Vera and Geoff

When Vera was in her fifties, she had brain surgery for a condition called Chiari malformation. She experienced painful headaches for many years until her surgery. Vera likes to knit to raise money for a charity that support people with the condition.

The support that Vera and Geoff received after Vera’s dementia diagnosis was limited by the Covid-19 pandemic. It was only when the restrictions started to relax that Vera and Geoff joined a local support group for people living with memory problems. Vera is confident speaking to new people so particularly enjoys talking to other members of the group even though she sometimes struggles to remember their names. As well as going to her support group, Vera has always been involved with the church and likes going for walks with her husband. She is very close to her family and her sons visit her regularly. Vera and Geoff enjoy going on holiday together and for Vera, her favourite holidays are those by the sea.

Vera makes light of her memory problems.

So have you got sort of advice on what you would say, what should people do if they think they’re struggling with their memory?

[Laughs] Forget about it [laughter].

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Seeing the best in things is Vera’s approach.

I like to look on the bright side.

They tend to be quite [laughs] well you do seem to be someone who looks on the bright side.

I do.

You’ve got a very positive attitude, haven’t you?

Mm, I do. I, I always say, well what’s the point of being miserable, if, if you’re just going over things and er-er, well you’re just making yourself miserable and you may as; I tend to think what’s, what’s nice about this thing, what’s good about it or, and I think it’s better because you’re, you’re not making yourself miserable and you may as well just go along with it [laughs].

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Vera’s first job was as a school cook.

Oh, you’re the cook though aren’t you? 

I’m the cook, yeah.

I poison people sometimes [laughs]. I can remember when I first went to work doing that it was at a school, right? Oh it, it did weigh on me, I thought if I do something wrong, suppose any of these children get ill, you know, it really, really bothered me, but.

It’s responsible feeding all those people, isn’t it? 

Yeah.

Yeah, well I mean it, it was a good school and, you know, it was fine. But yeah, it’s strange, isn’t it? You look back and think oh I wonder why I did that, I wonder why I did that; but I didn’t, my sister was always in, she was a machinist and she loved what she did, now I liked doing what I did at the schools because, well I mean let’s put it like this, I was about, would I be about, because I didn’t know you then, did I, when I started working there?

So, I would be about fourteen when I went working at the boys’ school; wow, all those boys, can you imagine? [laughs] I got invited to all the parties [laughs].

Oh, oh that’s fun.

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