Our family’s story and our experience with failing care services is the reason we formed Wilson’s Care.
Wilson’s Care is dedicated to Sybil and Gordon Wilson. Beloved parents to Lesley and Gillian and doting grandparents to Scott, Kirsty and Mhairi.
Gordon and Sybil were born in Glasgow in 1933 but moved to Essex during their retirement to be closer to their grandchildren. After 5 years enjoying life in the countryside and being closer to their family, Sybil’s health sadly deteriorated. A number of misdiagnoses failed to recognise the very rare autoimmune disorder, Sjogren’s Syndrome.
In their tiny village care was difficult to arrange and Gordon’s devotion to Sybil led him to take on the responsibility of becoming Sybil’s full-time carer. He was by her side and caring for her until her death in 2013.
Gordon’s strength of character was at the forefront of everything he did – including caring for Sybil. He enjoyed a successful but high-stress career as a headmaster in some of Scotland’s most difficult schools. A heart attack in 2008 brought on vascular dementia, however his determination to provide Sybil with the highest quality of life masked the initial impact of his illness. Once his illness had taken hold, it was near impossible to arrange sufficient care to allow him to live independently in his own home
Unfortunately, in September 2015 tragedy struck. Gordon went missing from his home and after a painful and exhausting 4-month nationwide search, Gordon was found in Sybil Hedingham, Essex in January 2016. His date of death is unknown. Found in a village that echoed his wife’s name, we like to think he was returning to the woman he loved the most.
Wilson’s Care is dedicated to their memory and driven by a determination to improve the standard of care offered to vulnerable adults living independently. We miss Sybil and Gordon greatly and know that if the right care had been offered then our story could have been different. Our founding principles are the ones we thought were missing from the care agencies that we came into contact with.
These principles are integrity, kindness, outstanding communication, and an ability to adapt care to the needs of every individual.
