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Shirley Batour's page
Created by Joelle
Shirley's updates
Hello all, thank you for checking in on Shirley, scroll down to below for the most recent update! After having surgery to remove a brain tumour, Shirley suffered from multiple brain traumas and unfortunately was
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27/04/2022
Update
Hi everyone, sorry it’s been so long since I’ve updated you all! I’ve recently started working so fi...nding time and space to write an update has been difficult but I want to assure you that Mum is doing well and has settled into her care home nicely. It feels like lots has happened since our last update, about 2 months ago Shirley contracted Covid but luckily (and with no surprise) fought it like a trooper! She showed no symptoms and only tested positive for a few days. We’re confident in saying that Mum has settled into Uplands and is comfortable being cared for by the lovely, wonderful staff there. She spends her time sat downstairs with other residents watching TV, being visited by friends and family and attends Chair Zumba classes every Wednesday and Friday with fellow residents Victoria and Michael.
Mum has been approved for full care coverage which is great news and it has been confirmed that Uplands are able to meet her care needs, therefore she will be living there for the foreseeable future. She will be assessed yearly but we don’t expect her to be moving anywhere anytime soon. We are currently applying for her to get maintenance therapy as we’d like her to have regular physiotherapy sessions. She has a visitor mostly everyday (usually a family member) we spend our time with her chatting, caring, watching TV and now that the weather is warming up, taking her outside onto the decking. We hope to get her out onto the decking more regularly so hopefully by summer, she’ll feel comfortable enough for a trip to the seafront.
Whenever we see Mum we make sure to pamper her how we know she’d want, making sure her skin is soft and nails are painted so she looks as fabulous as usual. We recently gave her a big pamper session and with the help of Leanne (one of Mum’s nurses) dyed out her greys which we all knew she would have hated! She’s now back to looking like her young glamorous self with not a grey hair in sight! Her hair is growing out very quickly (as you can see in the photos) so we are also looking to book her in for a haircut soon.
We are opening Mum’s social circle to anyone who’d like to visit! She has been visited by a few friends and work colleagues already and undoubtedly loved it; We know she’d like to spend time with everyone so if you would like to visit Mum please just message me or my Dad (numbers at the end) so we can organise a date for you! On the first visit, either my Dad or I are happy to come along and after that if you’re happy to do so, you’re welcome to visit as and when you wish. Visiting hours are generally from 14:30-20:30 but please check in with us first.
Finally, as we know Mum will be residing at Uplands permanently we are planning on personalising her room and decorating it to make it feel more homely. If you’d like to send her flowers, photos, cards etc. you can send it to her address: Shirley Batour, 27-31 Cobham Rd, Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend-on-Sea, SS0 8EG.
Joëlle (daughter): 07544386990
Jean-Noël (husband): 07914400272 Read moreless
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27/04/2022
A new photo was added to Joelle Batour's Album
Mum on Easter sunday, very yellow and spring ready!
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Maxine Brewster
22/02/2022
Hi Shirley, you've been in my thoug …
1
Joanne Bender
22/02/2022
Hi Shirley, remembering all the nig …
1
Nikki Kershaw
15/02/2022
Dear Shirley I hope you have sett …
1
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Andli Litt
05/02/2022
Hey Shirley Glad your doing wel …
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Anne Mullen
31/01/2022
Jill has updated our circle of frie …
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Michelle Savage
30/01/2022
Hi Shirley, We went to school to …
3
04/02/2022
Update
Hi all, thank you so much for checking in on Shirley. We are sorry that it’s been so long since we l...ast put up an update, the Christmas period wasn’t the easiest for us not being able to visit Mum but we are glad to say that visiting restrictions have eased and we will be visiting her this weekend for the first time in 2 months! A few weeks ago we had a meeting with Shirley’s therapists and doctors to discuss the results of her SMART assessment, we are sorry not to have updated you all sooner with these results but we felt we needed time to process this first as a family before sharing, I hope you understand.
As previously mentioned, Shirley has PDOC (Prolonged Disorder of Consciousness) and the SMART assessment was conducted to assess her levels of awareness and consciousness. Shirley has been classed as ‘Minimally Conscious Minus’: this means that she has wakefulness and very low-level awareness. By low-level awareness we mean that if you hold something in front of her, her eyes will move to look towards it, if there was a loud crash she would flinch in response, if you touch her arm her eyes will open etc. However, unfortunately she isn’t showing any signs of conscious response. Because her level of awareness is so low, she is unable to reach consciousness and so, remains unconscious.
Although we will continue to encourage her, the chance of her regaining consciousness is highly unlikely as the brain makes the majority of its repairs within the first few months after injury, so the doctors are not expecting any further developments. She also recently went for an EEG and the results of this scan aligned with the results of the SMART assessment, that she’s unable to reach consciousness. Her assessment also found that she is most responsive to visual stimulation and most likely has a visual impairment on her right side as she struggles to move her eyes to the right and instead often turns her eyes/head to the left. This wasn’t the news that we were hoping for and understandably, we are all very upset and are very sorry to share this news with you.
Now that her time in rehab has ended, she is entering her next chapter where our new focus will be her quality of life. On February 8th she is moving to Uplands care home in Westcliff-on-Sea, if they can confirm a bed for her to remain there long-term then this will be where Shirley will reside full time (we suspect this will be the case). Uplands currently cares for other patients with the same condition as Mum so we are comforted to know that she will be well looked after and are also so happy she will be much closer to us! Also, Uplands is only a minute’s walk to the seafront so we can’t wait until we can take her outside to smell the salty sea air once it gets a bit warmer!
Once she’s settled in and we find out about Upland’s visiting policies, I will post an update about visitations so you can organise to visit and spend time with Mum when and as you please. We would recommend that one of us come with you for the first time, as it can be quite overwhelming to see Mum in such a different environment. However long-term, we really look forward to everyone being able to visit and spend time with Shirley much more often/casually because we all know how she loves a chat and a gossip!
Although Shirley isn’t the same woman she was before, of course we know she’s loved just as much and remains as wonderful as ever. We can’t wait to see her this weekend and give her a big hug and catch up on all the pampering she’s been missing out on over the last 2 months. We still welcome you to write messages of support on here so we can read them to her and now that we know she responds best to visual stimulation, encourage you to upload any photos you may have with Mum! (To do so you'll need to sign up with a comment account). If you wanted to send a voice note or organise a facetime while we wait for her to move and settle into Uplands, please just text me (her daughter, Joëlle) on 07544386990.Read moreless
05/02/2022
jean noel batour Keep fighting, be strong, we have you and we, all of us will be there for you, my boo x
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jean noel batour
24/01/2022
Only you can make this world seem r …
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jean noel batour
22/12/2021
Be strong, be determined, be courag …
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Jennifer Marchand
19/12/2021
Nous pensons très fort à vous, et n …
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14/12/2021
A new photo was added to Joelle Batour's Album
One of the lovely rooms at RHN where we spend time with Shirley when visiting
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14/12/2021
A new photo was added to Joelle Batour's Album
Painted mum's nails last week so she's still as glam as ever
14/12/2021
Update
Hi all, thank you for checking in on Shirley. Shirley's SMART and WHIM assessments are underway and ...the therapists are continuing to assess her, we'll let you know once we get updates on their results. Shirley has been started on new medication to help stimulate her brain and help encourage her to sleep more during the night and stay awake and alert during the day, we are hoping they will help with her level of awareness. To allow time for her to adjust to these new medications her working discharge date has been extended by 2 weeks, so it is now written in for February 1st. Over the last few weeks, Shirley has been visited by close family members and has been enjoying spending time with them, sitting downstairs admiring the wonderful Christmas decorations and has even braved a few minutes outside to catch some (cold) fresh air!
Another point to mention is that we were made aware that unfortunately another patient on Shirley's ward tested positive for Covid-19 and therefore to help protect Mum and everyone else on the ward, visiting has been suspended until further notice. Although this isn't ideal, we are comforted to know RHN are acting swiftly and sensibly to ensure everyone's safety. We're hoping to still be able to visit her over the Christmas break, but more updates to come!
As always if you'd like to send voice notes or call Shirley, just message me directly (Joëlle, 07544386990) and we encourage you to upload photos and messages of support here so we can share them with Mum. You are also welcome to send Shirley cards, please address them to: 'Shirley Batour, Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, Devonshire Ward, West Hill, Putney, London SW15 3SW'.Read moreless
15/12/2021
Lisa Carpenter It’s lovely to hear that Shirley has been visited by family members as this must lift her spirits and aid in her recovery.
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Norma Wyngard
03/12/2021
Hi Shirley, As usual the Barn is s …
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Lisa Carpenter
03/12/2021
Hello Shirley, Keep strong and pu …
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Anne Mullen
23/11/2021
Hi Shirley. I am a friend of Jill L …
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03/12/2021
Joelle Batour Absolutely love this photo Lisa, thanks so much for sharing!! Will show it to mum when we visit next xx
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02/12/2021
Update
Hello all, thank you for checking in on Shirley. After leaving Queen’s hospital on November 9th, Shi...rley has been staying at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability for just over three weeks now where she has started her rehabilitation journey. She is constantly being assessed by the RHN team and following a meeting our family had with them earlier this week, we have some updates.
Shirley's prognosis is that she has PDOC: ‘Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness’ (please feel free to google this for a better understanding). Consciousness requires both wakefulness and awareness. At the present moment, we know she opens her eyes and has sleep cycles and therefore shows wakefulness. However, it isn’t clear what her level of awareness is. Therefore, over the next month she’ll be undergoing a SMART and WHIM assessment (again, feel free to google) and hopefully these will determine whether her responses are natural reflexes or genuine responses. She is also scheduled in for an EEG. During these evaluations Shirley’s communication skills will also be assessed and if they conclude she does have awareness, there will be an aim to establish a consistent/reliable means by which she can communicate us and of course, which we can communicate with her. Her provisional discharge date is Jan 18th however this is continually under review as it is dependent on how she meets/doesn’t meet her rehabilitation goals during her time at RHN.
Please continue to check back on this website to keep up to date with Mum’s recovery, we will be posting all news here to take away the stress of replying to individual texts and messages as I’m sure you can understand can be quite difficult for us. If you’d like to write a message for Shirley on the page please do, we will continually check for messages and read them to mum as we visit her. But if you would like to speak to Mum more directly, you’re so welcome to send us a voice note on What’s App which we will play to her or we can organise for you to voice/video call us whilst we are visiting so you can speak/see her yourself! Just drop a message to me (Joëlle, her daughter) on 07544386990. Read moreless
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