Sparkling clean, but not for long!

I’m not quite sure how it happened, but those clever people in the Fundraising and Marketing Department at the Richmond Home have made the words “Yes of course I will run the BUPA 10k for the Charity” come spilling out of my mouth.  The thing is, that although I do run every week, around 5k in the lovely Bushy Park near Hampton Court or in Richmond Park just across the road from the Home, I have a bit of a block when it comes to distance.  I have a 5k barrier stuck in my head which means that I always stop at the 5k point and find it impossible to push myself further which is fairly frustrating. 

I started running around 2 years ago with my husband and our energetic yellow Labrador, Dixie.  First attempts were with our local Stragglers who were exceptionally patient with me as I brought new meaning to the word Straggler, and we then tried the Saturday 5k Park Run in Bushy Park.

It was really fun to run with so many other people, some dressed quite improbably in tutus and animal outfits.  I came third to last, taking over 40 minutes to stagger/walk through the route.  I was pretty demoralised and vowed to improve my time.  Two years later, I can run the same route in 29 minutes but I feel there is more in me, but my own self-imposed barriers hold me back.  I’m sure this is not uncommon. Tell me this is not uncommon?

So having somehow agreed to run the BUPA 10k, I now need to get serious, so downloaded an app on my iPhone which takes you through a 14-week training programme, using a run/walk exercise 3 times per week.  I have just completed week 1, and was joined on week 1, day 3 by my running buddy Jacky, otherwise known as the Financial Controller at the Richmond Home.  We were treated to motivational quotes such as ‘Motivation is the fire within, only you can light it’ and on a bitterly cold Friday lunchtime, a fire would have been most welcome.

I hope you like my brand new running shoes?  I’m hopeful that the go-faster-stripes on the side and gel cushioning will make all the difference.  Shame they won’t stay looking this clean for long.  Wish me luck, and I’ll provide some updates as I (hopefully) progress.

Pauline Shaw, Director of Care & Service Development

I’m writing Alex’s blog for her at her request because it’s an incredibly tough phase for Air Craftswoman Alex just now.  She has completed Phase 1 of the basic training and for those of you who have been following her blog since she joined the RAF last year and then sustained a pelvic stress injury, she has now reached the week in the programme where last year she regrettably had to stop and go home to rest for a month on sick leave and then return to Halton for a rehabilitation programme.  So this feels like a milestone for Alex and so far so good, all is going well aside from a few back aches which is no surprise given the level of physical activity they do. 

She is now over 4 weeks into the course and had her first local leave weekend.  It was Padre Ruth’s last Service at the RAF Halton church, so on Sunday we joined Alex at church on the base and were able to meet the Padre.  Padres at Halton have a significant counselling and support role, and Padre Ruth has been a source of comfort and friendship for my daughter during some tough times when she has been feeling homesick or worried about anything.  After church, we had a family lunch and a walk, and she said it was so nice to go out and be a ‘civvie’ for a few hours.  We went to Wendover and spent a happy hour in a gallery called Aces High which specialises in Aviation prints and paintings.  We missed an event with veterans of Bomber Command earlier in the day, but enjoyed looking at the pictures of Lancasters, Mosquitos, Spitfires etc.

Then it was back to base so Alex could get on with her daily ironing duties and prepare for the start of Phase 2 of the training where they learn about chemical, nuclear, radiation and biological warfare and how to protect themselves during such an attack.  Part of this is to experience what it is like in a gas chamber, both with a respirator (gas mask) on and then taking it off for enough time to shout out their name, rank and number!  Last time she did this she managed to blurt out everything before leaving the chamber relieved that it was all over.  It’s not perhaps a typical thing for a 22-year-old to be doing on Valentine’s Day!  As a proud mum, I am so inspired by her resilience in getting through these past 6 months where all of her career plans had to be put on hold and where an expected 12 weeks at RAF Halton will have turned into around 9 months.  All the recruits have my respect and I wish them all the very best as they progress through this intensive training.

 Pauline Shaw, Director of Care

Pauline Shaw, Director of Care & Service Development

What sounds unconventional, but makes a lot of common sense?  Wearing pyjamas to work, of course!

Wearing pyjamas to work is not a gimmick or a money-raising strategy for night staff caring for people living with dementia in our Home in Solihull, West Midlands.  It is a practical approach to assist residents in being more aware of the time of day or night and to encourage the comforting evening preparations for bed we usually associate with the end of the day. 

For some people, their dementia leads to a level of confusion about the boundaries between day and night and this can lead to sleeplessness and disorientation.  Staff who work in the evenings and at night wear nightclothes, which helps to prompt and encourage people to prepare for bed so that normal sleep/rest and wake patterns are maintained.  If residents wake in the night, they are supported by people wearing dressing gowns and slippers which is far more reassuring than uniforms or day clothes.  It just seems to make sense!

I must confess it has felt like a brave step forward for Sue, the Solihull Home Manager, and I to go ahead with this strategy.  We were a little unsure how staff would react, however they have of course been wonderful and embraced this new idea with customary passion and enthusiasm. 

It’s not a new concept and although not main stream, there are a number of other high quality, specialist dementia care centres who have also successfully adopted this approach. 

It’s early days – or should I say nights – and we are monitoring the effect on the people living with us; early feedback from all involved is that it’s OK to PJ.

 Pauline Shaw, Director of Care & Service Development

Pauline Shaw, Director of Care & Service Development

To highlight National Dignity Action Day the Richmond and Solihull Homes have   extended this to a week-long initiative aimed at motivating staff to think about any ways in which they take the time with residents to uphold their dignity. This includes treating people as individuals and giving them choice, control, and a greater sense of personal value and purpose in their daily lives.

 Staff do this instinctively through acts of care from the heart and we know that dignity means different things to different people.  It can range from very basic examples such as how we address someone through to the care delivered at the end of someone’s life.  We are asking staff to stop for a moment, reflect on what they do, and to share their thoughts, based on the theme of Taking time to … and then submit their examples into suggestion boxes. The chosen example will be selected on February 8^th and will win a £20 M&S voucher.

Supporting dignity doesn’t just involve residents, but each of us as colleagues also, so the examples given could be written from that perspective.  We all like to be treated with dignity and this is what helps to make a Happy Home.  

Pauline Shaw, Director of Care & Service Development

We’re also going through the programme of General Service Knowledge (GSK) lessons. Again I passed the exam for this last time but it’s always good to go over things and I got 98% in the test this week. I’ve also been helping some of the guys on my Flight to remember the facts and information they need to learn by singing them in stupid voices – humour and learning together seems to work a treat!
 
We had our Day 10 inspection on Saturday morning, which didn’t go brilliantly, but those who passed were able to go to the Day 10 disco in the bar on base. We got our NAAFI passes, which allowed us a total of 3 drinks, but as we were working the next day that’s definitely a good limit.
 
The staff have changed a little since last time I was on Beckett – as the intake is so large we have been split in two (Flight 3 and Flight 4). There’s nothing really different (except of course 3 Flight is better!) but we just have lessons separately so we can fit into the classrooms. One of the girls I was quite close to on McTeague Flight is on 4 Flight, so it’ll be really great for us to graduate on the same day (hopefully on 20th March 2012).
 
I’m a lot more positive with the training this time around (although Physical Training is still a bit of a burden), and I still get very homesick and have wobbles every once in a while – especially when some of the guys don’t communicate properly and things don’t go smoothly – but hopefully they’ll get better at that pretty quickly!
 
Thanks everyone again for all the support, and I hope to keep you all interested for the next 7 weeks of basic training – and then University in Birmingham for the nursing degree programme.
 
AC Doyle

I got back to base on the 4^th of January, and have had a pretty good time since then.  We planned a route to walk in the local woods which was lovely although it did rain pretty heavily on us. Also the maps are dated from 1981 so there were a few changes in the landscape which made it interesting!

We have now been kitted out in the new uniform called PCS (Personal Clothing System) which is the new camouflage – it has lighter colours compared to the old CS 95s. It’s similar to the American uniform in that we don’t have to tuck it in. It is a bit of a faff to iron though!

My responsibility as ‘Senior Woman’ on McTeague Flight has now been passed over to one of the other girls as I am finally going back onto a training flight on Wednesday! So we’re doing a couple of days’ handover from Sunday.

I am so excited about getting back on with training.  I’m obviously a bit nervous about re-injuring myself, and also dreading the PT sessions as they are always the worst bit! But it’ll be really great to start a new chuff chart and get to tick off every day.

I am also delighted to have had it confirmed that I am able to start my nurse training in April. This will mean I’ll do the degree with the Army student nurses as opposed to those from the RAF, but we all do exactly the same course so it’ll make no difference to my overall training. It simply means I can get on with my proper job sooner rather than later.

So I’m starting flight again, feeling much more positive than I was when I first started back in June last year. Thank you to everyone who’s been reading this since the beginning and who has given me their support.  Hopefully I’ll have more interesting topics for you to read about now that I’m going back on flight.

Best wishes to all, Alex

I got a little over-excited at the prospect of Christmas and having some leave… I decorated my locker with fairy lights and tinsel, and had two advent calendars (one chocolate and one pretty one). Every morning I would wake up and call out to the other recruits in the room how many more sleeps we had until we went on leave!

Rehab is going really well and just before I left on Friday 16^th December, I completed the last part of my walk/run programme meaning that I’m now in the ‘Green’ phase – therefore I’m now fit for work, but just building my strength up from now on. I have been given a date to commence training again, which is January 18th. I am so pleased to have reached this point; it has been really tough at times.  I will once again be on ‘Beckett’ flight, so will know some of the staff already, which is really great. If all goes to plan I should be finished basic training (finally) by late March.

Within the last two weeks we went on a walk through the local woods in Halton to a lovely cafe at the top of the hill. It was quite a trek, but we were chatting along the way to each other and to the corporals and it was a great opportunity to get out and about together.

We had a lesson about ‘core stability’ from an officer who used to be a gymnast. The McTeague course is 12 weeks long and then repeats. When I first joined McTeague after returning from sick leave, I did this same class. Therefore I knew all the exercises and was just able to go over them once again. It was interesting to see how I had improved – I was now able to do all of the exercises without any pain!

The highlight of the two weeks was the Christmas Dinner, which was in the mess, but we were served (as tradition states) by officers and some other senior ranks. I had the full Christmas meal and even ate the brussels sprouts, which were really overdone! It was a lovely evening and was fun to have something less serious going on.

We had a carol service on Tuesday last week in church, which was absolutely lovely – I really got into it. There were also mince pies afterwards, a nice treat!

On Wednesday we went on a trip to the National Arboretum in Staffordshire. It was a freezing day, but we walked around the military memorial, which was really moving and beautifully set out. We also specifically visited the RAF section and went to a small hut on one side of the site, which was a memorial to all those who died in camps in the Philippines, China and Japan. It was really emotional as they had videos of those who had survived speaking and information about the atrocities that occurred. It is strange that so few people even knew that it happened during the Second World War.

Thursday and Friday went without comment, and we all said a lovely goodbye to our staff by writing a card and giving them some mince pies. I arrived home by about 6pm and was sooooo happy to be able to relax on the sofa with my Christmas knitting!

Anyway, I wish everyone a really lovely Christmas with family and friends. I hope to see many of you at the Royal Star & Garter at some point over the Christmas period – I’ll definitely be in to visit my grandmother.

Alex

I had a really interesting week last week. We went on a trip to Windsor Castle to see the changing of the guard and look around the castle. I had been there before, but this time I was researching the Military Knights of Windsor (a small group of ex-army officers) who are accommodated in cottages within the castle walls. This meant I had something to focus on and it was a lovely day out (in civilian clothing) and the changing of the guard ceremony was very interesting!

Most of the rest of the week we spent working on a presentation about the trip. We were aiming to have it last around 40 minutes, but when we finally submitted it, it was over an hour long!
 
Thursday evening it was announced that there was to be a new ‘Senior Woman’ for McTeague Flight. This is a role given to a female recruit (there is also a ‘Senior Man’ for the males) who is to ensure that everything is organised within the barrack block and any problems that arise can be dealt with more easily. The senior woman role was given to me!  The flight staff state that I am hard working, keen and organised.

 So far, this has been quite a difficult job, as we have had quite a few inspections! This includes prepping and setting out all of our kit and a full barrack block clean. I had done many of these before, but never as senior woman. On top of doing my own kit and cleaning, I also have the responsibility of checking everyone else’s kit and checking over the block clean. I then walked around the block with the corporal and flight commander and wrote down anything that wasn’t completely correct. It was quite daunting, but helpful to see everything that they are looking for when inspecting.
 
My daily rehabilitation exercises are going well and stepped up again last week, as I started my ‘walk/run’ programme properly. I was walking for 4 minutes, and then running for 1 minute – repeated for 30 minutes. I didn’t have any pain, except for my muscles not being used to that movement at all!
 
We had home leave on the weekend, and I hadn’t been home for around 5 weeks, so it was amazing to get back, have a huge hug from Mum and just relax!
 
I’m looking forward to next week with more running!

Hope you are all well!
Alex

I had a great week last week! I’m feeling really positive about my progression in rehab – I’m finding it easier and easier to do the exercises. I am hoping to move onto the 2nd stage of the rehabilitation process now (there are 3 stages before getting back into training), which means I get to start running again for the first time since August!
 
Obviously the main part of the week was Armistice Day.   On Friday 11^th November all personnel at RAF Halton congregated to pay their respects. The service was very moving and it was wonderful to feel the sense of community and comradeship between us and the respect we have for those who have served in the past. I always get a bit teary eyed when the bugler plays ‘Last Post’ and Friday was no exception.  I understand that the Remembrance Service held at The Royal Star & Garter’s Richmond Home was very moving and was well attended by residents, staff, volunteers and family members.  I was thinking of you all and felt so proud to be associated with you.

 I also volunteered to go to the service on Remembrance Sunday at Westminster Cathedral. This was a real honour to be part of a group representing the RAF and also meant I was able to wear my ‘blues’ (although not my number one uniform as I don’t have that fitted yet).  I joined a group of servicemen and women from many different RAF bases. It was amazing to be out in London in my uniform and really special to be able to pay my respects in such a formal situation to all those who have served in the past. I am hoping to be involved in The Royal Star & Garter’s ceremony next year as this would be more personal. At the end of the service we all sang the first two verses of the National Anthem, which was a little different to a normal church service, however, it was really fitting to the occasion and made me very proud to be there representing the Royal Air Force.
 
During the week we also had theory classes to attend, a group meeting with the Padre who spoke about using your imagination as an aid to recovery, but not to get carried away and worry. We also had a really interesting discussion with one of our corporals about what life is like on a base when we have finished our basic and trade training. It was really great to talk about it and learn about opportunities that are available once out of Halton. It was a meaningful reminder of some of the reasons I joined the RAF in the first place!
 
I hope everyone had a great week and were able to pay their respects on Remembrance Day in whatever way they could.
 
Thanks for reading,

Alex