Francis’ journey with Bluebird Care

Bluebird Care have always provided a professional service, but more than that, it’s a friendly service. There’s a softness about them, I truly believe that Bluebird Care really care for the people they look after. 

The support they provide is tailored to the individual. It could be they provide personal care. Or it could be they put on their wellies to check the fences with Tom, who keeps two cows in the field, and they talk to him about farming, or they meet Jim, waiting at his back door on a Monday afternoon, and drive him into town to go to the mart or pick up a bag of meal. 

I say to the person with dementia: ‘how do you feel about meeting a new friend?’

My dad was a genuinely nice person. He serviced telephone kiosks and went to mass every day before he went to work. Thursday was pay day and he handed over his wages to mam to provide for the family. 

Bluebird Care cared for him for a few years. They read Ireland’s Own magazine to him, he always loved that. He loved fishing and they took him out for a spin to the River Moy to see the fishermen. They took him to the golf club where he’d pick up stray golf balls, and they practiced putting with him when he couldn’t play any more. 

I remember one day mam called and said: ‘I’ve just come home to the loveliest smell.’ Dad and Maureen, the carer, had baked bread. When mam came in the two of them were sitting at the table having a big lump of bread with butter and jam. 

I think the carers deserve huge recognition for the work they do. You cannot put a value on it. Caring for a stranger is a vocation. They know when they walk away from that house that they have made a difference to that person’s day. They become an extended part of the family and help people to live the best life they can.