Understandably, moving into a residential care home can take a little adjustment.
This can be particularly true when an older person is also faced with having to leave their partner behind.
Thankfully, in Leslie and Olive Johnson’s case they did not need, or want to separate, so when their family home became too difficult to manage, they made the choice of moving into together at Queen’s Lodge.
Now, the couple still get to continue enjoy each other’s company, but have also made lots of new friends as they like to take part in activities within the home.
During their working lives, Leslie was a teacher working in primary and secondary schools for 40 years, latterly as a head teacher. Meanwhile, Olive enjoyed working as a short-hand typist, in between raising their daughter, and she finished the last few years of her working life in a school as a nursery assistant.
Although Leslie and Olive, who first met in a dance hall like many people of their generation, like to maintain as much of their independence as possible, they require some support due to reduced mobility, so Queen’s Lodge is the perfect place for them.
“It was never going to be the same as living in our own home, but we were finding it difficult to manage and so moving to Queen’s Lodge has been the best thing for us,” the couple say.
“The staff are very nice, there is a good choice of food, and we like to go down and take part in activities when we can.
“The most important is that we have been able to stay together.”
