"Dementia journey to care"

After over a year in hospital my mum was discharged back into the community after she had been diagnosed with dementia. Unfortunately dementia is such a variable disease and my mum still being the ever smart lady as she always has was fiercely independent but completely oblivious of the dangers the disease was now putting her in. This wasn't a decision that I felt was the best for my mum and I knew that she would not be able to cope long-term and need permanent, full-time residential care.

After months of going back and forth with doctors, different case managers and mental health teams whilst all the time mum was getting herself into increasingly vulnerable situations, I honestly didn't know where to turn.

Thankfully a true angel came into my mum's life in the form of her social case manager Sophia. She worked tirelessly to get the assessments required and the support needed. And much more than that she spent time with my mum and engaged with her as a person.

For me, Sophia has changed my life in so many ways. She wasn't just there for my mum but she was also there for me. I had been on this journey alone until Sophia came along. She gave me a new resilience and strength because I felt that I was no longer fighting for my mum's care and safety alone.

Sophia has been instrumental in finding mum's forever home in residential care. Where I am overjoyed to say that she is the happiest she has been since the diagnosis. Words can't come close to how incredibly grateful I am for the Sophia's in the world and how much it means to the people they help. I will never be able to thank her enough.