Hello

When I left school in 1990, during the Summer holidays, I took a job as a care assistant at a residential home in Malvern.

I really enjoyed the work, which was mainly personal care, preparing breakfasts, giving out lunches and taking soup and sandwiches to the residents in the evening. As well as the housekeeping chores, we also spent time with the ladies that lived at the home, helping with jigsaw puzzles or the crossword. They were mainly frail but had their wits about them for sure!

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Then there was Phyllis....

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Always dressed in a 2-piece suit with a satin blouse buttoned up to her neck, smart shoes that buckled at the side. She kept her silvery-greying hair short, with a sweeping side parting. She was never without her handbag, which she carried over her right forearm and contained her straw-stuffed black and white toy dog, which had been her companion since childhood. To my knowledge, Phyllis had never married and she was not regularly visited by any family members if at all. She had been moved from her home into residential care as a result of living with dementia.

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Everyday, she would wait by the front door for her father to return home from work and if you asked her how old she was, she would tell you that she was just 6 years old.

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I regularly took Phyllis to my home after a morning shift, which was a good 20 minute walk away, for a cup of tea and biscuit and then I would walk her back home in time for supper. At the end of an evening shift I loved nothing more than tucking her up in bed and taking her a cup of her favourite bedtime drink, Ovaltine, which she drank from a rattly cup and saucer.

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Although my time with Phyllis was limited to just a few months, she has stayed with me in my thoughts for over 30 years.

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My Music Works is only here because of Phyllis, as without her, I would never have experienced the deep routed desire to help her and now others living with dementia, their families and carers.

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What happened next.....

When I left the residential home at the end of the Summer, I went to college to study business studies, which I did successfully, gaining a HND.

I worked for a few years and then had 2 children, which led me to my main career in education in particular working with children and adults with special education needs. I worked in outreach to raise attainment levels through workshops and interventions and attended the University of Worcester, obtaining a Foundation Degree in Learning Support.

After 12 years in my role, I was made redundant and ended up back in the world of business.

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Then there was Covid....

For me, the pandemic gave me a chance to evaluate where I was going in life and I was able to do something that I'd been wanting to do for a long time, devise a programme that I could use to help

those living with dementia, their families and carers.

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For the last 2 years, I have put all of my skill sets together, got some fantastic training and was eventually ready to launch 'My Music Works', the rest is history!

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Thank you for reading my story, I hope you enjoy learning more about our work on our webpages. If you would like to connect or get in touch, please send me a message on our contact page, here.

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Looking forward to hearing from you,

Zoe