I recently got a call from a gentleman who retired and already had several comorbidities such as diabetes, being a smoker, and vascular disease. He even noticed his health declining. He Found himself only getting off the couch three times a day because he couldn’t walk.
His sister who hadn’t seen him in two years came to town because he wasn’t answering his phone like he used to. She was immediately shocked by how unkempt he was, by how much weight he put on, and the fact that he wasn’t taking his medications anymore or taking his blood sugar like he was supposed to.
Even the home health had stopped coming because of the sanitation of his home and weren’t willing to help him anymore. He sat there for months and he was only getting weaker and sicker. Finally his family called us and within two weeks we had cleaned his home, paired him with a mobility specialist who visits him three times a week, called his doctors to get his medication list and asked if there was something we should be doing first, talked to his landlord who came in to fix his refrigerator and his washer and dryer so we could get his home in a functional state, bathed him, and took him to get a haircut.
We’re happy to share that although we still have work to do, he’s now on his feet. For the first time I sent a picture to his sister. Her response was simple, “there’s my brother.”
We will continue to work with him until he is living life again. Laying on your couch, not knowing what to do next, and overwhelmed by the situation is not living life. There’s always a difference between breathing, and actually living.
With this client, we were able to give him life when nobody else was willing to be there or do what needed to be done. Sometimes you just have to have people who are willing to get the job done – and we’re those people.
-Ryan
