Meet Jim

The following story is fictional and designed to demonstrate how people are supported by Age UK Plymouth, it's services and partnerships across the city. Whilst this particular Jim is fictitious, the challenges he experiences are genuine and his story echoes through our city.

Jim is 67, he's lived in Plymouth since he joined the Royal Navy in the late 70's. After 20 years service he retrained as an electrician and most recently taught basic DIY courses at a college for adult learning. Jim and Kathleen, his wife of over 30 years, have a daughter who lives and works in Bristol and three grandchildren.

Early in 2020 Jim noticed that Kathleen was having difficulty concentrating and was losing track of time and dates. Before the lockdown Jim's daughter, Jennifer, would visit every couple of months but when they saw her in October 2020 for the first time in nine months she was shocked that Kathleen seemed to be struggling even to follow their conversation. By Christmas, Jim was sure that there was more going on than just "getting old".

In the new year Jim began trying to find a diagnosis for Kathleen. As the country continued to go in and out of lockdown, appointments were regularly rescheduled but finally in December 2021 Kathleen was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia. Jim and his daughter worked with Kathleen's GP to create a care plan and it was decided that with support from a monthly visit from Jennifer, Jim would continue to care for Kathleen and reassess in the future.

In June 2022 whilst working in the garden Jim tripped and fell awkwardly - it wasn't a big fall but enough to aggravate an old knee injury and Jim found himself in Derriford hospital. After investigations it was decided to replace the knee - a straight forward procedure but there were concerns about how he’d cope at home alone with his reduced mobility. Jim was transferred to the new Short Term Care Centre run by Livewell Southwest and housed at Age UK Plymouth, here he had his own room and daily physiotherapy. With the support of the staff there he enjoyed being able to make himself meals in one of the guest kitchens and felt more independent than his time on a hospital ward.

By the end of Jim's first week at the Centre he’d found himself at Age UK Plymouth's weekly Sticky Bun Morning for Veterans, taking part in a weekly, gentle chair exercise class and was feeling more like himself after a haircut. He met with a Discharge Coordinator from Age UK Plymouth, they chatted about Jim's life at home. As Jim was still unable to drive, his discharge package was designed as a mix of support from the team with cleaning, laundry, assisted trips to the supermarket and some garden clearance.

Jim was also visited by a member of the Information and Advice team from Age UK Plymouth. He didn’t realise that he was entitled to any financial support so the team also helped him apply for a blue badge and attendance allowance. With the allowance he received he was able to keep receiving some support around the house from the Help at Home team, after his discharge package finished. He mentioned to the Information and Advice team that he still hadn’t got round to thinking about Kathleen's Power of Attorney, he was relieved when they are able to help point him in the right direction.

Kathleen had been staying in Bristol with Jennifer and her partner but as they started returning to work she was keen to come home. The Discharge team put Jim in touch with the Day Centre's Manager to see if it would be a good fit for Kathleen. Jim wasn’t sure, Kathleen struggled with anything out of routine and this had been worse since being away from home.

After meeting with Jim and Kathleen, the Day Centre's Manager recommended that Kathleen join "Forget Me Nots" - a once a week set of sessions with friendly and engaging support workers at the Day Centre in Mount Gould. Kathleen really enjoyed the music, dancing and creative activities - Jim had always said she was "a crafty one", making costumes and dressing up outfits for Jennifer. At the end of the course Kathleen was more comfortable away from Jim and keen to carry on, she started attending the Dementia Day Centre in Plymstock twice a week.

Knowing that Kathleen looks forward to her "club", Jim is grateful for the respite and continues to recuperate, he even signed up for the weekly Veterans Walking Football and enjoys taking Kathleen to the Veterans Brunch twice a month. He’s considering volunteering as a driver for the charity in the future. With the support Jim found at Age UK Plymouth he feels more secure in his and Kathleen’s future, knowing that they have the support to help them continue living independently, in their home together.