The Adorable Jean’s Story

My nephew is typing this for me due to my arthritis,

I’m Jean and I am 92 yrs young and I’m still reasonably fit apart from a my arthritis.

I still do my own housework except I need help changing the bed now and I still go for my own shopping with my nephew. I use the supermarket trolley as a bit of a Zimmer.

I lost my partner Helen to Dementia 20 yrs. ago and still miss her terribly, we were inseparable we were both in the Women’s Air Force and were stationed at the famous Bletchley Park, I can’t say what we did as I guess it’s still classified but suffice it to say it was clerical but hush hush.

Neither of us knew what a gay relationship was. We were only 18 and 19 and back then it was never talked about in polite society but we knew for sure we did not want to accept any of the advances from the men who were constantly trying to chat us up as we were a pair of very smart girls in our day.

We would talk for hours about our feelings for one another and eventually on a weekend away things progressed to a closer relationship which, when we went back to barracks, we just quietly kept it to ourselves as it would most definitely have been frowned upon back in those days.

Old Queen Victoria had said many years previously she wouldn’t make lesbianism against the law as she just couldn’t imagine that two ladies would indulge in such activities, WELL as we got more and more into our relationship, we surely proved the old queen wrong.

My nephew who is quite broad-minded is blushing at this point, bless him.

So back to Helen, she suffered from Dementia for the last 16 yrs. of her life. She was a teacher, and I was a landscape gardener, she lived here with me in Bonny Scotland where we had both been avid walkers trying to keep ourselves healthy along with enjoying the scenery as Helen enjoyed a little photography.

Caring for Helen was a learning curve for me, but I was quite resilient and determined to care for her no matter how difficult things got and now with hindsight many of us know how difficult it can get.

Not really wanting to reminisce in detail about those heartfelt times but I would just like to say to you all.

Love will get you through, Stay Strong but if you’re struggling get professional help or maybe talk to the group to see if other members have the answer to your questions, as caring for someone with Alzheimer’s can have serious effects on your health too.

Do not let the situation you find yourself in fester try and keep on top of things, so they don’t turn into something that gets out of control.

I’ve enjoyed talking about Helen it has brought back many happy memories, bless you all at GGAT for giving me this opportunity, and my heartfelt prayers go to anyone who is caring for a loved one right now, stay strong.