Mike and Sue – a journey with Dementia
Meet Mike and Sue, who have been supported by St Michael’s Hospice as they journey through Sue’s dementia diagnosis.
As many as half our patients have a non-cancer diagnosis.
Some have neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s and Motor Neurone Disease. Others, like Sue, benefit from the expert care and support given to those with dementia.
We met with Sue and her husband, Mike, to find out how St Michael’s has helped them both.
Mike told us how he first suspected something wasn’t quite right when the couple were on holiday in Tenby.
“We had been to a restaurant for dinner early in the week,” he said. “We liked it very much and so we decided to go back there two nights later.” He said Sue looked at the menu, then looked around the room and said, ‘It’s nice here’. “She said it in a way that suggested she couldn’t remember being there, or as if it was the first time she’d been there.”
Mike said a dementia diagnosis is drawn-out, meaning by the time it was confirmed, it “didn’t actually come as a shock”. Soon after, they were introduced to dementia services at St Michael’s Hospice.
“I just sort of thought, ‘well, okay, we’ll give this a go’,” added Sue. Mike said they look forward to visiting St Michael’s because of its “warm and friendly atmosphere”.
“The staff are so easy to chat to, and they’re interested in you, and they look out for you,” said Sue. “You have a good laugh and a good joke and some silly things as well, but it’s just a very calm place to be.”