Mary’s Story

Mary lives in North Denbighshire, near Rhuallt and lives with an aggressive form of Parkinsons named Corticobasal Degeneration, meaning she needs to use a range of equipment in her home to live as comfortable as possible.

She lives with her husband Allan, who is her primary carer, members of her family, and her dog Blaze.

Mary, Allan and Blaze the dog.

Despite her diagnosis, Mary is full of energy and has a brilliant sense of humour. She has stuck to a number of her hobbies from before her diagnosis, including making arts and crafts. Mary was a very successful dog trainer in the past and still has her rosettes hanging up on the wall.

Before retiring, Mary worked as a physiotherapist in the local area.

Mary has been living with this condition for six years and started receiving the help of an Occupational Therapist, and representatives from the Community Equipment Team (CESI) within the last few years once her diagnosis became clearer and her condition progressed.

CESI is a partnership between Denbighshire County Council and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), which provides equipment for people of all ages to help them live their lives to the fullest and to maintain their health and independence. This ranges from simple aids for daily living to more complex equipment that helps people to stay in their homes for longer.

Through using this equipment, Alan and Mary don’t need to rely on formal visiting carers every day, allowing them to live as comfortably as possible at home.

An adapted bed, known as an Independence bed, was one of the first pieces of equipment that was implemented at her home. A hoist was also added to help Mary get in and out of bed easier.

The bed also moves mechanically, allowing Mary to sit up and adjust the height when needed.

With help from an Occupational Therapist, after an assessment, special sliding sheets were introduced, which helps with transfers.

Speaking about the Independence bed, Allan said:

“The bed has been a godsend really from the outset, the fact that this one drops right the way down has made a huge difference in terms of ease of use and mobility.”

With the use of a piece of equipment called a Standaid, Mary can get in and out of chairs. The Standaid also helps with transfers into and out of her wheelchair.

Mechanised toilet raisers were also installed in the home, which further helps with transfers in and out of the wheelchair and ease of use.

Speaking on her experience with the CESI, Mary said:

“The technicians are brilliant, always really pleasant when they come and assist with the equipment. They are very accommodating.

All the services have been very very good with us, there has been very good co-ordination between the different departments.”

The equipment is there to help to keep Mary as independent as possible, helping her to do the things she can do on her better days, and is there to offset days where maybe she finds it more difficult.

Mary went on to say:

“I am still doing arts and crafts, I do a form of weaving, where you make patterns into keyrings. I have made some with the St Kentigern’s craft group. I’ve made crafts all my life, and I’m glad I still have an outlet to do it.”

Becky, an Occupational Therapist who has helped Mary said:

“We work in conjunction with the CESI stores as a team, and could not do our job without their expertise and support.

They are always so accommodating and helpful, and we are very grateful for them.”