On any given day our phone will ring and on the other end, is someones son or daughter who is very concerned about their parents. They have come for a visit which they were meaning to make 8 or 9-months ago and are shocked to find that their parents have declined significantly. It is obvious (at least to the children), that Mom and Dad are going to need the services of a Caregiver if they are going to continue to live at home. {Mom or Dad} or {Mom and Dad} are now having trouble walking, their home once immaculate is now in need of a good cleaning, both have lost weight and there is not much in the refrigerator. Dads favorite chair has a towel on the seat which seems odd until it is discovered he is having incontinence problem.
So out the door we go, confident we can help, after all we are the highest rated Home Care Company in the area, with a great staff of experienced Caregivers. We knock on the door and are greeted by one of the children, Mom and Dad are sitting quietly on the coach looking a little confused wondering why we are there. After a brief introductions and some pleasantries, the conversation begins. So Mr.& Mrs Smith, your daughter/son called us this morning because they are concern about you, and asked us to come over to discuss how we can help you. We can prepare your meals , take care of the grocery shopping, do some light house keeping, change your bed linens, do the wash, take you to the doctor and most importantly help you in the shower. This conversation usually does not go very well More times than not, Mom, or Mom and Dad in unison say "WE ARE FINE WE DON'T NEED ANY HELP, WE CAN TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES THANK YOU FOR STOPPING OVER, GOOD BYE." A quick glance over to the children reveals a look of disbelief. The thought circling around in their heads is "OH-MY-GOD, my parents have lost their minds what am I going to do" So what causes this behavior and how should one approach the problem.
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In the event you become ill or need to have a procedure and find yourself in a hospital, chance are the care you will receive will range from good to excellent. You will have doctors and nurses checking on you throughout the day and If you have a problem when no one is around you will be able to summon a nurse by simply pressing a button. The nurses will have easy access to a doctor and the problems you are having can be quickly dealt with. This level of care however, abruptly ends when you leave the hospital. The Doctors from the hospital are now gone and can't easily be reached and the nurses who took such good care of you at the hospital are no longer available.
As a home care company owner, I am involved with many seasoned adults. Most of our clients are between the ages of 80 and 95. There physical and mental conditions vary widely, some are very ill and have difficulty with just about every aspect of life while other are as sharp as a tack and are very active. Although each of our clients our very different the one thing they have income is some level of loneliness. They feel isolated from their families and long to spend more time with them. Seniors have a wealth information that to often never get to shared with family members especially grand children. I urge those of you who's parents are growing old to interact with your parents as often as possible and involve the grand children as much as possible. Forget Ancestry.Com the information about your families lie with our grand parents and great grand parents, learn as much as you can before they are gone.
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AuthorFrank Weinstein & Yvette Veideman are the owners of Home Care of Myrtle Beach. We both live in the Myrtle Beach Area and we are Hands-on owners. Home Care of Myrtle Beach is not a franchise. Instead we built this company ourselves and we take great pride in our ability to provide a superior level of service compared to the Franchise Companies. Archives
July 2016
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