HELLO. I AM LEE. I AM ON THE SUPPORT TEAM (I’m the one in the middle!)

 

 

A typical day for me starts off fairly straightforward, I usually manage to miss the worst of the morning traffic on the drive out to my first visit of the day. I didn’t have far to go this morning and after a 10 minute drive towards Coventry, I arrived at the elderly service users sheltered accommodation complex at about 10.00am, I had to be buzzed in by the management staff and made my way upstairs to his apartment. After a few minutes he opens the door for me and welcomes me in, today he was having a good day as he was already half dressed when I arrived but still wasn’t quite awake yet. I made him a cup of coffee while he finished dressing and checked if he needed any shopping doing but he seemed well stocked today. We sat down in his front room and caught up on today’s news for a bit while chatting about politics. The conversation then turned as it usually does to old Western Films. After chatting for a while we looked up the information for a new Western film coming out soon that i had seen advertised on the TV. We discussed this for a bit then the Client decided he was very interested in going to see it if possible so we decided on a day when we would go and see the film at the cinema together.

 

After saying my goodbyes and making sure he didn’t need anything else, I then headed off to another sheltered accommodation around the corner to visit another elderly gentleman. I had brought with me some shopping he asked for last week and when I arrived he was happy to see I had it with me after he himself had forgotten. I put all the shopping away and we sat down to discuss his favourite topics of old action films and new TV adverts. As half 12 came around I offered to make him some lunch as he usually forgets to eat much. He decided on a bowl of porridge today with syrup, which he watched as I showed him how to make it. He struggles to understand how to use his appliances but is starting to get the hang of it. We then sat back down and in between eating his lunch he quizzed me on local geography and found my lack of knowledge very funny. Before leaving we watched the weather forecast on the news and neither of us was particularly surprised at the prediction of more rain.

 

I then had a short drive through Coventry town centre, over to Royal Leamington Spa, to a care home. When I arrived I found the client, another elderly gentleman dozing off in the communal lounge area in front of the TV. He was very pleased to see me today and even happier when he realized I had brought him the selection box of chocolates that he had asked for. Being a bit of a chocolate connoisseur we got to talking about our favourite brands and the name Thornton’s popped up in conversation so I offered to get him some. He didn’t waste any time in trying one and was very impressed. He changed out of his pyjamas into his trousers and we went around the corner to his local pub where I bought him a bottle of beer and we sat chatting about fitness and sports. He was very fond of the pub environment as it reminded him of when he was younger and luckily we managed to wrangle our usual seats near the fireplace. When we got back to the care home, He said he felt a bit sleepy and fancied a quick lie down but was looking forward to seeing me next week as usual.

 

It was starting to get dark out now and I had to wade through the rush hour traffic to arrive in time for my final visit up in Nuneaton. I managed to arrive at the sheltered accommodation complex precisely on time which was surprising considering the traffic that had build up nearby. I rang the number for her apartment and she buzzed me in. When I entered her apartment I found her clearing up after a late lunch and helped her wash up and empty the bins. Once finished I made us both a hot drink and we sat down to chat in her front room for a bit about recent events. We then completed some puzzles from a puzzle book she owns which we both enjoy doing. After we had finished a few and got stuck on a hard one we decided to call it a day. She then fancied playing a board game so I rummaged through her collection as her mobility was limited until we settled on a game called “Yahtzee”. We played a few games of Yahtzee but I lost 2 – 1 :(. By the time the visit came to the end it was very dark out but at least the traffic had eased somewhat.