When we met Mike, he was living with sight and hearing loss and finding daily life increasingly difficult. Aged 87, his sight had been fading for some time due to macular degeneration, and he was now registered as partially sight impaired. Although he still looked well and liked to stay active, everyday life had begun to shrink around him. Things he once did without thinking now took effort, and that loss was starting to weigh him down.
Mike and his wife, Maureen, had recently moved to Gateshead to be closer to family. After hospital appointments, they were told there was no further treatment available for his sight. It was a daunting thing to hear, and they weren’t sure what would come next. It made them anxious about the future. The team at the hospital pointed them towards Sense Ability Matters.
When one of our Enablement Officers visited their home, the conversation quickly turned to the everyday things Mike had lost… making a cup of tea, using the phone, following the television, and how much he now relied on Maureen. Together, we looked at simple, practical ways to help him do more for himself again. We introduced a few aids, including a talking clock, a liquid level indicator and equipment to support his hearing.
It was the little things that made the biggest difference. “Now he can phone someone, he can make a hot drink, he can hear a bit better with the personal listener, he knows what time it is with the talking clock,” says Maureen. “He’d have struggled with all those things before.”
These changes have improved everyday life for the whole family. Mike feels more confident doing things for himself, and Maureen can step back a little, knowing he can manage more himself again. Looking back, Mike says: “you get excellent support, it’s been so quick – one thing has followed another and we’ve got the help we needed.”
By focusing on the everyday things that mattered, we were able to help Mike move forward with more confidence.