Staff and residents at a care home have joined the baking revolution and organised a cake sale as part of a fund-raising campaign in aid of Multiple Sclerosis charity.
The merry crew at Highfield care home, which is part of the Pendine Park care organisation, in Wrexham, were inspired by the like of Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry to hold the event in aid of the MS Society.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affects more than 100,000 people in the UK – including a number of residents at Pendine Park.
The MS Society is fighting to improve treatment and care to help people with MS take control of their lives
MS is complex, has many symptoms, and might include fatigue, vision problems and difficulties with walking. But MS is different for everyone.
The staff at Pendine have also been holding weekly coffee mornings for the MS Society.
Highfield resident Sue Mullally, 67, who is originally from Newquay, Cornwall has had MS since she was in her 20s.
Sue joined the MS Society before she knew she had the condition, as part of her job as a personnel manager for British Gas.
She said: “Having MS limited a lot of the stuff that I could do, and I have to keep a bit more of an eye on when I’m not feeling so well.
“It stops me from doing things like exercise and I just haven’t got the energy to go out and do as much as I would like.
“The MS Society helps people to find out what their problems are look to see if there is some medication that would be good for the person.
“I think it’s great the staff at Pendine have organised these coffee mornings and this cake sale to raise money for the MS Society. The society needs the money so it can look after its members, and this is a lovely way to raise it.
“It’s also a chance for people with MS to share their experiences and to get support. It’s good to have a stage where people can share their feelings. It gives us an opportunity to help each other.
“We’ve had a lot of cake. I had a bit of Victoria sponge and some scones. They were very tasty and I think everybody enjoyed them.
“They arrange o lot of activities for us at Pendine, and they also engage with the community. Here they’re very much focus on what people can do, and giving them the opportunity to do as much as they can. I do art here.
Also at the cake sale was Seema Day, a volunteer for the Wrexham branch of the MS Society.
The mother-of-two who lives in Wrexham has MS herself.
She said “I find that the best way to help myself is to help others. That’s the best therapy. Initially I didn’t want to admit that I had MS.
“I can sympathise and empathise with people who have MS because although it affects everyone differently, I do have some idea of what they’re going through.
“It really is a horrible illness but you can live with it, and it’s just a matter of learning the best way to live with it. The MS Society has really helped me, and it helps just to know that they’re there.
“The help wasn’t so readily available 20 years ago.
“I can’t walk so I have to use a mobility scooter. I have numbness in my fingers
“It can help with advice, with access to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and medicine.
Seema believes that the MS Society coffee meetings at Pendine Park make a big difference to the residents.
She said: “It gives the chance for people to have a chat and share their experiences.
“It’s about reminding people with MS that they’re not alone, and they don’t have to do this by themselves.”
Suzie Owen, a Wellbeing and Activities Coordinator at Pendine Park, helped mastermind the cake sale.
She said: “We’re very grateful to the kitchen staff who have worked so hard to make us such wonderful cakes.
“The MS Society is a very important cause. MS is something we have to deal with day to day so we see what the need is and how the money helps.
“The MS Society meetings make a real difference to the residents. They get to meet more people because you get all sorts of people coming in.
“It’s not just looking after people’s physical wellbeing. That’s important, but we’re also looking after the social side.
“Because it’s a gradually debilitating disease, you’re not going to get better. Things are going to get worse. My main goal is to trying to keep people who active as long as possible.
“I’m always for looking for exercises the residents can do. “
Suzie also paid tribute to Seema.
She said: “Seema’s a lovely woman who wants to help other people. If there are problems I can contact them and they’ve got the resources to look into things so we can find a way round it.
“It’s about enabling people for as long as we can and that really fits into the Pendine Park ethos.”
For more information about the MS Society please visit www.mssociety..org.uk and to contact the MS Society Wrexham branch ring 01978 851686.
