It can be tempting to assume that once someone begins living in a care home that their capacity for adventure is lost. At Plan with Care, we know this is not the case and our creative and inspiring Care and Wellbeing Companions excel in finding ways to reignite curiosity and a lust for life in the older people we support. One such example of this is Danny, whose companion Carrie has been visiting him for nearly three months.
At 101, Danny is brimming with wisdom and is one of the kindest and most delightful gentlemen you could meet. Whenever they spend time together, Carrie feels encouraged to live life fully, explore new adventures and embrace the unknown. Danny’s life story is captivating. He spent most of his working life as an accountant in London, a job he described as the “daily grind” that never brought him much joy or fulfilment. That was, until one fateful day when he met an artist and signed up for night classes at a local art college.
As he reminisces, Danny’s eyes light up while talking about the artist who forever changed his life. He hung onto every word the man spoke, his passion for art growing with each conversation. After class, while the other students headed off to the pub, Danny would walk to the train station with the artist, and they’d chat about art—what they loved, techniques, ideas, everything. Danny became so skilled that one day, he confidently walked into his office and handed in his notice. His supervisor was stunned when he revealed that he was leaving to become an artist.
Carrie was so moved by Danny’s story that she decided to do some research on the artist who had inspired him so deeply. After some digging, she found him! Downloading photos of his work, including a self-portrait, Carrie eagerly showed them to Danny. The moment he saw the images, his eyes welled up with tears. Carrie gently placed her hand on his arm, worried she had upset him. But Danny smiled, patting her hand gently. "No, my dear," he said warmly. "These aren’t tears of sadness, they’re tears of happiness."
Photo by Valerie Sidorova on Unsplash
One day, during a conversation about painting, Danny confessed how much he missed working with oils, though he hadn't painted in years due to limited dexterity. Carrie thought about buying him a small set of paints, but hesitated, unsure if it would be practical. She decided to ask him how he felt about it and his response stayed with her. "When you live in a care home," he said, "there's nothing to do except sit here, sleep, and occasionally eat. There are no choices. But if you give me some paints, I have a choice, even if I don’t touch them." Danny was absolutely right and Carrie bought him the paints to give him the opportunity to paint again.
Despite his age, Danny has quickly learned to use an iPad, and together, he and Carrie have embarked on many virtual adventures—visiting Kew Gardens, exploring the National Gallery, traveling to places like Italy and Dubai, and even swimming with Basking Sharks! These moments never fail to make him chuckle and laugh. Once, during one of the virtual trips, he turned to Carrie and said: "When you live in a care home, you start to believe your adventures are over. I thought I’d never have any more. But then you came along and took me on adventures I never even dreamed of."
It is hard not to love this gentle, thoughtful, and kind gentleman. Carrie looks forward to every visit and hopes that they will go on many more adventures together.
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