St Louis Life Stories: Olivia who lives with dementia is now making her delicious shortbread again!

Olivia who is 64, is living with early onset dementia. Until recently, she lived at home with her husband who was struggling to cope with her worsening condition. She began to withdraw from family life, staying in her room day after day.

Her family were concerned that her mental and physical health would continue to deteriorate, and after doing their best to support her, they acknowledged that they didn’t have the skills to provide the care and help that she needed.

Olivia’s family brought her to St Louis on Sea a few months ago for personalised dementia care. St Louis on Sea is a small shared home in Victor Harbor, beautifully decorated and designed to feel like home

Located across the road from the beach it has only eight clients and several staff to provide personalised and compassionate care.

When Olivia arrived at St Louis on Sea, she would make a cup of tea and go back to her room where she stayed

In Olivia’s first week here, we spent time with her to understand her needs and concerns. She felt insecure, frightened and disoriented when she arrived here which is common for people living with dementia. She stayed in her room and would only come out to make a cup of tea. She’d then return to her room where she’d stay all day until her next cup of tea, which she mostly wouldn’t drink.

Her dementia was advancing quickly and impacting both her mental and physical health and we knew we had to take action to change the course of her condition.

Working as a team, we collaborated with her family to help her

All the staff at St Louis on Sea came together for a meeting about Olivia. We’re a small team and we’re committed to providing consistent care for our clients every day, so we often meet to jointly discuss our clients’ needs.

With her family’s input, we mapped out what we knew about her life, what she liked and what she didn’t like, and activities which gave her pleasure in the past.

Helping people living with dementia to engage in their life again is about starting with the simplest of tasks and succeeding in these before building on this secure foundation with more activities.

For Olivia, we discussed her background and lifestyle and we discovered that she actually liked being around people. Her previous work involved helping people every day. She enjoyed making cups of tea for others. She liked to draw and paint. There were other activities, but we began with these first.

We kept the kettle, tea and cups easy to access for her and she began making cups of tea for all of us.

Olivia stopped at her door with her cup of tea, and turned back to join us

Olivia has made many improvements in her short time at St Louis on Sea. She enjoys making short bread which is delicious and we all love! She is starting to become part of the family again.

We sit and work together now. We do work on our laptops while Olivia draws and paints.

She is more engaged in the household, helping to prepare meals, peeling and cutting vegetables.. She also helped to build the raised garden beds with staff and her husband.

Families are actively involved in the care of their loved ones. We are all in this together and our community includes our clients and their families. We welcome and encourage their participation and support.

Olivia is happier and more engaged in daily living and she continues to improve every week. We knew she had turned a corner for the better when she stopped in her doorway with her cup of tea, turned around and decided to join us instead of retreating to her room.

We look forward to seeing Olivia remember more of the things she used to enjoy doing.

Call us to find out about caring and compassionate dementia care and respite care

St Louis On Sea offers eight luxuriously appointed spacious single rooms, all with ensuite bathrooms. There are sweeping sea views, access to three living areas, a large open kitchen and outdoor space.

Respite at St Louis on Sea can be paid through your Home Care Package, your NDIS plan, or privately funded. If you have a Home Care Package or a NDIS plan with another provider, you are welcome to enjoy respite and support at St Louis On Sea.

Call us on 08 8332 0950 to find out more about dementia care and respite care at St Louis on Sea.