Dad, dementia and why AirCarers Companion exists
David Hall's dad had dementia. David and his brother Eamonn looked after him in Harlow, until he went into a care home and then until he died. This page carries ten short videos, one question at a time, about what the journey was actually like.
Dementia is not a linear journey. Two urinary tract infections each moved Dad to a completely different stage, first to carers twice a day seven days a week, then to a care home. Constipation and sundowning did more damage than anyone warned. His world got smaller as the bowls club, the TV, the phone and the driving fell away, and a smaller world made the dementia move faster.
The costs were a shock: home care at around 35 pounds an hour, roughly 500 pounds a week for two visits a day, a care home at about 1,800 pounds a week, and 139,000 pounds to be shown in his account before he could be accepted as a permanent resident. Hope for the best and plan for the worst, and get the small interventions in early.
AirCarers Companion exists for the years before formal care, when what someone needs most is a familiar face who turns up, sits down and gets them talking, across Hertford, Ware, Hoddesdon, Broxbourne, Sawbridgeworth and Bishop's Stortford. Help before care. Call 07455 750006 or email lucie@aircarers.co.uk.