Margaret lived alone in an apartment within a very nice retirement living development. She'd lived there for just over a year, moving in a few months after her husband passed away. All her adult children lived at least a few hours drive away, and after a visit from one of her sons, he was worried about how she was managing. Margaret was adamant that she didn't need a 'Carer', so they arranged for me to visit and help her get organised with a few things.
1. The main priority was to help her get more organised with her medical appointments and paperwork. This was the cause of some confusion for Margaret and a big concern for her family. I went through Margaret's paperwork with her, and set up a file which clearly showed the various types of appointments and different hospital departments involved. I included a summary sheet at the front, as a quick overview and reminder for her. Where it was unclear what the status was, or it appeared that an appointment had been missed, I rang up on Margaret's behalf and sorted out what needed to be done. I clearly marked up all the appointments on Margaret's calendar, and I followed this up at each subsequent visit in case any new paperwork had arrived. I made arrangements for her to get to her appointments, and also rang her to remind her of the arrangements when needed.
2. Margaret liked to go out and about independently, but had started to lose confidence. A few small fixes made all the difference:
attaching her keys to a retractable key ring, fixed to the frame of her wheeled walker, so she could always find them
buying an accessible toilet key to add to her key ring
adding larger, brightly coloured tabs to the zippers on the cover of the walker bag, so she could open and close it more easily
buying a new bag to keep in her walker, to make using a public toilet less unpleasant (including wet wipes, tissues & disposable toilet seat covers)
and taking her out on a trial run so she knew she could do it
3. Margaret was struggling to manage the housework and change the bed, so I organised for a cleaner to come in to do a deep clean and then follow up with regular weekly cleans and bed changes. Margaret was nervous of getting strangers in, so I made sure I was there for the first couple of visits until she got to know them.
4. We found a few other things that Margaret would like to get some help with. I organised some of those myself to start with, and then we discussed how a 'companionship' visit from a home care company (twice a week for a couple of hours each time) would mean that Margaret could get the support she needed to keep these things going.
· Margaret liked to get her own shopping in from the local supermarket, and liked a few things from M&S, but was feeling like it was a bit too far away for her to manage alone now. We built in time for an escorted shopping trip as part of the weekly companionship visits, and the Carers could also pop into M&S for her as and when needed.
· We visited garden centres together a couple of times and I helped her to pick out a few pots and plants, a shelving unit and some bird feeders to make the most of her balcony. Regular visits to garden centres then became part of her weekly companionship visits with the Carers.
· I defrosted the freezer as it had reached the point where the door wouldn't close properly. We also had a good clear-out of the out-of-date food from the fridge and cupboards. This then became something the regular Carers kept an eye on and provided support with.
· Margaret had a favourite jumper which was looking a bit worse for wear, so I removed the bobbling and hand washed it so it was in good condition again. Margaret also had some trousers which needed shortening, so I took them to a seamstress for her. Going forward, these were jobs that could be delegated to her regular Carers.
· I helped Margaret go through one of her cupboards to create more easily accessible storage space at the right height for her to access without bending or stretching. We sorted out some things for the charity shop and I took them away for her. Again she would be able to continue the job and tackle other cupboards with the help of her regular Carers.
As I spent time with Margaret over a period of a few weeks, I helped her get some of her jobs done and helped her see how she could benefit from support on a regular basis. It opened up the conversation about the benefits of paying for regular support, and although she still felt she didn't need a 'Carer', she was happy to put the suggested companionship support in place.
This is an example of the practical, tailored support I provide for families, so that older adults can live well at home, and their family have peace of mind that they're ok. I like to work out what really matters to people, remove barriers and help people to live the lives they want. For more information on how I can help, please visit my Services page.
[credit for the photo to the Centre for Ageing Better - Age-Positive Image Library]
[client names have been changed to protect anonymity]
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