A TEESSIDE couple have been able to stay together thanks to the help they receive at Barnaby House.
When Alec Hosie suffered a stroke he feared he would be put into a care home and separated from his wife Molly.
During their 58 years of marriage, the devoted Middlesbrough couple have barely spent a day apart but the stroke left Alec with speech and mobility problems.
Alec, 82, and Molly, 84, knew deep down that they could not go back to living together in their house in Eston as Alec would not be able to get up the stairs in his wheelchair.
It was then that they discovered Barnaby House, a new extra care housing scheme that was opening in Eston.
The development enables people aged 55 and over who need support to remain in their own home.
Last August, Alec and Molly were among the first residents to move into the specially built flats.
Following intensive rehabilitation, Alec has made a terrific recovery and can often be seen pushing Molly down the corridor in his wheelchair!
“The main reason we came here was because I had a stroke in March,” said Alec.
“After the stroke I could hardly talk and I could not move my right arm.”
Molly said: “We knew then that we could not live in a house on our own. It was worrying where Alec was going to go.
“He thought he was going into a home and got a bit upset, but I said wherever he was going I was going.
“Then we heard this place was being built and we decided it was for us.”
The couple, who have three children and two grandchildren, have a two-bedroom flat and can request help from staff 24 hours a day at the touch of a button.
“It’s lovely,” said Molly.
“We get a dinner and a sweet in with our rent and you can’t fault it.
“They do all the shopping, they bath him and they hoover for me and if we want company, we can go downstairs.
“The wheelchair can get into every room and in a way we are still independent.”
Barnaby House is a partnership between Redcar and Cleveland Council, Tees Valley Housing and Frank Haslam Milan.