My name is Teresa, I’ve just turned 67. I am married and I come from Brazil, we haven’t been here very long, only 8 years. My husband and I met in Brazil and after 40 years living there, we decided to come back here after our daughter started a family. It was quite a change, but we adapted very well. We’ve first lived in a first floor flat in Edinburgh but I was always worried about how the stairs might impact our lives over time and, after my husband’s fall down the stairs we’ve decided to look for a ground floor flat or bungalow. We started looking for a house during the pandemic, it was very difficult time to view places but we eventually found the perfect ground floor flat with a garden here in Musselburgh, which has always been our first choice for various reasons. We are very happy with our decision. We love Scotland and we are now staying local since my husband diagnosis. So we will explore the country a bit more.
I’ve taught English to business people in Brazil for over 30 years,I now try to enjoy a bit of life with my daughters and my grandchildren. We like travelling, gardening and going out to places to meet new people and listening to music. These moments have been very helpful whilst going through hard times… like we are now. We also have a large family, who are there when we need them and who offer a shoulder to cry on.
I am a very keen gardener, so I pass most of my time gardening or thinking about gardening. I feel it it’s very good for my mental health. My dad was a green fingered gardener therefore I’ve learnt a lot watching him. We have two daughters, who we share everything with, and we see each other frequently. This helps a lot. I like nature and being out in the open, seeing the greenery it can help during difficult days. While I walk, I can forget about life, I get distracted by looking at the birds and nature. I am a good observer, and I can spot the plants, animals and creatures around me. I love bird watching too and can spend hours doing this. I am not very good at naming them, but I enjoy seeing them. I have spotted Herons & geese by the lagoons.
About a year ago my husband was having issues and we were very worried about him. He could not find his words and was acting quite peculiar… not like himself. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia, he is in the very early stages but at the beginning it felt like we were very much in the dark about his condition. With a lot of support from Alzheimer’s Scotland and CoEL we are now taking action, adapting and just coping as best as we can. The hard days are not easy but in general we are trying to live as normal as possible. We continue to do things as we did before like short trips, going to shows and plays , going for walks and attending language classes, and let him be as independent as possible.
I try not to worry so much about the future because everyone is different, and we don’t really know what may be ahead for us. So we live our day to day routine which is normal for us. I as a carer , try to focus on keeping my husband as independent as he can be and make sure that I also take care of myself and have some quality of life. And one thing I always do is not to hesitate to cry for help in times of crisis.
