Friday 17 April 2009

woman's hour

Back in December 2007, when I was settling Mum into the Care Home, I read that the place would be officially opened in mid-January by Jenni Murray, a well-known presenter of BBC Radio 4's "Woman's Hour". Mum used to listen to this show every day during my adolescence, and I thought it would be a treat for her to meet this star - and it might bolster her appreciation of just how special this new place was.

The day came and I remember ringing Mum in the evening and asking what had happened that day.

"Oh, nothing much. No, I can't think of anything we did."

I felt sad that Mum had missed out on the big event.

So imagine my surprise a week or two ago when I was signing out at Reception and I happened to look up at the TV screen they have there showcasing the place. I saw that Mum featured in picture after picture. And there, indeed, was Mum with Jenni Murray, sitting at the dining table, standing in the doorway to her bathroom. It seems that Mum was pretty central to their promotional activities.

Anyway, I asked them to forward me some shots and here are a couple. Bear in mind that Mum looks a lot better these days, now that she's eating better and has access to a hair-dresser (the in-house salon had no staff at this point).

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice to see her looking so pleased.

Sorata said...

I was going to type "wow, your Mum looks so much better with her recent photos, she is doing much better!" and then you typed that in your conclusion... YOU'VE RUINED MY FUN! *humph*

Greg said...

Mwwhahahaha...my evil plan to rob you of your fun is working

citygirl said...

Awww... I remember seeing pictures of my mom in her home's monthly newsletter and picture boards doing all sorts of activities that she never told me about. So sweet to see them enjoying themselves.

Funny, my mom's hair appointments got a bit off track when she first went into care/then again when we moved her into the last place for more care. I actually had to ask the hair salons in the homes to go get mom from her area for her appointments because she wouldn't remember her appointments and they were in the middle of the day so I was at work. The hair salon people seemed a bit puzzled at this idea of going to pick up mom (inside the same building - not like it was somewhere else!). Hello, have they EVER heard of Alzheimers? It's not like their salon is INSIDE a care facility! ;)

Of course, when mom's hair didn't look great, I'd fret and worry that she didn't feel cared for or what other people would think so I totally "get" how you noted this in your entry!

Greg said...

Yes, I'm the same way. I ask my relatives to tell me when they're visiting JUST so I can arrange a hair appointment for Mum. She looks much better with it "fluffed up" (I don't know the technical term... ah, yes, "set"), and I know she feels better for it. Arrangements were pretty chaotic for the first month or two but have settled down now and I know she goes about once a week. Second to the food, the way they do her hair is the thing she most often praises about the place.