Before Meri Price started attending Mercy Health Home Care Services day respite, she struggled to find the motivation to do much more than watch television and nap. Fast forward 12 months, and the mother of eight has a new-found bounce in her step.
Meri lives full-time with her daughter Robyn, who is her carer. Since discovering that a Respite Day Program was available to her mother, funded through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, Robyn says that both her life and her mother’s have changed profoundly.
“When I first told mum about the Respite Day Program at Mercy Place Lynbrook, she told me outright that she didn’t want to go there with all the old folk,” Robyn laughs. “But then she started going and from the very first day she absolutely loved it. She has made friends there, all of the residents know her and she does great activities. And she loves that all the staff know her and treat her so well.”
Meri enjoys her time at the Day Respite Program
Meri is able to once again enjoy activities during her day stays that she had stopped doing because her eyesight had begun to fail.
“She just loves that she can play bingo again,’ Robyn says. “She had to stop going because of her poor eyesight, but at Mercy Place Lynbrook, they play with bottletops and large number cards so she can play again. She really enjoys the music they play there, too.
She comes home and I sometimes hear her at 1.30am singing the song she heard at the home.”
The best thing I’ve noticed is that going to day respite helps Mum with her memory and keeps her motivated. All she wanted to do before was go to sleep. Now she’s active, up and ready to go.
Meri is in her element at Mercy Place Lynbrook’s Day Respite Program.
“I love the singalongs and the dancing, and I especially enjoy the bingo,” Meri says. “And the food — I love my food and they are always feeding me nice things there. It’s like a little holiday.”
Meri attended the Day Stay Program once a week, before increasing to three times a week. The day respite is a godsend for Robyn, who is also caring for her husband Graham.
“It’s a big help for me,” she says. “I just couldn’t get out with her safely any longer. I never realised before mum began living with us just how much carers take on. The Day Respite Program means I can go out and do things that I need to do, knowing that mum is safe, happy and enjoying herself.”
Mercy Health Day Respite Personal Care Assistant Sue Reinders plays a card game with Meri.
And while some people are reluctant to take up day respite because they feel it is simply a stepping stone to moving into residential aged care, it is far more than that, Robyn says.
“I believe going to the day respite places can help people adjust to moving into aged care permanently but I actually think it helps to keep people at home for longer too. The best thing I’ve noticed is that going to day respite helps mum with her memory and keeps her motivated. All she wanted to do before was go to sleep. Now she is active, up and ready to go, and really happy to go along. She’ll be at home longer because of this program.”
Last reviewed April 23, 2020.