Jul 2021
Avonbourne Residents Reunited
After not seeing each other for several years, Avonbourne residents and sisters, Joyce and Sylvia, have found themselves living under the same roof once more.
There’s no doubt it’s been a tough 18 months for us all. We’ve been apart from our families and loved ones, and that’s been incredibly difficult. Every so often though, you hear a story that warms your heart, and we think Joyce and Sylvia’s is one of those.
Joyce has been a resident in Bourne House for a while, and earlier this year, unbeknown to either lady, her sister, Sylvia, moved in to Avon Court. As restrictions have gradually eased, we’ve been able to start doing things together with the two households again, which means Joyce and Sylvia have been reunited!
In years gone by, the sisters would phone each other regularly and stayed in touch. Joyce lived in Poole and Sylvia was a fair journey away in London. As time passed and the ladies got older, it became harder to maintain contact. Joyce’s daughter took her up to London to visit Sylvia some years ago but since then, they had not seen each other.
Joyce began to find things harder to manage on her own at home, and so one Christmas came to Avonbourne for a respite stay. She really enjoyed her time here, which made the transition to full time resident much easier for both her and her family.
A favourite family story tells of when Sylvia had worked in London at department store, Marshall & Snelgrove on Oxford Street (later taken over by Debenhams) and would take advantage of her staff discount to buy shoes and make-up. Older sister Joyce would sneak in and help herself to things from Sylvia’s room using older sibling privileges!
With Joyce’s 90th birthday approaching, her daughter hoped to get in touch with Sylvia and bring her down to Salisbury to be part of the celebrations. With no children of her own, Joyce’s family realised how isolated Sylvia had become all the way over in London, and started the journey to move her down to Avonbourne.
Sylvia has now settled in well to her new home, and the sisters are reunited once more. Staff were delighted to be able to surprise the ladies having heard so much about “my sister” from each of them.
Our care team was able to arrange for the two ladies to meet, and Joyce and Sylvia were able to have a good chat together. It was a lovely surprise for both of them. They recognised each other, though couldn’t quite believe they were looking at their sister after so long. Later on, both ladies told their care team all about it and have a photograph of the meeting as a memento. We’re hoping to get them together again soon.