"Maybe there is some purpose to life in the end" - Roger's experience with us

Roger Russell is 92 and lives with his wife Valerie in Hitchin. As well as his role as devoted husband of 69 years, Roger has been Val’s primary carer for the last five years - cooking every meal and making sure she has everything she needs.

Roger used to attend our Wellbeing Hubs with Val as her carer, enjoying seated exercise and a social chat with others. When Val’s mobility declined Roger struggled to drive to the Hub and they stopped attending each week.

Roger would often walk a mile to town while pushing his wife’s wheelchair with ease, with no mobility issues. That was until a few weeks ago when he felt his legs start to stiffen:

“My ability to walk quickly degenerated from having stiff legs to virtually being unable to walk at all. I did not know what was going to happen, and I wondered what sort of life is this?”

Overnight, Roger lost the use of his legs and was admitted to hospital where he struggled to eat, sleep and stay mobile for three weeks. He was unsure what his future would bring and began to lose hope, until he met Jenny, our Frailty Link Nurse.

After conversations with Jenny, Roger was transferred to Garden House Hospice Care and onto the Inpatient Unit. It had been over three weeks since Roger had been able to walk, but within just 48 hours of being at the Hospice, he walked with his daughter into the Hospice Garden:

“The staff have been so kind and so helpful, and I have been able to make great improvements each day. Having made progress I began to see that well maybe there is some purpose to life in the end.”

Roger and daughter Lindsay have a conversation in his room on the Inpatient Unit

During his stay at the Hospice, Roger worked with our Rehab and Wellbeing Team to build up his strength and confidence. He attended Tai Chi group classes to improve balance and muscle strength, and attended our weekly wellbeing hub with seated exercise and a chance to socialise with other people in our community. Our team of occupational therapists took Roger on a home visit during his stay with us, working with him to adapt his home environment to fit his changing needs, making things easier to access and ensuring he could return home, to a life as close to normal as possible.

“Their assessments on what I need to help me at home were 100% right and I am eternally grateful for them. Where I used to stand and prepare my food, I now have a perching stool so that I can sit at the kitchen counter and make myself a slice of toast and a coffee and know that I am doing it comfortably and I am enjoying it. It is a tremendous improvement in my quality of life, just to be able to do small things like that.”

After just over a week, Roger was ready to return home with continued support from our Community and Rehab and Wellbeing teams, putting his name down on the list for our minibus service to pick him up and take him back to the weekly hub.

Roger smiles as he takes part in a seated exercise session at our Wellbeing Hub

We caught up with Roger at our Hitchin Wellbeing Hub 10 days after he was discharged and asked him what it had been like to get his independence back. He told us:

“It’s been very satisfying because although I am restricted on how much I can do, at least I am not dependant on others to help me now. I can plan my own days and do things in the order I want to do them, and last night I made myself an omelette with bacon and mushrooms! The Hospice has taught me so much practically and emotionally.”

His wife Valerie has now settled into a care home which Roger visits regularly, making sure that they maintain their close relationship.

We spoke with his daughter, Lindsay, a few weeks after Roger had been discharged from the Hospice and she told us a little bit about what improvements he has made since being home.

“After just a week of being home he was doing his washing, cooking and even walking himself to the local supermarket to do some shopping. He is set up with a mobility scooter for his longer trips and has taken himself out for haircuts and things like that.

“Without his ten days at the Hospice, I have no doubt that he would have come out of the hospital, and I would have had to look at putting him in a care home, but now, only weeks later, I was able to go on a three-day trip away and he was perfectly fine on his own.”

Roger smiling in his room on our Inpatient Unit

Garden House Hospice Care has played a valuable role in Roger’s journey to recovery, independence and integration back into the community that he loves.

“If you’re contemplating giving support to the Hospice, whether that be financial or practical, the need is tremendous and anything that you can do will be repaid tenfold. I cannot praise the staff here enough, they are absolutely super, every single one of them.”