I was Director of Nursing at Eskleigh from 1982-2001. At that time there were 62 residents, and it was a home for persons with disabilities. Huntingtons Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, acquired brain injuries, and Cerebral Palsy were some of the disabilities we cared for.
In 1993 the Huntingtons disease gene was discovered and for people at risk, a predictive test became available.
My colleagues for most of my tenure were Pat Curran (CEO) and Peter Johnson (Medical Officer) and they were great guides and mentors to me.
Upgrades to the entire ground level of the building occurred from the mid-1980s thus leading to an overall reduction of residents to 42. Two Group Homes, one at Longford and the second at Kings Meadows was opened in 1988 and 1989.
This was an exciting time as I saw 8 residents reintegrated into the community. Our initial success in these moves was the staff as they were chosen from Eskleigh by me, Pat Curran and the residents.
One resident made it his job to be my chief informant. Anything pertaining to staff he reported to me upon my arrival each day.
He knew our families' names, what cars we drove and loved to watch any of the rebuilding over the years. My funniest memory of him was me introducing him to our new spa bath, but there was no way he was "getting into that bloody washing machine".
Karen lived at Eskleigh for more than 30 years She was severely visually and hearing impaired but corresponded with friends using her braille typewriter and later a computer. Karen was never without her knitting. She made socks for staff and on one occasion decided Dr. Johnson needed a new jumper for golf. This required him to remove his jacket to enable her to get precise measurements. The finished garment as a perfect fit.
We had our first official pet, a German Shepherd named Chloe. She was very protective of all our residents. One day I heard a commotion outside my office and found the Catholic priest looking very frightened and saying a large dog was chasing him. Chloe was ambling along behind him in a friendly manner and wagging her tail. She was very perceptive of the residents' abilities and disabilities. Don had multiple sclerosis, and Chloe always went to his right side for a pat.
During my time at Eskleigh my family shared lots of activities with the residents thus giving them a good insight into how lives are not all the same.
I enjoyed my years there and look forward to a visit soon.
Cheers
Colleen
