The rest of summer is ahead of me, I am looking forward to it.
Now the second half of the summer begins. My last column was a little misleading. The heading was, “Summer is half over, but better still to come.”
I am now in the second half of the summer and as I said “but better still to come.” Keeping a positive outlook keeps our boat on an even keel.
During the first half of the summer, I received excellent medical assistance from my medical team in the hospitals. The only problem was the hospitals are in London – miles away. My wife did all the driving – very exhausting. They were all specialists and covered a wide range of medical services.
The first half of the summer seemed to be continually with medical people. My medical team was doing a great job in dealing with my chronical diseases as detailed in previous columns and on my blog. They were timely, punctual and professional. I couldn’t wish for any better.
The second half of the summer, I was very apprehensive when I needed to get assistance while I was in my home to deal with the “One Care” part of my care team. This team is called Home and Community Care Support Services. They provide high quality care to my home.
Their services include the following:
Nursing – to provide nursing various services: for me, a nurse comes in twice a week to repair my many injuries due to my falls.
Nutrition – in two weeks I meet with a dietician who will ensure that my diet matches my needs.
Physiotherapist – will be coming in to help me get into proper physical shape.
Occupational Therapist – will be coming in to help me deal with my mental and cognitive issues.
Speech Language Pathologist – comes here when I have speech or swallowing issues like I endured when I couldn’t swallow last November.
Social Worker – will come into my home to help ensure that the home and environments are safe for me.
Plus there will probably be more helping me out at home.
At first, upon hearing that my services would be provided at home, I was nervous. I had my first meeting with the head of Home Care and after her presentation my nervousness disappeared. They seemed to have all the bases covered. For example, I had already had nurse services twice a week in my home for the last month.
Unfortunately, there will probably come a time when my wife (caregiver) will be unable to keep up continual personal services for me at home. One Care keeps on top of the alternatives available for further care, such as a long-term care home or a senior residence. If my wife or I are apprehensive, we just need to call Home Care to talk to someone about our alternatives.
It has been a great summer. Veggies are growing well (and tasting great, much to our delight). Playing golf would be great but I am watching and taking golf lessons on the TV getting ready for next year. Both the back half and front half of the summer have been pretty good for us.
I am getting great treatment for both my medical and home service issues. I get quite upset when I hear and read all the complaints about our health systems. I am treated well and get the treatment I need. We have a good health system. It works for me and I work to help make the system effective.
Part of the success in my care is a concerned, involved and caring caregiver keeping watch over me. I am great at forgetting my pills and my appointments – two necessities for people like me with chronic ailments.
And life goes and on “My Voyage with Dementia” continues.
***
Bob Murray is retired from the graphic communication (printing) industry and has been living in Seaforth since 2015. Murray was diagnosed with Dementia in 2013 and works hard to stop the progress of the disease to AD. He shares his experiences in his column entitled “My Voyage with Dementia.” Follow him on his blog entitled Voyage with Dementia – https://myvoyage553264702.wordpress.com.
