Lily shares her Living Well experience

Lily attends the Living Well Sessions and she, and her husband, Arthur, have been together 44 years. They have two daughters and two granddaughters.

They shared what the service means to them, Lily said:

“We don’t go out at all anymore – apart from coming here. I’ve lost all my independence, going off on holiday – that all stopped a year and a half ago.

Arthur explained:

“What happened was that we were in Tenerife and all of a sudden she hit the deck and couldn’t move her legs at all.”

Lily continued:

“When I came back to England I got myself moving about but the balance never came back. A couple of months ago they said there’s nothing else we can do for the balance. I have been inclined to black out and I’ve had a few falls. It affected my confidence too. Something happened to my brain – it’s like a someone is pushing me, I get no warning. My last fall I remember going up the stairs, I know it was 9 o clock and when I woke up it was 10 past 12. I had been on the floor for over three hours. I don’t even know how I got down the stairs. My life changed a lot – it was a massive, big change.

Coming to the Living Well Service keeps me going, if I can’t come I get upset. It gives me confidence and the people around really care, you are not just left to get on with your own devices.

The only time I wouldn’t show up here is if I have an infection. Everyone is so friendly. You forget what’s wrong with you here – it just goes. You get chatting to everyone and you feel normal again – I feel me again.”

Arthur added:

“It is brilliant, it is nice to see her happy. It’s nice to have other conversations too.”

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Our ‘Outstanding’ services are provided free of charge to patients and their families. Our aim being to provide the highest quality care, helping people to make every moment count. You can find out more about how we are funded here: arhc.org.uk/how-we-are-funded.