Page 6 - Home Care – A Better Life

A better life
Case Study
When Ruth’s husband died suddenly, her life changed in an instant.
Her grief was accompanied with a sudden overwhelming helplessness and powerlessness. Her arthritis made everyday tasks hard for Ruth. There were so many things her husband had done for her, especially driving. Ruth suddenly lost her main support person and her means
of transport for everything including shopping, appointments or visiting family and friends.
What was she going to do now? She didn’t want to be a burden on her children, who all worked full-time and had families and worries of their own. Her children lived a long distance away
so it was impractical for them to pop over to help her open a jar or drive to the shops!
At first Ruth thought getting support from
an aged care provider would make her feel old and hopeless. Instead, she felt empowered and her confidence was restored. If she needed help, she simply asked. The support was very flexible
– she could arrange for help with transport to an appointment one day and cleaning or shopping another. Her arthritis made it hard to grip a knife to prepare meals, so her support professionals helped with that too. Most surprisingly, Ruth found having her regular visitors were such wonderful company so she rarely felt lonely.
It was such a revelation for Ruth, that she could solve so many problems, so easily and quickly without feeling she was ‘being a bother’ for anyone. Such a loss of independence would have been demoralising, as though she’d lost herself as well as her husband. Now she feels she living life her way again.