Lindsey Henry is a community connector supporting people living with dementia with their advance care planning through St Helena's Care Choices service, which is funded by a grant. Lindsey visited Kay and Catherine at home several times to build trust and to learn more about Kay so she could best support her to record her wishes on the My Care Choices Register. Kay explained:

Kay met David, her husband of 59 years, when she first joined the Salvation Army and the couple stayed devoted to the organisation for the whole of their working lives.

The chats with Lindsey were enjoyable about the past and they also talked about what Kay might like to do in the future if she becomes more unwell and they wrote it down in the My Care Choices booklet. Kay explained:

“Lindsey will give the book to the surgery so they know what we were talking about. I mean, if I become unwell, they can fix it and I can go back to living a reasonably full life, so to speak. If they can't fix it without lots of treatment and so forth, then I'm not going to bother and that's what we wrote down. I think that's what we wrote down.

“I mean, if I go in hospital and they can't give me back a reasonable quality of life, I don't want it, because at the moment I can manage.”

The family first heard about the Care Choices service when they moved to the area and were invited by their new GP to pop in for a chat with the social prescriber who asked Kay if she would be interested in the process. Kay said:

“Through my work, I've met lots of people in different stages of this disease and so I have an idea what could come along in the future, you see, so I thought, well, I'm going to put in place things that are going to help before I get to that point. My heart might give out before and then I might not need it, but I don't know, so I did think actually it would be a good idea.

“I'd recommend it to anybody that is going to go through the same thing as I am, but as I say, meeting people who were further along the line through our work has become very useful. It's not that pleasant when I think about it, but I don't think about it. Take each day as it comes.”

“I like her very much. She's easy to talk to, which is nice. I'm not put off by her because some people I find a bit overpowering but I can chat to her, which is lovely. 

“I'm just appreciative of people that come and support me because you hear of lots of people living on their own and they don't get the support that they need and I think that's very sad, but I'm supported by a good family. 

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