip shop, Helen took it upon herself to help mum (even though she was off duty) by taking her into her own home to look after her until help was at hand from the family. We are very grateful for her dedication and care.”