Youth

Not all our clients are elderly. Injury can leave people of any age in need of help to shower and do the most basic household tasks. I recently had the pleasure of working with someone with multiple fractures. Happily fractures heal and this client gained so much confidence during her recuperation that she not only no longer needs us but has started her own business and is in a much happier state of mind than before the accident. I wish I could add a link to her new website - but that would hardly fit with my client confidentiality responsibilities!

Read our blog at www.cihomecare.blogspot.com

The Basics

Sometimes the care we are called on to provide is complex; sometimes it's the little things like help with personal care and house cleaning that can make all the difference. We've recently started working with a lady who does not have family in Jersey and whose ability to take care of herself and her home had slowly been deteriorating without anyone really noticing until she was hospitalised. During her stay in hospital it became clear that she needed help and we've slowly been helping her to clear up her skin conditions which had developed through lack of physical ability to care adequately for herself, and her home and return to a state of normality. It's amazing what a couple of hours a day of care help can do in terms of getting laundry done and personal care levels improved and so on. It's been such a joy to see her self-respect return in leaps and bounds!

Love conquers all

One of the things I feel honoured to witness is the depth of love some of our clients who are lucky enough to still have their partners with them obviously feel. Even when dementia has kicked in for one or the other spouse love still prevails - such as the husband who refused to be admitted to hospital without his wife...even though it was her unconscious outburst, due to her dementia, that had caused his injury. He only sees the wife he loved before dementia and still loves her so much he cannot bear to be apart. A week later we had another client who has become mentally ill after losing her husband of 64 years - suddenly and through pure grief. We and she are desperately hoping she will become well enough again to return home but sadly for the moment her needs are too great for us to help her at home and so the loss of her husband has left her in hospital. I hope to experience love like that. I look forward to helping her return to her home.

Beach cafe

It's a beautiful day today! I visit Enid three times a day. During her morning visit, Enid was telling me that she would love to get out in the sunshine. At lunch time, we now plan to pop down to the beach cafe for a bite to eat. A nice treat for both Enid and myself! 

Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of date protection. 

A busy day!

Nothing momentous happened today. I started at 7.30 at Doris' house. Doris needs help but is still quite independent. She likes me to put the kettle on and shout upstairs when I arrive. I then helped her to the bathroom where she's safe to sit and enjoy a shower while I ran around and emptied the commode and made the bed - but most importantly the first cup of tea which Doris likes to enjoy while getting dressed! 45 mins later onto Arthur who was up and dressed but needs help to come downstairs and take his medication as well as cook. He's weaned himself off hte full English now that he's less active but does still like scrambled eggs for breakfast! That more than filled the allocated 30 minutes for the morning visit and then onto Margarite....for a more leisurely one hour visit...a bath this time and a chat about the 'phone call she had with her daughter in NZ...

In between times the traffic, 'phone calls from the office. It was a busy day. Not a momentous day. But if a Carer hadn't been available it would have been a less momentous day for Doris, Arthur and Margarite...let alone the others on my rounds today. Perhaps it was a more rewarding day than I thought!  

Wafers!

Ice-cream! A wafer in fact! Peter had a yearning to go out and have an ice cream at the beach this afternoon. One that reminded him of his child-hood he said....apparently you used to pay 6d or a shilling or 1'6d depending on the thickness of the slice of ice cream you had between two wafers. And the trick was to lick all four edges to stop the drips - or so I was told. Sadly, three beach kiosks later, we had failed to find a wafer....we had to settle for a Mr Whippy with a flake! Apparently he's going to challenge me to find him a wafer another day! My friends will wonder what I'm on about next time I'm at the beach as I search for where to take him next time to complete the mission!

Garden tonic

Daphne has just returned home after a couple of weeks in hospital. Sadly this lady's had several strokes and was completely bed-bound in hospital. Daphne's obviously so happy to be home again! Two of us managed to help her into a wheelchair and take her out into her much loved garden today. It was clearly a tonic! Daphne walked back inside! Yet hasn't taken more than 2-3 steps for weeks. I could never do a desk job. How could I equal the satisfaction something like today creates?

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection)

UK Home Care

I decided to look at other Carers' blogs today....and given that they're all UK based began to realise how lucky we are in Jersey to not have the issues around 10 minute visits and spending cuts and everything that goes on in the UK. There are always clients with whom I'd like to spend longer - but our shortest visit is 30 minutes and at least in 30 minutes we can genuinely help a client - and finish a conversation!  

Making a difference

I seem to be on a roll again. It's fun sharing one or two of the rewarding things that happen during a Carers day! No matter how tough the day - and it's never all plain sailing - there are always those special moments when you feel as though you've done something relatively small that makes the world of difference to a client. Part of the joy of Caring as a profession.

Training day!

I was on a course today. We all have to do either continuous professional development or be upgrading our qualification level. Mine was the Police Check (Disclosure and Barring Service or DBS) Presenters' Course today. Basically I had to learn how to identify forged passports and other documents and ensure that the ID Carers present to us at interview is bona fide. 

I then spent the afternoon comparing a genuine document with one which had been tampered with. Fascinating looking at forged documents!

Culinary win!

What a wonderful day! It's such a joy to facilitate the little things in life that a client can no longer do for themselves. Today was a culinary win! We have a client who loves smoked salmon but needs softer foods now. I made some smoked salmon pate - just finely chopped smoked salmon and a little cream cheese, lemon juice and pepper - and she loved it!

Sausages!

Sausages! Not what the JSPCA might recommend for a cat but it is what Miss Le Page feels her Tommy likes best. And who am I to argue? So one extra always goes into the pan for Tommy - who seems to be ageing as well as his owner. Sadly Miss Le Page is effectively blind and it's too dangerous for her to cook any more. She has Meals on Wheels at lunchtime but we call in morning and evening to ensure that she - and of course Tommy - are well nourished! I've done a lot of courses - but never one on cat nutrition! Something to look into....

(Please note that names have been changed for data protection) 

We need you!

Phew - back again after the busiest 6-weeks hence the silence! I've been on holiday myself, then was acting Care Manager for two weeks while a colleague was on holiday...and now we're growing and are so busy until our very welcome new staff start in the coming weeks! If you're looking for a Caring role and are dedicated and prepared to work hard as part of a great team please come and join us! Call or drop us a line -  www.cihomecare.com  

We need you!!

Saturday seeds

Today, I took Nora up to St Peters garden centre. We picked some lovely seeds to plant in her garden before sitting down for a cup of tea and slice of cake. When we arrived back home we had just enough time to get the seeds planted. What a productive visit! 

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection) 

Twinkle toes

This afternoon Arthur was visited by the chiropodist. Whilst there, the chriropodist massaged and moisturised his feet. Arthur said that it feels as if he is walking on air. Arthur and his wife joked that he now had twinkle toes. ⭐️ 

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection)

Shopping day

Today I took Ruth out to do her weekly shop at the co-op. Ruth was extremely happy when she managed to grab the last packet of her favourite iced buns. Perfect for her afternoon tea. Yummy! 

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection) 

100 Likes

Today we have reached 100 likes on our C I Home Care Facebook page.

Thank you for all your support. 

Progress!

This morning I visited Carl again, for those of you that follow our blog you may have read recently that we have been working with Carl to build up his confidence after a recent fall. This morning's visit was an extremely proud moment. Carl was able to get out of bed, walk to the bathroom and shower with only guidance. Following that we then worked together to prepare a cooked breakfast and tidy up in the kitchen. I'm absolutely delighted 😁 

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection) 

Manicure morning

I went to see Marlene this morning. She was upset as she was unable to get an appointment to have her nails done and she was going out for lunch with a group of friends. I offered to do Marlene's nails for her. Before long they were filed and painted in a pretty pearlescent pink. 

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection)

Building confidence

I have been visiting Carl almost two weeks now. We have slowly been working on building his confidence back up to enable him to have a shower with assistance. Carl's mobility has significantly improved in the last few days and today he managed to have a shower for the first time since his fall. I am so happy with his progress! 

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection)

Exciting day at the office!

Today we received an exciting package to the office. Our new uniforms have arrived and are now in use. We are so happy with our new uniforms and will update you with a picture very soon!

Chocolate Heaven

I have had a lovely morning with our client Laurel today. We went for a little drive around the country lanes and then stopped off at St Peters garden centre for a cup of tea and a delicious slice of chocolate cake!

(please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection)

Mrs Mop

Housework is often something that elderly people and some of our clients with disabilities just can't do for themselves. I would hardly say that my own home is a shining example of Mrs Mop skills!  However it's so rewarding to see the smile on a client's face after something as simple as vacuuming the living room, making the bed or washing the dishes.  Somehow the quick whizz around I managed today in between helping Ethel get dressed and her finishing the breakfast I'd prepared earlier seemed so much easier than doing the same at home!

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection) 

Life stories

Edward is a gentleman with dementia in need of prompting to eat regular meals and assistance with taking his medication. I fear that without our regular visits he'd be living on toast and goodness knows what would happen with his meds! Today I was met at the door with a smile and set to work, gathering his medication from the safe where it is kept. Once the pills were swallowed, signed for and put away, we sat down with a drink. He tells me of travels South Africa with his late wife and all the animals he saw up close. He talks of elephants and lions, so close that you could touch them - at the end of the visit I feel I have travelled the world and not even left St Ouens!

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection) 

Last call of the day

I ended at Albert's, a wonderful and mischievous client who has terrible arthritis and so it's sadly painful and slow for him to do most things around the house.  However there's nothing wrong with his memory or personality and while we prepared dinner together (well while I prepared his dinner as standing is so painful for him) we had an amazing chat about his time in WWII.  Having said there's nothing wrong with his memory he does need reminding to take his medication  - not because he forgets but because he doesn't like taking it!  

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection)

Pet therapy

This morning I visited Barry who is unfortunately now bed bound. He had lived and worked on a farm for many years and adores animals. Barry was not feeling too good this morning but then came along his two gorgeous cats. Pickle and Jazz came and sat with Barry on the bed and made themselves cosy under each of his arms. Barry's beaming smile as he cuddled with them and fell asleep was priceless.

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection) 

April walks

Bethany, one of our carers at C I Home Care, went for a lovley walk in the sunshine this morning with Doris and her playful dog Bruce. On their way back towards the house, they stopped and sat on a bench opposite a field of ponies. Doris reminisced with Bethany about how she used to ride in shows when she was younger. What a lovely memory. 

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection)

New television

I arrived at the beginning of the visit and Trevor was ready and waiting at the door. Today is the day we had organised to take Trevor to buy his new television. On arrival at the shop, Trevor had a look around. After around 20 minutes of browsing he had made his decision. I helped Trevor to arrange for the television to be delivered and set up on Wednesday. He is extremely excited for its arrival!

Another beautiful day

It's another beautiful morning. The sun is shining and I am on my way to meet John. We have plans to go for a nice walk around town and then pop down to the waterfront for an icecream. Enjoy the sunshine! ☀️

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection)

New Uniform!

New uniforms have been ordered - we can't wait!  A beautiful peacock blue to fit in with our recent re-brand and a nice bright colour to lift people's spirits!

Full English Breakfast

 Judy was watching a breakfast cooking show on television when I arrived for her visit this morning.

Judy told me that she had not eaten a full fry up for years. Before I knew it, we were strolling down to the corner shop to buy the essentials. 20 minutes later, Judy was sat back in front of her cooking show whilst eating her egg, bacon, sausages, beans and fried bread.

Judy was ecstatic and told me "the key to happiness is a good full English breakfast."

(Please note that names have been changes due to data protection)

Trip to the doctor

This morning I took Roger to his doctors appointment. We were talking about our favourite Jersey beaches. On our way back from the appointment we stopped at St Ouens bay and took a short walk along the sea wall. It was great to get some fresh air and see a smile on Rogers face. 

(Please note that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection)

Gardening in the sunshine

This afternoon I had a wonderful time out in the sunshine with Barbara. 

During Barbara's afternoon Welfare Check, she asked if I would help her outside as she has a balance issue now - and sadly a leg wound from a recent fall. 

The walk in the garden turned into a lovely hour doing some weeding and potting some new plants together. 

Apparently it was the highlight of Barbara's day.

The pleasure was mutual  - the joy on her face was the highlight of my caring day too!

(Please be aware that names have been changed for the purpose of data protection.)