JDA Magazine Paperturn Sept 2024 - Flipbook - Page 24
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THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME JDA!
David Bacon is 79 years old. He lives alone and has no family around to help
him. Here, he explains how JDA has been helping him since he had a fall.
I started coming to JDA on Tuesdays for Dcafe, as
my good friend David Jessel encouraged me to.
I had been on a few outings with JDA, most notably
the sunny trip to Southend last year and recently
the Supreme Court.
But it was at Dcafe where I entered the world of
JDA. It was lovely mixing with other Deaf people
and being part of a social group. I also sometimes
went up to IDSS drop-in for help with phone calls
or paperwork.
One day, I had a bad fall and was admitted to
hospital. The doctor came to check up on me.
But I was alone.
Thankfully, JDA came to the hospital to help me.
Every day, Lisa or Janet visited and communicated
for me with the doctors. They explained to
me what the doctors were saying so I could
understand what was wrong with me.
It became clear that I had additional medical
needs, which I would not have understood without
their help. Life felt very complicated for me. I felt
overwhelmed and frustrated with everything.
Janet stood by my side and supported me every
step of the way.
While I was in hospital, my dear friend David Jessel
visited me regularly. Sometimes Brinthan would
also pop in. It was nice to see di昀昀erent faces and
have good chats.
When I was ready, Janet arranged for me to be
safely discharged from hospital and made sure
I had everything I needed at home. She helped
me understand how to take the right medication
at the right times, to keep my health issues under
control.
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JDATogether — Issue 48 — September 2024
▲ David when he 昀椀rst came home from
hospital
The day after I left hospital, I went out on the JDA
outing to Brent Cross. I should have been taking
it easy at home, but no way was I going to be
isolated again — I wanted to mix with Deaf people,
which made me feel happy.
After this, Janet then helped me to arrange
a relaxing holiday — a week’s cruise from
Southampton to Norway and back. It was a lovely
week with my pal David Jessel. I needed this,
thank you Janet!
