Colin’s story

Admiral Nurse support

There didn’t seem to be anything or anyone out there that could help us and I thought we would have to cope alone.

Whatever happened with Gladys’ dementia we were absolutely not going to be separated, and it was gaining the support of our Admiral Nurse Kellie that made this possible. She advised me to get Gladys reassessed so we could get more help and if her symptoms changed, and if something was getting us down, my two daughters and I could always contact Kellie.

Helpful interventions

When the end was approaching I don’t know what we would have done without Kellie’s knowledge of all the medical paperwork and all the things we had to do to prepare. There was one time when my daughter Janet was stuck at the doctor’s surgery waiting for an important document to be signed. Gladys was dying and Janet should have been by her mother’s side. Kellie rang the surgery and fast-tracked it. Without her intervention we might not all have been by Gladys’ side when she slipped away. We’d never have got over that.

It was only by chance that I found out about Admiral Nurses and I subsequently met our nurse, Kellie. Without the support of an Admiral Nurse, Gladys’ final months, days and hours would have been heartbreakingly different. Without the practical and emotional support of an Admiral Nurse she certainly wouldn’t have passed away surrounded by her family – the people she loved most in the world.

Kellie also continued to visit me after Gladys had died and helped me to rebuild my life.