My sister came to live with ENABLE Glasgow in June 2014 following the death of our mother who was her carer. This was a major upheaval in her life, firstly having to cope with our mother’s death and then having to move out of her home to a strange new place.
She moved firstly to Alder Road where she shared with 6 other service users. Whilst there were a few blips along the way, she settled in and over time the change in her has been remarkable. She was prone to outbursts if she couldn’t get her own way and could be very impatient and sometimes withdrawn, preferring to spend time on her own rather than socialising. These outbursts could last for some time before she would be calm again. When she lived at home with our mother she did attend centres where she socialised, however, when coming home she preferred to spend time in her room alone.
She has now learned patience and outbursts are now very few and far between. If any occur she now has the ability to calm herself down very quickly and acknowledge and accept when she is wrong. This is all due to the staff who have taken tremendous patience, time and care with her. She now loves to socialise whenever she can and loves to talk. Her speech has improved greatly. She also likes to voice her opinion and likes to choose her own clothes when she goes shopping – this was something she did not have an opinion on before. She also has a great sense of humour and a caring nature.
She now likes to have a tidy bedroom – this was something she did not have when living at home! She now actually enjoys cleaning and likes to be keep busy doing this!
She moved to Esmond Street in December – this transition went more smoothly than any of us could have anticipated. We were all concerned that this would be another major upheaval for her, however, she accepted the reasons for the move and was happy to leave Alder Road. Again this is due in no small part to all the staff who handled this so well. She has now settled in Esmond Street and is continuing to thrive. She has become a happy and confident person and is living the life she deserves. I no longer worry that she is unhappy.
I can only add my heartfelt thanks to the staff at Enable Glasgow for all the care and support that they provide my sister with. She would not be the person she is now without them.
Kathleen McIndoe
My sister lived at Alder Road for over ten years. She was really happy there and as her family we were delighted that she had settled well and was content. We were then informed that the residents were moving to Esmond Street. I think we were more apprehensive about the move than my sister ever was. Alder Road was her home and it was all she knew from moving out of my mum’s house but the positivity from all the staff and residents was contagious! We visited Esmond Street and loved it.
My sister and all the other service users from Alder Road stayed there a month and did not want to leave! This was supposed to be a transitional period but our loved ones had other ideas. They wanted to stay!
Space was a bit of a problem in Alder Road but now they have more room to grow. They all have en~suite bedrooms, spacious lounges and a wonderful kitchen. All in all the move has been a godsend. All the staff have been supportive to our relatives needs and to our concerns and anxieties, but in reality our loved ones have taught us a valuable lesson in their willingness to adapt and take things in their stride!
My sister has always loved the colour pink so our only worry now is what shade we should buy for her room………..Again a huge thank you to all the staff for their continuing support and dedication. You have helped both residents and families through this part of a new journey and made it feel like “A walk in the park.” Here’s to many more successes!
Denise McPhee