As part of our Health and Wellbeing services, HILS provides nutritional support and tailored physical activity programmes to older and vulnerable people living in the community. Our Health and Wellbeing Client of the Season Award is an opportunity for us to celebrate our client’s achievements, hard work and determination.
It has been a cold Spring this year, but Charmaine and Josie have persevered and shown you can get active and stay well whatever the weather. Congratulations Josie and Charmaine for winning Client of the Season!
Staying Active
Charmaine’s journey with Active Ageing began as normal with face-to-face exercise sessions at home, with the support of a member of our Active Ageing Team. Soon after she joined the service, the UK entered its second national lockdown, which lead Charmaine to go digital, with her weekly sessions taking place via video call. Taking it in her stride, Charmaine embraced the challenged and excelled. After having several operations on her knee and hips, Charmaine would often need the support of a walking stick to walk around her home. Feeling unsteady on her feet, Charmaine struggled to stand for long periods in the kitchen to make dinner and often needed to take breaks and sit down.
Having discussed with Charmaine the areas in which she would like see improvement, HILS Active Ageing Team member, Tania Clapp, developed a personalised exercise programme that would support Charmaine to build the strength and balance she needed to feel safer and more independent.
After weeks of hard work and dedication, Charmaine quickly saw positive changes and was able to sit and stand more easily and safely. By her ninth session, she was able to sit down from standing without using her hands for support, something she couldn’t do before the programme. Her confidence grew so much that she started to complete her warm-up exercises while standing, rather than sitting down as she did at the start of the programme. While doing her balance exercises, Charmaine surprised herself by being able to stand on one leg without holding onto anything for support. This gave Charmaine the confidence to start going on regular walks with her husband, Bill, who noticed a great improvement in her movement and stamina while walking. Through our 12-week programme, Charmaine was able to see that with a little daily effort she could significantly improve her mobility, strength, and balance. She also enjoyed doing this in her own home where she felt safe and comfortable. Seeing this change in herself and the fact that her husband saw it too, has given her the drive to keep going and to keep practicing. “Charmaine’s progress has been remarkable!” says Tania, “she is an inspiration and should feel very proud.”
Health and Wellbeing
Josie, our Nutrition and Wellbeing winner, came to our service seeking nutritional advice after her GP discovered she had cholesterol and was at risk of developing diabetes. Determined to make a positive change, she got in touch with our Nutrition and Wellbeing Visitor, Alice Boulter, and together they figured out some easy ways for Josie to better manage her diet. These included reducing the number of desserts she was having or choosing desserts from our low sugar range and delicious fruit pots. Although when it comes to HILS’ ginger sponge, Josie says she still finds it hard to resist alongside her favourite HILS meal: roast chicken with all the trimmings! Josie has also worked hard to improve her hydration by monitoring the amount of water she drinks each day and has been getting more active by taking regular walks in the fresh air. After doing so well with our Nutrition and Wellbeing service, she is now on the waiting list for our Active Ageing programme and is eager to start.
Josie says she is very grateful for our Meals on Wheels service and the support she has received from HILS, and so are all her family. “I naturally have a zest for life,” she says. “I believe this is what helped me to make these changes – even at 91 years of age!”
Josie has come so far, and we are so proud of what she has achieved. Go Josie!
