Connections
May 6, 2010
We have a gentleman consumer who lives in a very rural part of the state. He lives alone with no pets. He has no family. He is not able to drive himself any longer and has no friends who come to visit. He is a veteran. He is respectful and one of the most gentlemanly men we’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.
When we started visiting him he was so lonely, he’d cry. We found a caregiver who excels at taking on lost souls and opening their worlds. Now his caregiver visits three times a week.
He has started to smile more – to laugh when we visit him from the office and when we talk to him on the phone. With the help of his Bridges Supervisor, he has been signed up for meals on wheels. Now he has one more person who visits him every day with a warm word and caring heart.
It was suggested to him that he may like an Adult Day Program. He hadn’t considered this option before but liked what he heard. His caregiver found a way to get him to the center for a tour. He liked it even better.
His caregiver has now made it her mission to find a way to get him to the Adult Day Program, almost 30 minutes away. He never thought it was possible. There is limited transportation in most of Maine and even less in rural Maine. Even if there were, he is not comfortable with the thought of a cab, however his caregiver is now working with a local Community Action Program to try to find a ride.
She is still trying but we know she won’t quit until his wish is granted and he can visit others in the Adult Day Program on the two days a week that she is not there.
Life is made up of connections and interactions, but this shows that it’s the quality of those connections that count and that can make a difference.
