Transcript

GLORIA

Hello.

SHIRLEY

Hello, Gloria.

GLORIA

How are you?

SHIRLEY

Can I order your cab?

GLORIA

How are you? Yes, please.

SHIRLEY

Morning, Jen. It's Shirley at Life Care. Can we have a cab for Gloria to go to White Hill? Yeah, that's fine. Thank you. About 10 minutes.

GLORIA

OK.

SHIRLEY

All right?

GLORIA

Yes. Yeah.

NARRATOR

Today, Gloria first has to take a bus and then a taxi to see Muriel, who now lives with others from the hospital in a small specialised unit not accessible by public transport.

GLORIA

Well, it's country, and it's sort of quite-- I'm not saying it's not nice. It is nice. And it's nice for them to be out from the actual hospital. And again, it's a shame it's out of the way of anywhere. She's quite able to understand what you're saying and aware what's being done. I do much the same thing, except I’m more of like a mother, as well as an advocate to her, because I visit her twice weekly. If I could see her every day it would be nice, as well, and do the things that I used to do with her.

That's putting her to bed, and feeding her, washing her, dressing her. But quite often, she’ll help herself a little bit. They see me as an advocate and a friend. I mean, I go around talking to all of them. I know all the ones that are here from the same ward as Muriel-- Moira, Sibile, Helen, most of those from the same ward.

And they're all wheelchair people in the same sort of position that she's in. And I often help them if they need help. I've had experience of lifting and with them pulling their weight.

[LAUGHING]

She's woken up. I quite enjoy being with them. I mean, she's quite enjoying in the way as she is now. She's doing quite well. And I'm the only one that she's got, as well. So it's both ways, isn't it?