WHEN nurse Roxana Whiteman’s friend was diagnosed with dementia, she wanted to do everything she could to help him and others who suffer from the debilitating condition.
So she established Uncover, a social enterprise which helps transform the lives of people suffering from dementia and other long term conditions including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, depression and other mental health problems.
Uncover provides activities such as art, music and dance to people with dementia in care homes across the Dearne Valley.
The workshops include intellectual, physical, social and spiritual activities which aim to bring out people’s talents through sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch and balance.
Roxana, who was born in Bucharest, Romania, and graduated from Sheffield Hallam University, said: “I feel really emotional about the nomination. I really can’t believe it and don’t have any words to describe how I feel. I do what I do because I care and want to make a difference to people’s lives. Having people recognise this is just amazing.”
Roxana’s inspiration was her friend Gareth Wilmot, who was just 36 when he was diagnosed with fronto-temoporal dementia with Pick’s disease. He is now in a care home.
Roxana, 40, of Melton Avenue, Goldthorpe, added: “The ethos is community cohesion and holistic care. Uncover is the idea of changing, supporting and helping my community and it started when I found out Gareth was living in a care home.
“It scared me because of what Gareth and I have in common; we are the same age, our birthdays are days apart. Here I was in university and here was Gareth having to live the rest of his life in a care home.
“It’s a very daunting thing, and he hadn’t asked for this illness, it just took over him. And I thought it could be me.
“So I wanted to set up good standards of care. Gareth’s mum and dad, Lesley and Graham, have fought so hard to raise the stigma that it’s not an illness just associated with old people but can happen to anyone.”
Roxana goes that extra mile by helping people in others ways too. One lady in a care home asked Roxana to bring her a doll which she could hold. So Roxana did, and they reminisced about why the lady loved the doll so much. When the lady later died, Roxana learned she died clutching the doll.
Roxana has been nominated by Gareth’s parents and by Kathy Markwick, whom she helps run the Superjam Tea Parties. The monthly tea dances are organised especially for lonely, elderly or socially isolated people. It gives them a chance to meet and chat with other like-minded people, have a dance and even get treated to sandwiches, tea and scones. Many of the people have forgotten how to talk or laugh, but not how to dance and Roxana always invites them on to the dance floor.
Read more in this weeks Barnsley Chronicle
