Elizabeth bowled over by Transition Care Program

Elizabeth Jackson could be forgiven for sporting a t-shirt that says “I’ll get over it. I just need to be dramatic first”.

The 76-year-old from Alkimos spent nine weeks in hospital over the festive period and had to miss the entire season of her beloved sport of lawn bowls.

“I went from being fully independent around the home to needing supervision,” Elizabeth said. “It was a bit of a shock to the system.”

Thanks to Juniper’s Transition Care Program (TCP), which provides short term care for up to 12 weeks for customers needing additional support at the end of a hospital visit, Elizabeth now has a clear pathway to making sure she is back on the bowling green next season.

“I am itching to get back to playing bowls,” said Elizabeth who plays with the North Beach Bowling Club. “It’s my social outlet”.

Elizabeth sustained a painful fracture of the femur when she tripped over a bench at the local shopping centre at the end of last year. She spent a week at Joondalup Hospital followed by eight weeks in rehabilitation before becoming a TCP customer.

TCP’s focus is to help people transition from hospital to live independently at home. The program focusses on providing supports that will help people meet their individual goals, like medical, social and therapy support along with personal care, domestic assistance and transport to and from medical appointments.

“It’s really nice in the early days if there’s someone there,” Elizabeth explained. “I am very independent and have my own way of doing things and this allows you to be an individual in your own home while getting the support you need.”

The support Elizabeth receives includes help with showering, managing loads of washing and other housework and collaboration on achieving a set of clearly defined goals.

“My goals were to get off my walking frame, which I’ve been able to do, to get back to playing lawn bowls and table tennis, and to be able to drive again,” said Elizabeth, a mother of three, grandmother of six and a recent great-grandmother.

She added working with a physiotherapist in the hydrotherapy pool at the local State Swim has played a huge part in her recovery journey.

“For me it’s the best thing,” Elizabeth said. “I couldn’t walk when I got home but it’s got me walking again. And mentally, just meeting and talking to people in the pool, it makes me feel as if I’m able to do things again.”

An active member of the Joondalup Chirpy group, Elizabeth also provides support of her own, teaching IT to seniors at libraries in Wanneroo, Clarkson, Yanchep and Girrawheen.

“TCP has really helped me,” she continued. “I’m a very social and positive person and the staff have also been really positive and encouraging. They are always telling me how well I am doing which feels very supportive. It makes you feel you can achieve your goals even if it’s going to take a while.”

Find out more about Juniper’s Transition Care Program here