Home Instead 'angel' Jo takes client on a moving trip to her childhood home

At Home Instead, our CAREGivers always do their best to make our clients' wishes come true. CAREGiver Jo and her client Mrs F have a firm friendship that is built on mutual trust and understanding. So when Mrs F told her CAREGiver Jo about her experiences of wartime evacuation, and memories of times well spent at a local but almost forgotten village, Jo decided that it was time to make a plan…

During her care visits to Mrs F, and alongside their daily tasks, the pair would often chat about times gone by, and the fact that for Mrs F, Devon hadn't always been home. Recently, Mrs F had been dwelling on thoughts of the Devon town to which she was evacuated as a child, with the sad impression that it was no longer there.

Hoping to ease these feelings of concern, Jo decided that a day trip was in order. Armed with ration books and her original identity label, which was tied to her wrist on that evacuation journey from Acton in London 81 years ago, Mrs F and Jo set off for Chudleigh Knighton.

At first, the area seemed unfamiliar to Mrs F but slowly, her memory was triggered as she spotted the field next to her wartime home, which she recalled used to have sheep in it. Mrs F told Jo how on that evacuation day, she had never seen sheep, cows and chickens before, and Jo could tell that Mrs F had been taken back to her childhood, saying: "It was just amazing to see her eyes light up. Mrs F had never returned to London following her evacuation as her home wasn't deemed suitable, so she stayed with her evacuee family."

A chance meeting provides a link with the past

Good fortune meant that during their visit, the pair came across a lady resident who was hanging out her washing. As they chatted, it emerged that her late mother would have known Mrs F as a child, and Jo recalls how both were visibly moved by the realisation. Mrs F learned that new bungalows had been built next to her original house, with numbers being changed. With this explanation, all became clearer to Mrs F.

Jo said: "The lady we met wanted us to visit her auntie, who lived in a nearby road, and who had so many memories of those days, and would probably remember Mrs F. She described how the village had changed, and together she and Mrs F recalled key places such as the park, the sweet shop on the corner, and the school."

Jo said the outing turned out far better than she could possibly have hoped, and Mrs F must have agreed, as she told her new friend: "You must get 'home angels' (which is how she refers to her Home Instead CAREGivers), they keep me feeling alive!".

Thanks go to Mrs F for sharing her amazing story, and also to Jo for the outstanding care that you have shown our very happy client. You are both a shining example of how time, consideration and the tailor-made care that Home Instead provides, can make an amazing difference.

If you would like to put support or companionship in place for yourself, a friend or loved one, contact us on 01395 200600. We are here and happy to help.