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Visit of Rev. Fr. Deane at Dublin 13-16 August 2000
Dr. Laurence Wan & Family
Since Father Deane's departure in 1997 to retire in a nursing home in Dublin, his health particularly the Parkinson's Disease, his life in the nursing home and how well he is coping with it, his emotional state have been the concerns of many St. Louis old boys all over the world including myself and my family. In search of the answer, I took my family to visit him this summer.
We arrived on Sunday 13 August and spent the afternoon in the city. On Monday, we hired a car with a driver named Robbie Daly..Father's nursing home St. Joseph's Centre is at Shankill which is about an hour's drive from downtown Dublin and one and half hours from the Airport. We arrived at about 11:00 am and were most delighted to see Father waiting for us. He was well prepared by Theresa Lee who happened to visit Father at the same time. Despite Father in his most cheerful mood, it was heart-broken to see our  beloved Father completely confined to a wheelchair.
He did smile a little, hold my hands, greeted my family and uttered my name in Chinese "Ho-Yue". Conservation with him was not easy. He could hardly construct a sentence of some length and "Yes" and " No " were the most understandable words. His Activity of Daily Living (ADL in medical terms) is totally dependent. He was not able to wash his face, brush his teeth nor go to the toilet. The rigidity and tremor made walking even with support quite demanding on him. Luckily food was still appealing to him. Chewing and swallowing food was not a problem. At times he was able to use fork and put food into his own mouth!
I did have a good look around of the nursing home and was satisfied that is was quite spacious, clean and had rather friendly staff. Father had a single room with TV and telephone to himself but all these could hardly work if he was left alone. The room is a bit small and lifting him onto and out of the bed could be difficult at times.
 
We went out for lunch at a nearby Chinese( Sichuan) restaurant because spicy food was what he like most. He finished a whole bowl of Wan-Ton soup, had prawns , fish ,vegetable and some fried rice. He did enjoyed every dishes especially the desert which we specially prepared for him: Ice cream and freshly peeled nectarine.
We returned to St. Joseph's Centre at around 3:00pm. Father was a bit tired by then and dozed off frequently during the conversation. I also met Father's carer who was a very cheerful and helpful lady. She gave him massage therapy, moved his limbs and kept him company every afternoon until dinner which was served at 5:00 pm .We left at 4:00pm after promising to take him for Japanese food next day. He sure loved the idea.
 The next day we were a bit late because of the traffic. Theresa dressed him with a bow-tie for the occasion! I invited Father's best friend in Dublin Chris and Bosco to lunch with us. We had to take Father to downtown because not a single descent Japanese Restaurant could be found near the nursing home. The weather was sunny and warm and Father seemed to enjoy the long ride. The restaurant called Yamanori was at George's Street downtown. We managed well thanks to the driver Robbie who happens to be a voluntary instructor in First Aid and knows how to manoeuvre the wheelchair! Father had a great helping of his favorite Sashimi which he had longed for three years. He was so full that he could only finish a small portion of the cheese cake which we specially ordered for him.
Chris and Bosco was a wonderful couple. They retired to Dublin after spending many years working in Hong Kong. They visited Father once a week and took him out. I discussed the feasibility of buying a lap-top computer in Dublin to be operated by Bosco. Old boys all over the world could e-mail photos, video clips, voice messages to Father so that Bosco could show them to Father when they visited him. I firmly believed that these are much better than letters and text e-mails because Father could hardly read now and he got easily bored listening to letters .Bosco was convinced and promised to start learning computer after we left! Old boys all over the world do look out for Father's e-mail address. SLOBA will be responsible for the cost of the computer and related expenses . (Ed: Laptop has been sent to Fr. Fr's email address is frpatrickdeane@eircom.net)
As we wheeled Father along George's Street to the car park and just after we kissed him goodbye rain started to fall! However we have treasured our moments with Father and hoped that our visit had brought him joy and excitement amongst his quiet life in the  nursing home.
Recommendations
1. If you plan to visit Father, DO IT NOW. Don't plan 5 years later. Father loves our visits, enjoys a day out for his favorite Chinese food and remembers most of us. I suggest that we should set up a calendar on the web for the old boys to fill in so that these visits can be spaced out.
2. If you plan just a one-day visit I suggest you follow the schedule below. Winston Chu used this schedule in September and found it helpful. Please read it carefully.
Before Arrival
- Ring up St. Joseph's Centre chief nurse and inform her of your arrival date (Tel: 353-1-2823000)
- Ring up Chris & Bosco to find out whether they can join the lunch.
- Ring up the driver Robbie Daly. He knows the location of the nursing home, where are the restaurants and knows how to handle Father in and out of the car. He even knows what is SLOBA. (Tel:086-813-5593, e-mail:2driveu@iol.ie. Charge: 25 Irish Pound / hour) His photo is enclosed.
- Book your ticket through your travel agent or through Tony Wong St. Louis old boys in travel business. Tel:( Hong Kong:852-2877 6683 Sydney: 612-9211 8830 )
On Arrival
9:00 am Depart Heathrow Airport eg Aer Lingus
10:00 am Arrive Dublin. Pick up by driver Robbie Daly
11:30 am Arrive at St. Joseph's Centre, visit the nursing home
12:30 pm Lunch at nearby restaurant Robbie can book table
2:00 pm Return St. Joseph's Centre. Stay with father until tea at 3:00 pm
3:00pm Depart St. Joseph's Centre
4:30 pm Arrive Dublin Airport for Departure to London.
If you want to stay an extra day I suggest Brooks Hotel at Drury Street (Tel:353-1-6704000) Robbie knows this hotel well..
Ring up Father Foster if you plan to visit Dublin. He loves to see us too. I was not able to see him during this visit because he was in Vancouver visiting his relatives. (Tel:353-1-455-5605)
E-mail Father Deane with close-up photos, photos of old boys events, voice messages and video clips when his e-mail address was available. Keep the text short.
For more details, I can be reached at:
Tel: 852-23851213
Fax:852-27810171
e-mail:lwpartnr@asiaonline.net
Dr. Laurence Wan
Summer 2000
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