‘One moment of madness and my whole world was turned upside down.’
Alan, a resident at Webster Court, spent an afternoon sharing his story with us.
After an affair, Alan’s life changed completely and he ended up in hospital after heavy alcohol use. After 18 months in care homes & B&B’s, he now lives at Webster Court where he has access to the care he needs.
‘My life was going along lovely. I was happily married, I had a job that I really enjoyed, and I had two lovely kids.
One Friday afternoon, me and a lady that I worked with ended up in bed together. My wife found out and caught me.
I spent around the next 10 days drowning my sorrows in alcohol. I was very lucky that my daughter took me to the hospital when she did as I was told by doctors that another 48 hours and I would’ve been dead.
The consequences of drinking so much alcohol was an illness called Korsakoff Syndrome, which is short term memory loss. I was sent to a care home as I was told that I would never be able to look after myself and was put on huge doses of medication to help with my symptoms.
There were two attempts on my life while I was there. One guy attacked me with an axe, and another attacked me with a carving knife.
After 18 months I was making a recovery so I moved out and found myself living in a B&B in Great Yarmouth, which unfortunately was full of drug dealers and prostitutes. After putting pressure on Yarmouth Council to help me out of this situation, I finally got a place in Webster Court.
One thing can turn your life completely upside down. It cost me my health, cost me my marriage, but the good news is that I have nearly made a full recovery. I’m still on medication but I’m nowhere near as ill as I once was. I am just now getting on with the rest of my life.”
Read more resident stories here: Stories