Meet The Owner

When I was a young child growing up, there were several neighbors who were elderly or who had elderly parents live with them. I would regularly go and talk to them and, although I did not know it at the time, it brighten their day. It was the norm to have family live in the same city and be able to look after loved ones as they aged, as my grandmother lived with my aunt’s family and my other grandparents owned a house a few miles away.

As I became a teenager, my best friend and I became candy strippers through the Red Cross, where we were assigned to a nursing home 20-25 hours a week. One of our main duties was to talk and visit with the patients that did not have many visitors. We were told that you never knew whose lives you may have brightened with just that ten minute conversation.

When my mother became ill, I became the support my father needed to help take care of her and often went to the doctor’s office with them. It was a short illness but with two small children I was run ragged trying to help them while trying not to neglect my own family. After my mother passed away, I asked my father if he wanted to go to a senior community or an assisted living facility, in which he replied ‘NO’. He wanted to stay at home where he was surrounded by all the memories.

In December 2007, I was laid off from a company I had worked with for over 22 years. I decided not to look for work right away as I wanted to spend time with my father who had turned 90 a few months earlier. I will always be grateful for the time I was able to spend with him. He was in relative good health for his age and lived in the house where he had lived for the past 42 years. He was very independent, did all his own cooking, and was still driving. In February, my brother and I took my father to the hospital for what we thought might be dehydration due to a flu bug but it was more serious. During the next seven weeks, I spent my days checking with his doctors and nurses at the hospital as well as the staff at the rehab facilities, where he was sent to recover and rebuild his strength. I had a crash course with the medical profession while I was starting a new job and taking care of my teenagers. Our goal was to get my father better so that he could go back home but with the assistance of a caregiver. During that period of time, I would have loved to have known about Preferred Care At Home and the services they offer.

Unfortunately, in today’s society it is not the norm to have your family take care of you. In most cases, grown children live in a different state and cannot always get home as often as they would like, which can lead to additional stress and guilt on both sides. We are not here just for the client but for the entire family to give peace of mind and a chance for the spouse to become the spouse again or the children to become the children again. Preferred Care At Home realizes that asking for help is not easy. Losing your independence is probably your greatest fear. We understand, and we want to be there for you, by your side, every step of the way. We are Reliable, Compassionate and Affordable… We Promise.

I have tried to raise my children by the Golden Rule as well as make a difference in at least one person’s life. I believe I have come full circle with the child who grew up talking with the elder neighbors and making a difference in their lives. You never know when you might be the light in someone life.