A resident at The Lodge dementia care facility within Buckshaw Retirement Village at Chorley has been declared one of Britain’s “Unsung Heroes”.
Eighty-seven-year-old Isobel Dowling reached the finals of the Unsung Heroes category in the Dementia UK Awards 2009 for her courage in moving hundreds of miles from her home in Plymouth, in poor health, so she could find specialised care for her husband, John, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, and also continue to live with him.
The Lodge is one of only a few places in the UK with facilities which enable couples to remain together, when one of them has dementia.
Lorraine Haining, Head of Dementia Services at The Lodge, said: “Isobel and John have settled in really well and Isobel has been a real asset to both the residents and staff. She joins in all the activities and encourages residents to do the same. She acts as an advocate for the residents and is also a great ambassador for The Lodge.”
“Isobel is one of the bravest people I know, not only moving house in poor health but also going from one end of the country to the other when your husband has dementia and you are both in your late eighties takes a lot of guts,” she added.
Isobel and John have been married for 64 years and lived most of their life in Plymouth, where John was a Royal Marine. Isobel’s health began to be seriously affected by the strains of her caring role so she started to look at the possibility of care for John and visited The Lodge after it was brought to her notice by her daughter, who lives in the area.
Isobel said of her award: “I did what I had to do – nothing different than anybody else would have done.”
She was presented with her award at an event at York Racecourse where the organisers, the University of Stirling’s Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC), held a three day international conference on dementia care.
At the same awards dinner, The Lodge received finalists awards in two further categories – “Best Innovation In Practice” and “Dementia Design Innovation of the Year”.
Isobel Dowling is pictured receiving her award from Professor June Andrews, Director of the University of Stirlings Dementia Services Development Centre. Photo: Tony Marsh Photography.