The sessions, held monthly at Woking Hospice, provide an opportunity for people with MND to meet others in the same situation while enjoying tea and cake, all in a relaxed and friendly environment.
Support is also provided by nurses, volunteers and complementary therapists, allowing patients to access treatment to relieve their symptoms.
Organised by Cherry Aldred and Tracy Whyte, part of the occupational therapy and physiotherapy teams, the sessions feature talks from a variety of speakers, including representatives from the Queen Elizabeth Foundation for Disabled People, the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and a carer practise advisor from social services.
Having been launched in January, the sessions will now run until the end of the year, and Cherry Aldred is hopeful that the programme can be extended beyond that.
“The sessions have been very successful so far so we’re pleased they’ll be continuing as we’ve received really positive feedback from the patients and carers who have been coming each month,” she said.
“Our services are all free but we couldn’t do things like this without all the generous donations we receive and we hope Tea for Me can be an ongoing project after the end of the year too.”
Charlie Durden, who was diagnosed with MND in October 2014, attends the sessions every month following a recommendation from his physiotherapist. He said that the experience had helped him come to terms with the disease.
“Coming to these sessions helps me understand MND better; I’m not afraid anymore,” he explained. “It gave me the chance to talk to people in the same situation as myself, I’ve met people who are at different stages of the disease, some are further along than me and others are more newly diagnosed and it makes me less frightened. We all help each other.”
For further information about the Tea for Me sessions please call 01483 881750 to speak to someone from the physiotherapy or occupational therapy Teams or visit the Woking & Sam Beare Hospices website.
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