I am part owner/operator of Loving Hearts Home Care; a family and veteran owned personal service home care agency which has been in existence and thriving since 2011.
My wonderful staff and I have many years of experience caring for seniors and people with disabilities and handicaps. I have had several years of training and experience relating to seniors, people with disabilities and others folks who need help living their normal daily lives because they can no longer properly care for themselves. I always believed that I understood the challenges our clients go through but as the saying goes; you never know how another person really feels until you have walked in their shoes.
Today as I write this article I find that statement to be truer than ever. I can say this because I am currently walking in those shoes.
About a month ago I fell ill with what I thought was a bad case of the flu and I treated it as such. After not feeling any better I visited my doctor and was told to immediately report to the hospital emergency room which I did. Even though I was in severe pain among other things, I thought I would go to the emergency room, get checked out, and return home with some antibiotics and in a few days I would be good as new. Much to my surprise I discovered it was not just merely the flu but I had actually contracted a pretty bad case of pneumonia and an appendicitis which had ruptured and very inflamed. I was admitted into the hospital and the journey began.
I lost count of how many doctors that were assigned to my case and the barrage of other medical staff in and out of my room constantly picking, prodding, drawing blood, inserting and readjusting IV’s and so on. Let me tell you if you ever need a place to rest; the hospital is not the place for it.
I did not originally realize the severity of my condition. I was not allowed to eat or drink any fluids for 6 days and was hooked up to an IV that supplied my nutrients, fluids and medications. The decision was finally made that since my appendix had already burst flooding my colon and intestines with impurities; the nurses inserted a pick line into my arm and I was allowed to go home with a visiting nurse; and to be infused with antibiotics on a daily basis. I was also restricted to staying in the house until the doctors permitted me to resume my normal life.
As happy as I was to come back home new challenges arose. I was unable to do very much on my own, I felt weak, frustrated and helpless. If it were not for the loving beautiful people in my life there to help me prepare my meals, keeping up with my hygiene, helping me walk, running errands for me, keeping my home clean and reminding me to take my medications to name a few; I really don’t know what I would have done. Mind you I am still a very healthy middle aged man who is very independent, but this life change was more than I wanted to bare. Being in this position of not being able to care for myself shed a whole new light on how it is to live in this new and unwanted world of near helplessness. You really don’t understand how it is to lose your independence until you’ve actually been in that position.
By the grace of God I am happily on the road to recovery but that experience has been a life changer for me. Even though I do understand the feelings a person may harbor when they can no longer live on their own or live their life as they are accustomed, but now I can truly understand; and my respect for anyone fighting that battle has grown enormously. This has been one of life’s great lessons I will never forget and it makes me feel closer to anyone who has trouble functioning on their own.
Today I can thankfully say that I have walked in another’s shoes and through that experience I thank God for allowing me to see the other side and to forever thank him for my many blessings. “Oh” the things we take for granted.
There are times when we are in need of help; feeling frustrated, vulnerable, and maybe even depressed. We may not want to admit that we all need someone to help us through the day even though we do need that help regardless of who you are. I for one am here to help other people live the best life they possibly can.
PS. If you are feeling irregular or out of sorts; don’t hesitate to go to the doctor and get checked out. You really don’t know the severity of your condition or what’s going on in your body so do yourself a favor and catch the problem before it becomes a Real Problem.
