Baptistcare home care services helps Melville couple stay independent
Baptistcare home care services helps Melville couple Wally and Beth Meacock remain at home and stay connected to their family.
Scroll to Explore
04 July 2021
News
| Home Care
Baptistcare home care services helps Melville couple Wally and Beth Meacock remain at home with support and care, so they can stay connected to their family at such an important stage in their lives.
Baptistcare Home Care is all-important to 88-year old Wally Meacock, whose philosophy is to remain active and connected to family and friends as he gets older. This is a philosophy Wally wholeheartedly embraces.
The octogenarian starts every day with a 6:00 am swim with his fellow Port Beach Polar Bears in North Fremantle.
Every Thursday, he plays 18 holes of golf, and each month he visits his local Probus Club to catch up with friends or listen to a guest speaker.
But keeping fit and in touch with mates started to become more challenging a few years ago when Beth, his beloved wife of 67 years, began to develop dementia.
“It became difficult to care for Beth on my own, and while I would do anything for her, we decided that we needed to get some help,” said Wally.
That help came in the form of a dedicated Baptistcare Customer Engagement Consultant who helped guide Beth and Wally through the process of finding the right level of home care through Baptistcare Home Care.
Baptistcare Home Care team members now visit regularly to help Beth (also 88) with personal care and social issues and prepare meals, cleaning, gardening, and home maintenance.
“Arranging for home care has given me my independence back, and I can continue to do the things I love knowing that Beth is well looked after,” said Wally.
“It has also been comforting to know she is in good company. I often come home to Beth teaching our support worker to knit and discuss her favourite recipes.”
Wally and Beth first met when they enrolled at the former Claremont Teachers College.
They bonded through a love of learning which had seen them both excel and skip a year of secondary school.
Marrying in 1954, the passionate educators taught at many schools across Western Australia, with Wally eventually becoming a principal and a Superintendent of Education.
Over the years, Wally and Beth have grown a happy, healthy, and prosperous family of four sons, ten grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
“For Beth and I, being able to remain at home with support and care means we can stay connected to our family at such an important stage in our lives,” said Wally.
If you or a loved one would like some support at home, follow this link for more information about Baptistcare Home Care or contact us on 1300 275 227.