Case Studies
Mr. Keith Bristow ( 1921 – 2011 ) 
Keith joined the other residents here at The Chace in October 2010 after his deteriorating health confirmed that he needed a higher level of support and round the clock care than even his wife and close family could provide.
Keith had enjoyed a long and successful career at Barclays Bank as both a branch manager and an inspector – a background that stood him in good stead for keeping a close eye on all our actions and activities at The Chace. In his younger days, he was a keen cricketer and all-round sportsman and he retained this interest until the end of his life. His years of service to Barclays were interrupted only by the war which was spent in a far-flung outpost of the RAF. After his eventual retirement, his interest in sport remained and he took up golf and bowls as well as caring for his beloved vegetable garden and keeping a fond eye on his much-loved family of which he was immensely proud. His wife Stella, son Peter and grand-daughters Christina, Hannah and Martina provided a source of consolation and inspiration to Keith in his early days at The Chace which he undoubtedly found difficult. Keith was an independent man with strong beliefs and while he recognized that he needed more help, he was clearly saddened by what he felt was being “put out to pasture” and this may have contributed to his frequent bouts of ill-health. He was certainly cheered by the regular cards, letters and parcels from his family and in the final few months of his life, he began to find new interests and revive old ones which helped him come to terms with and enjoy his new life. His delight at being able to grow his prized “runner beans” again was apparent in the way he shared his excitement with friends, family and staff both here and “around the world” as he put it. He took terrifically good care of them and also the other vegetables and flowers that mysteriously began to appear outside his back door. Eventually Keith asked for a hosepipe to be installed as he was finding it impossible to do so many trips with his tiny watering can!
Keith put on record his heartfelt gratitude to staff at The Chace, his doctors and everyone involved in his care for what he termed saving his life. I also know much he appreciated the love and support of his family and whilst we are all saddened by his passing, it is hopefully comforting to know how much his outlook had changed and how much happier he was. We will miss Keith’s determined short walks, his jokes, his willingness to discuss the minutest workings of his innards and his pride in his “world famous” runner beans; most of all, we will miss him.
Doug Stokes BDS Hons, 1928 – 2010
Things that were important to Doug: Personal respect and dignity for self and others. His appearance, personal care, independence, maintaining his self esteem and confidence, contact with his family, long standing friends and colleagues over his rich lifetime.
Doug was a dentist for many decades in his home town. He and his wife, Connie were involved in many clubs and projects that were dear to their hearts. Together and singularly they were dynamic in their approach to life! Doug spoke fondly of his memories of his wife and childhood of his two sons’s, clearly having enjoyed his role in the family with great love and admiration.
To support Doug in maintaining his significant character it was important to draw on his life experiences. Doug was a very well respected professional long standing figure in the community. Through his life he has seen generations grow up and return to his dentist chair with their own children. Whenever Doug was out and about he was met with affection and respect.
We accompanied Doug on regular visits to his now son’s Dental Practice, finding it amusing that he had taught him everything he knows! Doug enjoyed a joke about the witty side of dentistry as shared with an exchange of topical birthday cards from his practising son’s.
The staff after decades of service still referred to him as “Mr Stokes” and made a real fuss of him on attending. It was lovely to see Doug respond to this warmth and certain satisfaction of past years with his loyal staff.
Another clearly meaningful aspect of Doug was his long term friendship with his fellow University pals, who still after all these years got together regularly for lunch sometimes at the home or on trips out. On other occasions they would spend time in Doug’s room.
Doug was always smartly dressed and was said to have had more clothes than his wife! He loved to go to a local outfitter’s and buy clothes, again he was greeted with great warmth and the staff knew his taste and style in clothing. Having spent some money Doug always liked to replenish his cash flow so a trip to the bank to top up would follow. It wasn’t enough to know his son’s would take care of this, Doug was used to being his own man and needed to continue being in charge of his own affairs.
This was demonstrated by a need for Doug to send and receive Christmas cards to family and friends. He would have a steady stream of post and always wanted to respond, as he had done for years before however, this was becoming more difficult for Doug with poor sight and advancing dementia. We enabled Doug to fulfil this task by working with his family to achieve a positive and dignified solution.
Not long before Doug’s condition deteriorated he came along to the local Hydro Pool. Doug was nervous about how he might cope but it was clear he was driven to achieve this, so measures were set in place to enable Doug to return to the water. Doug had loved water sports and often spoke of his enjoyment of this over the years. As Doug progressed in his sessions his confidence returned and he clearly enjoyed the experience of being in the water again. His face was a picture to see as Doug recalled his swimming days! All became clear when his son revealed “ oh yes, didn’t Dad tell you he was a very active member of the local life saving and swimming club for years!” All became clear – that’s what Doug was expressing to us with a charming knowing smile!
