Margaret and her husband James enjoyed their independence. They each had their own hobbies, traveled often alone to see family, and were comfortable in retirement. When Margaret was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, they worried about the impact on their happiness.
The symptoms appeared slowly. Ten years after diagnosis, Margaret and James were still living at home and enjoying their lives together. However, Margaret struggled with little things, like taking medications, or going on long walks alone. These symptoms worsened when James was away. Both Margaret and James’ confidence was negatively impacted. They needed a reliable solution to support her independence and help manage daily tasks. SIMON seemed like the perfect tool to bridge that gap.
“I was prone to forgetting to take my meds in the morning. It was worrying me a bit. We try to be very independent, or not totally dependent on each other. We wanted a way to support at a distance, but also to manage tasks on the day. To have the freedom to do things independently.”
Before SIMON, Margaret relied very heavily on her paper diary, which, while effective, lacked the flexibility and reminders that SIMON provided. SIMON’s features complemented her diary, particularly for tasks requiring daily attention, like medication reminders, and managing longer-term deadlines, such as leading her bi-weekly community group.
“Simon does the things that my diary doesn’t do. Like repeating things for me, keeping contact with James, the meds that repeat every day, and the community work I need to be thinking about every day. I don’t have to rewrite it in every page of the diary. I find it a very useful backup to my paper diary.”
In SIMON, Margaret has an essential extra layer of reminders. When away for a long weekend, SIMON made sure Margaret was connected with James, and stayed on top of her medication. It boosted her confidence and sense of independence that she values so much.
“The thing about it is, it provided an extra layer of reminder. I went to Scotland for a long-weekend, and it helped me remember to take my meds. And in everyday life, in normal life, I was remembering to take my meds because I was looking at Simon to communicate with James.”
When we interviewed her, Margaret told us about how she is able to go on long walks alone again, including a 4-mile walk to visit an historic church in Scotland."It was such a liberating feeling to know I could do this by myself," she said. Despite arriving late to service due to a minor detour, SIMON allowed James to see where Margaret was, and to stay connected , ensuring her safety and reassuring both of them. “It keeps me safe and connected, but I didn’t say SIMON had kept me punctual”, Margaret joked with us.
“I don’t think I’d be able to undertake something like that if I didn’t have the confidence that someone was there to help.”
For James, SIMON provided a sense of reassurance that his wife would be able to stay safe while still enjoying her autonomy. Knowing that Margaret had a reliable tool to remind her of important tasks and medication gave him peace of mind, especially when he had to be away. "Yes, to confidence," he said. "It made me feel more at ease knowing she had this support."
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