‘I wasn’t just being cared for – I felt like I mattered’

Rosemary Crouch, 80, shares how a three-week stay at West View Integrated Care Centre didn’t just help her to walk again, but gave her the confidence to get back to living her life.

It was early evening on 31 December 2023, while the rest of the country was getting ready to welcome in the New Year, that Rosemary struggled to take a breath.

Panicking, she raised the alarm to her neighbours, who called an ambulance. Rosemary was  admitted to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, where it was confirmed she had pneumonia and an undiagnosed heart condition.

Living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Rosemary understood the effects of the condition on her breathing, but she generally hadn’t felt herself for months. Struggling with low mood and anxiety, she had lost a lot of weight along with her confidence after a series of traumatic life events.

Rosemary says: “Anyone who knows me will say I am usually incredibly independent. I’ve always done everything myself, the shopping, driving, just getting on with things.

“I lost my first husband when I was just 29 and brought up two small boys alone. Consequently, I developed a self-sufficient way of being and I never liked people doing things for me.

“When I remarried I had a successful career as a bank clerk in different London companies. But I then lost my second husband and got through very serious breast cancer, by having a double mastectomy, 11 years ago. It rocked me, but I carried on regardless.

“But, for about a year before I was admitted to hospital, I started to worry about seeing people and going out, I felt quite isolated and lost a lot of weight. When I was taken to hospital, my anxiety was through the roof.

“The nursing staff were really lovely, but I had a few scary experiences, as my legs were weak. I fell in hospital and smashed my face, which dented my confidence again.”

Rosemary recovered from pneumonia, but the infection left her struggling to walk. After three weeks at QEQM, she was admitted to West View’s Benenden East Ward for rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation at West View

She continues: “Being needy wasn’t ‘me’, so I just sat in my room on the first day and didn’t talk to anyone.

“A really kind physiotherapist called Steve came to see me the next day and before he even prescribed exercises, he just sat and listened to me.

“I was able to share my feelings and tell him the shame I felt at not being able to do things for myself. I can’t remember exactly what he said, but I know his words meant the world to me. He really changed my outlook.

“From that first meeting, I grew not just a determination to walk again, but a determination to get back to living.”

Steven Yeates, the Physiotherapist who worked with Rosemary, said: “At West View it is a team approach, because everybody’s role makes a difference to achieving a successful outcome.

“Rosemary initially admitted that her confidence and mood were low, due to a traumatic time in hospital. Thankfully she responded very well to a gentle approach, having a chance to express herself openly about her worries and fears, as well as time to recover her confidence and physical wellbeing in a safe environment.”

Rosemary engaged with all of the exercises she needed to and was soon walking with a frame, and eventually a stick. She also immersed herself in the social side of the unit, spending time playing games in the lounge, making friends with residents and enjoying learning about a healthy diet with a dietician.

She said: “It’s so hard to express the feelings that came over me during my stay there. I just felt so serenely calm.

“The courtesy of everyone, from my dietician to the nursing staff who would chat with me in my room, I can honestly say, was just wonderful. Even when I was given medication, the staff took the time to help me to understand what the drugs were for and why they were important.”

She explains: “I was discharged three weeks ago and am able to do a lot of things myself now. I am settled back at home and finally feel quite independent again.

“There is still a long way to go, I am not yet driving and my son orders my food shopping online for me, but I will get there eventually.

“At West View, I didn’t just feel cared for, I felt like I mattered. Everyone there just made me feel so comfortable. That meant I could stop worrying and feeling anxious, and get on with recovery.”