Award-winning CAREGiver Joanne had taken an extra day off. Who knew she would get into so much hot water with an 83-year-old client who had dementia? “She really liked me, and we got along great,” Joanne recalled, “but she was so mad I had been gone longer than usual that when I returned, she would not talk to me for the first 30 minutes I was in the home.” All was soon forgiven, and the day moved along more smoothly. Joanne understood what her client was experiencing. Dementia is difficult, and Joanne knew it because two of her grandparents were beset by the mental illness during Joanne’s late-teen years. “My client felt her life changing and couldn’t figure out what was wrong,” said Joanne, a CAREGiver of the Month for Home Instead Senior Care® of Livonia and Westland. “Mentally, it is the hardest place for a person to be in. She would say, ‘What is wrong with me?’ It is difficult for anyone who has dementia to comprehend what is happening, and things sometimes change quickly with cognitive function. It was heartbreaking to see her struggle, but I was there to help her and always kept my focus on assisting her. She was a beautiful person; all of my clients are.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 00:12:54 +0000
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