We started helping care for Mr G whilst Mrs G was at her weekly appointment, but things change and we had to be responsive to a very challenging situation to make sure no-one was left behind.
Mr G has Parkinsons, is hunched over, moves very slowly and is prone to falling. We did weekly visits for a number of months and reassured them on several occasions that should they need us, especially in an emergency, they shouldn’t hesitate to get in touch right away.
I got a call from a very ill Mrs G asking if we could help because she couldn’t get out of bed. One of our dedicated Carers was there within an hour and undertook all the jobs and errands that needed attention. Mr & Mrs G were expertly and lovingly cared for every day that week by two of our Carers, while Mrs G’s health steadily declined. We knew they needed even more help and arranged for them to move into Living Hope community centre but Mrs G declined because they’d have to be in separate rooms and she thought it would upset Mr G too much.
But the next week, Mrs G had become even more ill so after a couple of days of care we arranged for them to go into Living Hope and they were taken by CMR that evening. Mrs G was later rushed to False Bay Hospital (FBH) where she sadly passed away. Mr G continued to stay at Living Hope for another two weeks whilst their family made the necessary arrangements, and we resumed our weekly visits to support them all and give the family much needed time to attend appointments.
After a few weeks I was telephoned by Sister Liz from Nerina Gardens who was trying and get a message to the family that they had space for Mr G. I immediately typed the message and took it to their house. I found them at home, having problems with the phone and they were most grateful for the message.
Mr G moved into Nerina Gardens within a few days and is now part of the Nerina family. The family were so grateful for the compassion, support and dedication we showed them both before Mrs G’s passing and after.
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