Tony Whittle was diagnosed with multiple-system atrophy (MSA), a rare neurological disorder similar to Parkinson’s disease, in March 2013. It looked like Tony’s illness might prevent him from attending his son Joe’s wedding, as he needed an operation three days before the big day – but hospice and hospital staff made sure he made it to the church.
Tony’s illness affected him gradually at first, but over the past 12 months he has needed more and more care. His wife Claire says: “MSA affects the body much like motor neurone disease. It becomes increasingly difficult to walk and move around, to self-care, to speak and to swallow.”
As Tony’s symptoms deteriorated, his GP referred him to Marie Curie, and a clinical nurse specialist from the Marie Curie Hospice, West Midlands came to see how they were doing. “That was the first big thing, the community hospice nurse coming in to us”, says Claire. “She helped source lots of things we needed and co-ordinated the other people who cared for Tony such as the physio and the occupational therapist. That was really, really helpful.”
Tony soon started going to the hospice as a day patient, something he really enjoys. Claire says: “It is very sociable – very jolly and very upbeat. There are some real characters there. They’ll go into the garden, have some lunch, do quizzes and have various visits. There was even a guy who came who brought his dog for pet therapy… it was brilliant.”
Read on at the Marie Curie website here >> https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/blog/how-co-ordinated-care-got-tony-to-the-church-on-time/141710?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialorganic&utm_campaign=whatwedo&utm_content=msa010816