A Gift Horse?

‘I had to drive to a local hospital to collect a gentleman who I was going to be supporting in his new home. When I arrived at the hospital, I had to reverse the car and park as close to the entrance as possible because this gentleman was so frightened to walk the short distance to the car park. This anxiety was the result of being bullied all his life because of his learning disability. It was genuinely heartbreaking to see!

My best day has to be the first time I spent a full day out in the community with this particular gentleman. We set off for the local garden centre, and then from there we travelled to the beach and he saw some donkeys. This was the first time I realised that he loved animals, so we decided to visit the nearby horse sanctuary and finally to finish the day we popped into a pub for a meal. The day just flew by and we were late back! In the early days, for him to be out of the house for an hour was a big thing, for the whole day was a massive achievement. When we arrived back, he gently touched my arm and said: ‘thank you’. I still remember this moment now and what an amazing feeling it was. From that day on we were out all the time!  We’ve been to the zoo, dog kennels, rescue centres, the beach and even seen Coronation Street being filmed!’