'I'm so relieved by news Oakridge will not close after all'

9 December 2015

A 91 year-old disabled man who sold his house to live near his sick wife at Oakridge Nursing Home has spoken of his “utter relief” to hear the facility has been saved.

Herbie Steele, who has been blind for 30 years, said he had spent two weeks worrying about the future since hearing the Ballynahinch home would close for financial reasons.

He said he was therefore delighted to hear on Friday that the home is to be sold, securing accommodation for 59 residents and the employment of 74 staff. Herbie said the news means he too will not have to move home.

For the retired builders’ merchant bought a house opposite the Ballynahinch care home a year ago so he could regularly visit 88 year-old Aileen — his wife of 67 years.

Aileen, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2008, was admitted to the Magheraknock Road facility, which specialises in dementia care, two-and-a-half years ago.

While moving house to be near her was challenging because of his own mobility issues, Herbie said he felt he had no choice because of how much he missed her.

Thanks to the help of a neighbour who leads him across the road to the gates of Oakridge, Herbie says he now sees Aileen up to five times per week, bringing with him photographs of their lives together and relishing rare moments of recognition.

He said these visits are so much part of his life that he reacted with horror when he heard on the radio that Oakridge was to close.

“It worried me very much to hear Oakridge would close because she is so well looked after,” said Herbie. “I am so relieved by news that it will not close after all.”

Four Seasons Health Care, which owns the Magheraknock Road facility, confirmed on Friday that it is in negotiations with Spa Nursing Home Group.

Although a number of legal issues need to be resolved before the transfer is complete, the company said all parties are working to make the process as swift possible.

Herbie said this news immediately eased his fear that his huge decision to move from Killinchy to Ballynahinch would have been wasted if his wife had been forced to move.

Although he admits he was reluctant to admit her to a home despite the advice of medical staff, he says she is so well looked after he now believes Oakridge is the right place for her.

“Aileen is safe and well looked after,” he said.

“Before I moved to Ballynahinch I saw her twice a week as I depended on taxis. I missed her and decided to move because it would be so much handier.

“Now I I can see her so much more.

Herbie also believes it is now his turn to look after the woman he fell in love with at a street party celebrating the end of World War Two in May 1945.

Remembering their meeting outside a VE Day dance in Ballynahinch as “love at first sight”, Herbie says he was smitten once he realised Aileen’s personality matched her good looks and said he has felt exactly the same way about her ever since.

Although Aileen’s memory is now lost to dementia, Herbie says he enjoys reminiscing about their lives since meeting in the euphoric celebrations to signal the end of war.

“It was a great relief to find out the war in Europe had ended and there was a great atmosphere that night,” he recalls.

“I walked Aileen home and we married three years later. She showed her strength of character by looking after me exceptionally well when my sight failed. She was lovely, a fit capable person.”

Grateful for the care Aileen gave him when he dealt with the devastating blow that he was losing his vision in the 1980s, the retired builders’ merchant said he must now return that care.

“Now it is my turn to look after her as best I can,” he said.

Tweets by @TheDownRecorder