Ella’s Story:

An Example of Rementia and Re-Ablement facilitated by the Spark of Life Philosophy

Tania Hammond
Nurse Practitioner-Aged Care
Eyre and Far North Local Health Network
SA Health

Some time ago a beautiful lady, Ella, moved from one of our lower care areas to a higher care area because her dementia had progressed and she needed more support. However, she wasn’t doing so well in her new environment. She had withdrawn into herself, stopped talking to people and even stopped eating. She spent a lot of time in bed and the staff came to me because they were really worried about her. The staff member who had undertaken Spark of Life Education, wanted to do an activity around food to help encourage her to eat again.

So we used our special Spark of Life Invitation to Ella to make a sandwich. When we invited her she thought ‘Oh, that feels a bit special and I think I would like to be a part of that’ and she said ‘Yes, I would like to do that.”

And we really didn’t do anything- we just encouraged her to come with us. She chose the ingredients and all the things she needed, and we placed them on the table. Ella did everything: she very carefully buttered the bread, placed the tomato and onion on top, and then used a very sharp knife to cut the sandwich.

It was incredible to see the transformation from her being curled up in bed not wanting to engage with anyone, to making this amazing sandwich and then eating it.

What is more incredible is that another resident who heard the fun in the room came in and said

“What are you doing there?” Then Ella spoke and said: “ We are making sandwiches would you like some?” He said “That would be wonderful”

This change was in less than 30 minutes, and you wouldn’t think looking at this photo that Ella had advanced dementia.

That is the magic of the Spark of Life Philosophy and Model of Care.

To find out more about the Spark of Life Model of Care: