Message from the President
Greetings friend, and welcome to the October Comfort Connection!
If you are a caregiver, please don’t ever underestimate the work that you do. Please listen to Audrey’s beautiful experience as a caregiver.
Audrey initially came to work for Comforts of Home – Care because she could choose her own hours. She really liked that. And she liked the idea of listening to elderly people and hearing their great stories. But what happened next took her by surprise. As she spent her time with the elderly, she discovered an ‘absolute feeling of fulfillment.’ She not only experienced a sense of joy, doing what she liked to do, but as she provided care for those who needed her, she realized a deep need within her was also being met.
She goes on to tell the following story:
“I care for an advanced Alzheimer's patient in a personal care home. He is blind and can only hear in one ear. While I was feeding him, I began chatting with him and laugh at my own stories! I play him music from his era and even read short stories to him. I sometimes (lightly) massage his hands, arms, and provide hair therapy. Hair therapy is just lightly brushing his hair all over his head.”
(With advanced Alzheimer’s, this client was generally non-responsive for months, but all the while, Audrey continued showing him incredible human kindness.)
“At about the third month of working with him, he started moving his one good arm towards my arm when I talked to him. I leaned towards his good ear as I fed and read to him. Whenever I visited and started talking, he would immediately struggle with his one good arm and just have it close to mine. There are times when he tries to hold my sleeve as I talk or read to him, but he is weak so I move my arm towards his hand, and he will just rest it against mine.”
Audrey closed her email with these profound words:
“We may think they can't understand or know us, but they actually do!!! We should never assume or just rush and do the task we are assigned. They need all the love and care we can provide. That is the meaning of being a caregiver! Giving is something that we need, too, because it fulfills us more then we even recognize!”
Wow!! Audrey, you have such a big heart!! Thank you for sharing this incredibly touching and meaningful story. We can all take something away from this very moving experience you have had with this gentleman. You have provided meaning and warmth to someone in a time in their life when they needed it most. You are a true and genuine caregiver. Thank you!!
