David has lived at Meath Supported Living accommodation with his housemates in central Godalming for over 8 years. He lives with epilepsy and has dystonia which he acquired at the age of 17 months following a stroke. While medication helps to manage his epilepsy, he works hard at maintaining a busy but balanced lifestyle. Adept at managing his seizures and dystonia, he is equally capable of pursuing his many varied interest and enjoys a busy life. Both epilepsy and dystonia cannot be cured. Therefore David is pleased to make the most of the many opportunities he has, to benefit from the support on offer at The Meath. Impressively, he also finds time to volunteer locally, alongside his hobby of drawing and painting.
“I’m very happy with my current lifestyle and home in Godalming. Godalming is great for charity shops which I’m a big fan of. It’s also well situated for trips to the seaside. I have a very close family with plenty of contact and I get on well with my housemates. Drawing and paintings are a passion of mine, alongside going on local walks. Adult education and volunteering, keep me busy and I enjoy gym sessions at The Meath. My volunteering at Brooklands Museum indulges my lifelong love of cars and mechanics. I am also a keen art lover. “
Attending The Meath gym for regular, tailored workouts has been a great support to David since he moved to Meath Supported Living. David has a weaker side to his body and limited use of his right arm. Therefore building and maintaining core strength is of particular importance to him. His workouts at the onsite gym include vital muscle stretching and are a great support to him for pain management and in helping him to maintain an active lifestyle.
David also finds The Meath’s the dedicated sensory and treatment room of huge benefit. David commented that
“having a dedicated space is so relaxing, I really benefit from my Indian Head Massage appointments each week. Often, I can go in feeling quite stressed, but I always feel more relaxed afterwards. It won’t help with the muscle pain and tension directly caused by my dystonia but often my other side is tense from compensating for my weaker side, so it helps with that. I’m grateful for all the support I get and having the sensory room and complementary therapies has made such a difference. My dystonia and epilepsy won’t ever go away but my sessions in the sensory room help take my mind off them.”
It’s great to see David maintaining an active lifestyle and benefiting from The Meath’s support to maximise his wellbeing. However, so too is having the mental and physical space for art and creativity. Drawing and painting play an integral role in David’s wellbeing. While much of David’s work is created individually at home, he also enjoys using creative session time at the Skills Centre. David is proud to have had his works exhibited at Godalming Museum and Cranleigh Arts Centre. He was also thrilled when Meath Patron Michael More-Molyneux, Lord Lieutenant of Surrey commissioned him to create a design for his official Christmas Card. David commented