Priory Ogilvie supports Chrissie with physical and mental wellbeing
Chrissie is diagnosed with a number of conditions including binge eating disorder and is also on the autism spectrum. Before coming to Ogilvie, she was in a supported living placement where she was left to her own devices and therefore gained a significant amount of weight.
Chrissie transferred to Ogilvie with the support of her mum, our deputy manager, and her social worker, who were all involved in the transition. Her mum stayed with Chrissie for the whole day to ensure she settled in, and they were both introduced to the house staff team, who spent some time with Chrissie to help her familiarise her to the new home.
Our new resident was very quiet and dismissive when she first arrived, due to the fear of the unknown, and new surroundings that were out of her routine. She would often refuse to carry out any form of exercise and soon started to have psychogenic non-epileptic seizures whenever she was due to do exercise, or anything else she was not keen on doing. We soon realised that the seizures she was presenting with were avoidance behaviour.
Chrissie needed full support with personal care including undressing, washing, drying, re-dressing, fetching items for personal care, oral care and hair washing and drying. Chrissie was initially unable to complete her laundry or clean her bedroom. She also needed support with her finances, medication, and preparing meals.
Dedicated team input
Eventually, with the help of physiotherapy, soft introduction to light walking exercises, and support from a dietician with a low calorie diet, Chrissie began to lose weight, and since being with us, she has now lost nearly 100kg. This has enabled Chrissie to move around easier, albeit still using her walking frame most of the time.
Chrissie can now do her own washing and is able to brush her teeth twice a day with staff prompts. Chrissie also helps staff to make her own bed and clean her room. We recently went on holiday and Chrissie was able to walk around the caravan without her walker and made a coffee for the very first time, with staff support.
On the whole, Chrissie is much more confident in herself and is much happier. She continues to work hard at losing weight and expresses a wish to stay as a resident at Ogilvie as she feels that without the support, she will go back to her old way of life. Chrissie’s goals are to spend a weekend with her parents at her family home, visit Harry Potter World, and to get a new tattoo with her sister, once her skin integrity is better and sustained.
Chrissie’s mum is always thankful for the care her daughter receives from the staff at Ogilvie and is always impressed with how far Chrissie has come and how much confidence she now has. Her mum stated that she can “see the old Chrissie coming back”, which is a compliment to the staff at Ogilvie Court.
*Image changed to protect identity