Life takes unexpected turns.  When a spouse is suddenly stricken with an illness, you have many difficult decisions to make.  My husband and I discussed what we would do if either of us had a debilitating disorder.  One thing we knew:  we would want to remain in our home. 

 How could we have known we would ultimately face such a scenario?  One day without warning, my husband had a serious stroke which paralyzed his right side.  After hospital care and rehabilitation we made plans to return home, although our lives would be extensively altered.  My husband was in a wheelchair and still needed extensive therapy.  Fortunately, at the hospital, social workers, therapists and physicians helped us make a clear plan for our transition to a new way of life.

 Before we returned home, we had a ramp constructed and, since there were thirteen steps from the garage to the living area, an elevator chair was installed.  Although we had a nice bed, a hospital bed would make for easier mobilization.  A Hoyer lift was suggested by our therapist in order to move my husband from the bed to the wheelchair or to the shower chair.  These adjustments brought us peace-of-mind.

 However, there were some unanticipated difficulties.  The day to day challenge of handling all the meals, errands, laundry, and my husband’s personal needs was too much for me to handle alone.  My husband, who still had a wonderful sense of humor despite his physical challenges, agreed that I needed help; our friends and neighbors had been great but not only did we not want to burden them, he was tired from all their attention!  He suggested that I employ home caregivers from an agency, so I began to start meeting with home care programs. 

All the agencies were flexible and could schedule their workers around my needs.  I chose a service and decided to use it five hours a day during the week and to manage on my own on the weekend.  However, I needed to consider an important point:  how would I pay for this?  Unfortunately, our insurance would not fully cover this service.  I worked with our budget and found a way to manage if we made some small sacrifices. 

 Fortunately, hiring a home care agency was the perfect decision.  The care-giver we were assigned is a dream-come-true.  She is compassionate, intelligent, well-trained and—most importantly—she makes my husband laugh.  It did not take long for me to trust her.  And, as the agency assured me that background checks are completed on all employees, I feel comfortable and confident when I have to leave the home for errands.

Meanwhile, she has assisted with his meals, transporting him from the bed to the wheelchair, and with his personal care.  She helps with exercises that strengthen his muscles and improve his coordination and speech.  She is also very knowledgeable about equipment and helped us determine how and when to use the wheelchair and walker.

With her help my husband has made much physical progress.   He can now use the walker with assistance, as well as his beloved computer.  And his progress has allowed me, on occasion, to resume some of my normal activities.  Most importantly, the therapy and support she has provided has helped me to better communicate with my husband.   Together, we can again watch football and critique the plays (as I am the serious fan, my opinion on the game is final, of course). 

 Since hiring the agency and their wonderful care-giver, our lives have again made a turn, but this time, it is a positive one.