When Mum was only 63 she had a bad fall down the loft ladder and fractured her spine in two places.  After a spinal fusion things were never the same and the consequences of this led to many more operations and many stays in the RBH and the Radcliffe in Oxford.

Over the next fifteen years Mum had two hip replacements and six hip dislocations, one of these even happening on Christmas Day.  She was just finishing a glass of sherry, got up to go to the kitchen to see to the lunch, and something went click!  She was so unlucky and walked for all these years on two crutches.  However, she remained cheerful and positive and always looked on the bright side.  Her disability did not stop her continuing to enjoy life and to travel which she loved up until a couple of years ago. 

The diagnosis of dementia just over a year ago was a cruel blow for her and for us.  Luckily it was a mild form but towards the end she would get very upset that she could no longer read books and would be very sad about it.  She was also very worried about her forgetfulness.  I have since found so many notes with our names and birth dates written down as she couldn't bear to forget any of our birthdays.  These worries, combined with the mental stress of preparing to leave her beloved home to go into St Luke's, was too hard for her to bear, and we must be grateful that she is now at peace and passed at home, as she wished.