North Devon Nursing Home Shares Life Story of Resident

For individuals whose mobility have changed over time, moving around can become difficult or painful, meaning receiving care in bed may become the most comfortable and supportive option for them. Whether through need or personal choice, a bedroom can become far more than four walls. It becomes a sanctuary, filled with familiarity, comfort and the small things that make somewhere feel like home.

It’s so important that their space reflects them as a person, surrounding them with the things that really matter to them, both emotionally and physically. What might matter deeply to a person is often shaped over the course of a life, through the people they love, the places they’ve visited and the experiences that have stayed with them.

Spending time with Jillian, a family member (resident) at Edenmore Nursing Home, it was clear to see how the environment around her reflected the person she is and the things that continue to matter to her today.

 

 

 

Early Life on the Farm

Born in 1938, Jillian was just one year old when the war started. Her family lived on a farm in Powys, Wales, and her father was a sheep farmer. Her mother was a homemaker, taking care of the household and raising the children. Jillian had an older brother, and later, she would have two younger sisters. She remembers her parents to be generous and kind people. She doesn’t recall too much of being very young but shares, ‘I’m sure I was sometimes naughty like any child!’

During the war, she remembers prisoners of war coming to work on the farm from a nearby camp. She shares that they were lovely, ‘They just wanted to go back to their families, who they missed very much. My parents were very kind and really took them in. They also helped them send packages of food back to their loved ones.’

School, Friendship and a Love of French

When she was seven or eight years old, the family moved to a farm in Ombersley, Worcestershire. There she attended a private school in Worcester called Sunnyside, where she became friends with some girls who she remains in contact with still today. From her school days she still remembers how afraid they were of the headmistress, ‘I’m sure she was a perfectly nice lady, but she was strict and scared us.’

Jillian became pen pals with a girl in Paris around this time, and the two ended up doing an exchange and visiting each other’s homes and living with their families for a few weeks. She loved it, and her pen pal’s family were very friendly and welcoming and took her around Paris.

As she moved through school, her favourite subject unsurprisingly became French. She also loved athletics, particularly running and high jumping and even competed at national level.

University, Marriage and Family Life

When she had completed school, she went on to study French at Cardiff University. This was where she met her future husband, Bill, who was also studying. He was from Aberdeen and had sadly lost both his parents but had a very lovely uncle and aunt. Jillian and Bill married when she was twenty-three and moved to Maidenhead, in time having their two children, Tim and Bethany.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jillian went on to teach French at a grammar school. The students were, for the most part very engaged and well behaved. But there was of course the odd one or two difficult pupils who made mean comments to make everyone laugh and played the class clowns. One of the things Jillian loved most about her teaching role was the friendships she grew with the other teaching staff.

Later, they began to move around a lot for Bill’s work, living in Brussels and even Connecticut for a while, before moving back to the UK. During this time, she continued to teach French through tutoring. She describes their marriage simply: “We got on very well, we had a lot of the same interests and friends. Of course, no one is perfect, but I can’t remember any real problems.”

When they moved to England, Jillian worked for several years at a Waterstones in Windsor. She loved to read and so really enjoyed working there, and she was responsible for setting up open readings with authors when they were promoting their new books. Through this role she met several famous authors, including Sir David Attenborough! She still remembers the queues of people waiting outside for their signed copies of books.

Moving into Edenmore

In later life, Jillian was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. As she began to need more support, she moved into Edenmore Nursing Home, close to where her son, Tim, lives. Tim visits often and regularly brings his two dogs with him, who jump up onto Jillian’s bed to say hello. Today, Jillian is cared for in bed, as her needs now mean she is most comfortable there.

More Than Just a Bedroom

In Jillian’s bedroom, an antique bureau from her previous home stands against one wall, its surface covered in photographs of her family, captured moments holding much meaning. She talks through the places they were taken, the names of her siblings, children, children-in-law and grandchildren. One of these is a silver-framed image from her wedding day, showing her and her husband, Bill, standing hand in hand on the church steps.

On the opposite wall, artwork sits alongside a framed record by Edward Elgar, one of her favourite composers. A large mirror has been carefully positioned so that, from her bed, she can see out through the window. It is here that her attention often rests, watching birds move between rooftops and wires. Blue tits and robins are some of her favourites.

By the door, a small set of drawers holds a vase of fresh flowers, sent each week by her daughter, who also calls every day – on this particular day, she is calling from the Bahamas.

 

 

 

What Matters Most

When asked what matters most to her today, her answer is simple: ‘Family.’ There is much love behind the word. She continues, ‘I am very lucky. And they spoil me.’

When asked what else is important to her, she shares, ‘It sounds ridiculous or silly, but one of the most important things to me is being able to look through my mirror to the window. I love to watch the birds flying around outside, and many of them land on the wires and the roofs of the houses.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of her favourite memories from the last few years, was when her son, Tim, took her for a day out and they went to a field filled with sheep and lambs. ‘I love to sit and watch them, it’s so lovely to see.’ When asked if these moments are so special to her because of her childhood and growing up on farms she nods and smiles, ‘Oh, definitely.’

Jillian likes to spend time watching wildlife programmes on the television in her room, as well as keeping up with politics and the news of the wider world.

Tim recently got Jillian an iPad on a stand beside her bed and is going to download books onto it, so she is able to read again more easily, by turning the pages with a simple tap of the screen.

Of the people around her each day, she speaks warmly. ‘The carers are so kind, and the girls are very sweet. The boys are cheeky and teasing, which is good for me.’

Through Jillian’s reflections, what stands out most is the importance of connection; to family, to cherished memories, to nature, to books, and to keeping in contact with her friends and loved ones. Now, more than ever, it is the simple things that continue to bring comfort and meaning to her life.

Although there are moments of frustration in no longer having the same physical freedom she once did, there is also a sense of peace in the space around her. Surrounded by familiar belongings, photographs, flowers, and the view from her window, Jillian has created a sanctuary that still reflects the life she has lived and the person she continues to be.

‘This is my little home,’ she says. ‘I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else if I am in bed and unable to move.’

To read more about the home’s activities, events, and people living at Edenmore – News & Blogs – Edenmore Nursing Home – North Devon Nursing Home