For a mother, there is none more precious than her child and she can go to any length to see him or her in comfort and safety. But, a mum who is all of 98 years herself, moving into a care home where her 80-year-old son resides to look after him is really something out of Ripley’s ‘Believe It or Not’.
It all happened when in 2016, when 80-year-old Tom Keating was admitted to Moss View care home in Huytonin the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside, simply because he needed more care and support. Tom’s mother, Ada Keating, now 98, followed him into the care home to look after him!
Tom was the eldest of the four children Ada had with her late husband Harry. In addition to Tom, there were three daughters, Barbara, Margi and Janet. However, Janet died when she was only 13.
When young, Ada worked as an auxiliary nurse at the former Mill Road Hospital. Tom, before his retirement, was employed at HE Simm building services, then located on Prescot Road, as a painter and a decorator.
Tom was always Ada Keating’s favourite since he never married and always lived with her. The two originally lived in Wavertree area of Liverpool. Their bond became stronger since they loved spending time together, either playing some game or watching television soap opera ‘Emmerdale’.
Tom’s checking into the care home left Ada lonely. Despite her ripe old age of 98, she decided to join him in the same care home where to look after him.
The staff at Moss View care home are so in awe of the two and term the two simply inseparable. Their daily routine is quite set, Ada wishes Tom goodnight in his room every night and goes only to return in the morning to wish him good morning and to tell him that she will be coming down for breakfast.
Whenever Ada goes to the hairdressers, Tom waits patiently for her to return and keeps an eye out to see when she is coming back. And, as and when, she gets back, Tom welcomes her with open arms and gives her a big hug.
Says Tom, “They’re very good here and I’m happy to see my mum more now she lives here. She’s very good at looking after me. Sometimes she’ll say ‘Behave yourself!’”
It is not that the family has forsaken the two. Ada’s granddaughter, Debi Higham, and other family members regularly visit them at the care home on Page Moss Lane. They are delighted by how the two got back together again and how well they are being looked after, round the clock. According to Debi, there is no parting Tom and Ada.
Philip Daniels, the care home manager, had this to say, “It’s very touching to see the close relationship both Tom and Ada share and we are so pleased we were able to accommodate both of their needs.”
It is certainly rare to see the mother and her son together in the same care home. On its part, the care home is doing everything to make their time together as special as possible.
