Mellish resident knits a blanket for the Queens Corgi's

Resident, Grace, from Mellish House in Sudbury, was over the moon to receive a letter of thanks from The Queen this month.Our residents are encouraged to come up with things that they would like to do in the home or as a trip. Grace had an idea, which she put forward to the activities coordinator at Mellish. To celebrate the Queens 90^th Birthday she had decided she wanted to knit a patchwork quilt for one of Her Majesty’s Corgi’s. Grace spent many days feverishly knitting hundreds of different coloured patches before The Queen’s 90^th Birthday. Activities Coordinator Glenda then spent many hours helping Grace to sew these patches together into the blanket ready to send to the Queen.Knitting is a great activity for those living with dementia, and has a number of health benefits. It’s great at helping people forget about problems, and manages long-term physical pain as the repetitive movements can be relaxing and acts as a form of meditation. For those who are depressed, it can relieve anxiety and stress through the repetitive movements but it can also motivate them to connect with the world as well. This piece of work has also got Grace interacting with Glenda and has been a great conversation starter.When August came Grace received a very special letter from Her Majesty thanking her for the lovely blanket and for thinking of her on her birthday. This filled Grace with a real sense of pride, she was ecstatic and couldn’t believe The Queen had written to her. Grace commented at the time “It’s wonderful The Queen actually wrote to me, I’m so happy she liked her Birthday present, she even sent me a card too with her photo.”Grace’s daughter is currently in the process of having the letter and accompanying card framed for Grace’s room.Mellish House provides specialist dementia care in a purpose built environment for up to 48 elderly people in Sudbury.If you would like to find out more about life at Mellish House and the care we offer, or to request a meeting with our Home Manager, please contact us on 0808 223 5523 or [email protected]