In our experience at Serenity Home Care, we find that people endure a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering because they won’t ask for help. It deserves a look at our life-cycle: we grow from children who need help, to adults who are independent, and often to parents who provide help. We take a great deal of pride in our independence, especially as we grow older. And so we fear that by asking for help we’ll lose our pride and self-respect – it’s like we’re moving back to a childlike state of dependence. And we really worry about how our friends and family will perceive us.
Let me give you an example. A client at Serenity has recently been able to receive the care she needs and as a result, her quality of life has improved dramatically. This woman’s eyesight was failing, which meant she was no longer able to perform everyday tasks that she had been carrying out herself for her entire adult life. One major example of this was her inability to cut her own toenails. Because of this, and because of not bringing this problem to anyone’s attention, we actually had to take her to a podiatrist by the time that she came into our care as her toenails had grown right around the end of her toes and were going back into the skin.
This is one of the more severe examples of daily tasks that we assume we’ll always be able to do on our own, that this woman could no longer perform. By having a professional caregiver to aid her, we have been able to give this woman a new lease on life. Things were so bad prior to hiring Serenity, in fact, that she told us she only wanted to die. I am happy to report that this is no longer the case.
So what motivated this lady to finally admit that she needed care and call us? Well, the truth is she didn’t. A concerned family member called us, and voiced their concerns. If you know someone – a family member, friend, neighbour, friend-of-a-friend, please call us. Because if you don’t make the call, who will?
A professional caregiver can help seniors keep their independence, and live comfortably and healthy. If you have concerns about a senior you care about, don’t hesitate to call and ask some questions.