You’ve got mail! The Spinney hosts family reunion for resident Paul

A care home in Chingford has helped to reunite one of its residents with the cousin he has not seen for almost a decade.

Paul Snow, aged 71, has been a resident at The Spinney since 2019.  The care home offers residential, specialist dementia, and end of life care.

Paul had lost touch with his cousin Dave Symonds, who now lives in Australia, until two years ago when with help from the team at his care home he discovered an email address for Dave.

Paul was being helped to organise his papers from home, when an email address for Dave, written on a piece of scrap paper, was found. Paul had lost touch with Dave (a cousin on his mum’s side of the family) following his mum’s death.

“I thought I had lost all of my contact details for Dave, so it gave me hope when we found his email address,” said Paul.

“I struggle to write, so a member of the team kindly offered to write an email to Dave. I wasn’t sure we would get a reply, but he wrote back immediately! It was wonderful to have that connection with my family restored.”

Dave emigrated to Australia in 1974 and was thrilled to hear from his cousin.

Samantha Carey, lifestyle coordinator at The Spinney, said: “Over the last couple of years we’ve helped Paul to keep in regular contact with his cousin.

“Dave sends regular emails and includes updates on the rest of the family. Paul loves seeing the photos he sends of everything they have been doing.

“A member of the team sits down with Paul and helps him to send Dave an update on everything that he has been up to. We send photos too, including ones of Paul celebrating his 70th birthday, the tomatoes he grew in our garden, and Paul dressing up for Halloween!

“The whole team at The Spinney feel privileged to play a part in reuniting the pair, it’s just wonderful seeing Paul’s smile when he gets an email!”

The Spinney is rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and won a Great British Care Award in 2023 for ‘Dignity in Care’.

Samantha continued: “Paul was over the moon when Dave emailed to say that he and his wife Lorna were travelling to the UK and wanted to visit him at The Spinney.

“We were thrilled to host their reunion and to welcome Dave and Lorna to The Spinney. Paul did not stop smiling all day, it was lovely to see him so happy at having the chance to sit and chat in person with his family.”

Dave said: “I can’t thank everyone at The Spinney enough for putting me back in touch with Paul after all of these years, I’m extremely grateful.

“Honestly, it’s so lovely to know that Paul is being cared for, and both Lorna and I love seeing all of the photos of his life at the care home.”

Lisa Wright, home manager at The Spinney, added: “We support our residents’ families and friends to play an active part in their loved one’s life.

“With Paul’s cousin living on the other side of the world, it’s meant maintaining that connection through email. The team continue to do a wonderful job of helping Paul to have meaningful contact with his family.

“I know that Paul treasures his time spent updating his cousin on his life and discovering more about Dave’s life, his family, and their travels.

“Being able to host their reunion really has been the cherry on the cake.”