I told you in that first post that I was a teacher. I am not a nurse. I am a mom, but not a nurse. Bandaid expert yes, but I consult Google for all things medical, because……I am NOT a nurse. I can still get confused about the difference between Advil, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen. The positive side is we have Joyce, Calvin’s sister who is a retired nurse. Though she lives in San Diego and we are in Kansas City, she supports us in every way just like a pair of training wheels. Sometimes I say she is my choice when I need to “Phone a friend.”
My husband and I realized there would be a very large learning curve to caregiving . When we took that first step into the curve, we entered the world of home health care. We found out right away that we could not get our mother in or out of the car without great difficulty. We recognized that going to doctor appointments and getting medical tests would require a hired transport. After research and talking to people in the medical field, we recognized that we should pursue home health care. Signing up with our choice company was not difficult and they responded with quality and effective care. After a year, however, a change in management, a stream of P.A.’s quitting, and lack of response to keep prescriptions up to date, required us to began a new search for a different company. Finding one that came with great recommendations, we again, signed up, and have been more than happy with them.
Next we began to call around to companies that provide senior help at home so we could have a break a few times. It took a few months on a merry-go-round of caregivers before we found a winner. I would recommend Senior Helpers in Kansas City any day of the week. I think they pay more than some, they provide training, and they work hard every day to be the best. I know they have a lot of clients, but when we call, they know we are Marjory’s caregivers and family. They’ve won all kinds of awards. Our caregiver is young, has great experience and has helped us learn so much.
The third big part of moving through the learning curve was to find a reliable and reputable transport to take us in for scans that can’t be done at home. We’ve had blood draws and x rays at home but some scans require the use of large machines. After about eight phone calls to companies that did not seem to know what they were doing or charging, I finally talked to a retired couple who had their own special van for transporting disabled and elderly patients. They were a healthy break in the conversation and we hired them. They were just as they seemed, reliable, kind, and helpful. The costs runs pretty much the same across the reputable companies. When we had an ice storm and everyone was rescheduling, they could not work us in, but recommended two other companies that turned out to be great as well. It is not cheap, and insurance will not pay for non-emergency transport unless you require an ambulance, but something necessary for us to manage.
As we maneuvered through this curvy path, our training wheels, our support, our “call a friend,” explained what I did not understand,. She made herself available by phone at meetings when there were decisions that had to be made, and took the responsibility of discussions with doctors when it concerned treatment options. It is definitely a team effort.
We have not gone solo yet, and I am sure we will never do so. Our “training wheels” keep us balanced so we can continue this ride to the end.