When my grandmother had a stroke twenty years ago, we were not sure if she would live or die. She lived, and for that I am grateful, but I often wonder if she is happy. She was never the same after her stroke, and much of the woman we knew went away with that event. She was something of herself for a while, but she just seemed to fade away. She still communicates, and can walk with the aid of a walker, but her vigor was gone, and I really miss how she use to be. When she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure a few years ago, my grandfather decided he could not longer care for her on his own any longer, and he looked into senior care services.
My grandfather had taken care of her for a very long time, and he was very good at it. He was also very active with the things that he had always done, and many in the family would spend time with her when he needed to get out of the house for whatever reason. He always was in good spirits, but he was also not getting any younger. He thought that if he found senior care services that could come in for just part of the day that he could still handle the rest, but it took him a long time to find the right senior care services that he felt comfortable with having in his home.
He finally went with what turned out to be a great senior care services company. They employ nurses only, and these nurses can come for a few hours or even a few days, depending on what he needed help with. My grandmother is not terribly hard to care for, but there are some things that he has a hard time helping her do and accomplish. Those that come from the senior care services company he hired have always been wonderful and have surpassed his expectations.
Though there are some great places out there, but there are also some senior care services that should be avoided. It is not always easy to tell the difference. When looking for such a service, references are essential. If you cannot seem to find anyone that can give any senior care services a glowing review, you might want to go somewhere else and find some place that you feel comfortable with. Most importantly, make sure you listen to your gut instincts, as they are rarely wrong.