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In This Issue
Featured Article: A Wonderful Moment, We Make Dementia Friends, and The Dance
You Learn
Farewell Millie
Crabbit Old Woman
Kudos From Kelly
Providers We Love
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WELCOME  
NEW STAFF 

 

Thusi Ceceli Dube
(Thanks Pinkie)
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"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that wont work."

 

~ Thomas A. Edison
 
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Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Mom/Mimi

Mom/Mimi on her last birthday, with great grandson Evan - We still miss you  

 

3/12/27 - 7/6/12

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"Progress always
involves risk. You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first.

 

~ Frederick Wilcox

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Antoinette Shoveling Snow

Antoinette, shoveling/playing in the snow

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"The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.

 

~ Bruce Feirstein

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Greetings!

Here at Always There Home Care, we are grateful you are slowing down to read our newsletter full of items that relate to home care, home health care, aging and eldercare, as well as some useful tips for daily living. Please enjoy in the spirit of community and cooperation in which this newsletter was sent.

 

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Featured Article:  

A Wonderful Moment, We Make Dementia Friends, and The Dance 

By Bob DeMarco

 

I have a vivid image of the look on mom's face and of us dancing. I will have that image in my mind forever.


One of the biggest problems I faced as an Alzheimer's caregiver was keeping my mother socialized. If it was up to her she would sit around all day in the dark, rarely speaking.

 

If you have experienced this as a caregiver, you know how really disconcerting this can be.

 

In 2005, I started taking my mother to the Banana Boat (BB) in Boynton Beach on most Friday nights. The Banana Boat is an outdoor restaurant on the Inter coastal Waterway in south Florida. The "Boat" has an outdoor restaurant and an outdoor bar where you can eat and listen to live music.  

 

Since my mother rarely spoke when we went out to dinner and sat at a table, I decided we would sit at the bar and eat.

 

I was hoping mom would benefit from being around people; and that she would benefit from seeing people interact with each other.  

 

Read Full Article 

 

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Gentry & Kelly Wearing Hats

Gentry,happy, leaving
hospital, copying Kelly's
fashion taste in hats!
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LeafOur colleague Bob Eramium brought this poem to our attention. Beautiful in its simplicity, timeless in its profound message, we thought our readers would enjoy it as much as we.

"You Learn"
A Poem By: Jorge Luis Borges 

 

After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning 
And company doesn't mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts 
And presents aren't promises,

 

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Farewell, MillieMillie Mini Collage

 

Our beloved client, Mildred Morin Dovell, "Millie," age 88, died peacefully at her home in Wilton on January 31, 2013.  Millie was born in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1924, where her early years were surrounded by an extended family and by music and dance. She attended Mary Washington College in Virginia; she then completed her teaching degree at Radford University in Radford VA. There she met her future husband, Ray Dovell, on a blind date in 1948 at a college mixer with Virginia Tech. They married in 1950 in Petersburg.

 

For the first 20 years of their married lives, they traversed the country in connection with Ray's work in the oil business, living for various times in Beaumont, Texas; Bellingham, Washington; Augusta, Kansas; Darien, Connecticut and Richmond, Virginia. They settled in Wilton in 1970, interrupted in the mid-80s by four years in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

 

Millie taught elementary school while living in Texas, prior to having four children: Susan, of Falls Church, VA; Louise, deceased; Ray Jr., of Hasting-on-Hudson, NY and Andrew, of Sydney, Australia. During her years in Wilton she was active in voluntary activities including the Society to Aid the Retarded, and Hospice of Mid-Fairfield.

 

In the mid 90s she initiated The Mildred Morin Dovell Scholarship at Radford University to help education majors. Millie was known for her quick smile and good humor, her infectious friendship with everyone around her, and especially for her ability to dance the Charleston, tap, and just about any other music that inspired her.

 

Ray, her husband of 62 years, her three children, and her five beautiful granddaughters, Kelly, Annie, Ada, Fraser and Frances, survives her.  

 Milliie

Millie and Ray were married for 62 years and enjoyed a very rare, special relationship and partnership.  

 

We will all miss her. It was a real privilege to be a part of her life.

 

Special thanks to our colleagues at Vitas Hospice and Millie and Ray's very special caregiver Antoinette Kahia. ■

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Leaf"Crabbit Old Woman"   

 

I first came across this poem as a nursing student decades ago. A worn copy was taped to the window of a nurse's station. There are many versions of it. It is, according to the story by the British nurse Phyllis McCormick ,a letter written by a Scottish lady in 1960 and was found among her meager possessions at her death. It has been sent around the world, translated into several languages and shared with nurses and other caregivers around the globe. This little old Scottish lady with nothing to left to give to the world is the anonymous author of this lovely poem. An important message for all of us who care for the elderly.

 

Read Full Poem  

 

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Kudos from Kelly

 

KUDOS from Kelly

By Kelly McNamara

 

This month we honor two of our caregivers who have been with the same client for several years. It takes a very special breed of caregivers to establish and maintain a positive and supportive relationship with a client over such a long period of time. And they both should be all going strong.

 

Maggie BoamahMaggie Boamah 
Maggie, with her eccentric hair styles at times and her exuberant manner, also is an astute observer of symptoms, changes in her client, Gert's daily activities and an extraordinary sense for when things are just "not quite right". As a result, at the ripe age of 101.5, having been under Maggie's watchful and loving care, for over three years, Gert has not had a hospitalization. No falls, no serious illnesses, no serious setbacks. And she has never missed her daily walk around the halls of the community in when she lives. Maggie will accept no excuses, it's time to walk!

 

The ease with which they each relate to each other is a joy you behold. The kidding, the silly remarks, the private jokes they share all enrich their relationship and maintain their happiness. Gert's family is, of course, quite fond of Maggie and grateful for her care. Maggie's family members feel genuine affection toward Gert as well. We are always seeking the perfect match in caregiver/client relationships. It seems we scored a home run with this one!

 

 

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leaf Providers We Love   

 

We are privileged to have received referrals from and be able to coordinate care with many Assisted Living facilities, rehab facilities, and Medicare Home Care and Hospice agencies.   Our growth is in large part due to the trust the staff in these organizations have put in our caregivers. We are likewise impressed with them and we are committed to referring to them on a regular basis

 

Miller Memorial Community, Meriden 
Too many folks consider only the quality of interior d�cor when choosing a rehab facility. This is extremely short sighted. The real value and benefit in any rehab setting is the people. The therapists, the nurses, the aides. How attentive and responsive are they? How focused on the patient's success are they? Miller excels in this area. Their staff retention is high, they are all well experienced. Their patients do very well at home and do not return. Miller boasts an active and effective short-term rehab in addition to high quality long-term care. Miller also operates an active outpatient rehab facility for folks who have been discharged to home but miss the folks at Miller and can receive the same quality therapy in an outpatient setting. Our clients continue to visit after discharge, just to see their friends on the staff again!
 

 About Always There Home Care


Always There Home Care provides compassionate, dependable and professional one-on-one care for seniors who need assistance in the comfort of their homes or residential care communities.  Services from highly qualified and trained caregivers range from companionship, meal preparation and incidental transportation to personal care, medication management and RN-directed case management. Available 7 days a week, services range from a few hours a day to 24-hour care.

Always There Home Care understands that every situation is unique and creates individualized care plans to help improve a client's quality of life.

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Our caregivers 

 

Our caregivers are totally committed, highly qualified and carefully selected individuals who are personally and thoroughly screened, bonded and insured. Most are Certified Nurse Assistants or Home Health Aides. Most importantly our caregivers are dependable and extraordinarily caring of others. In addition to their previous experience, our caregivers receive continuous training that includes dementia, hospice care, home safety, nutrition and other topics related to seniors. These highly qualified and trained caregivers are ready to help you and your loved ones with a variety of daily activities such as:

Personal care   /  Meal planning and preparation

Transportation to doctor appointments and other errands

Caring companionship   /  Light housekeeping

Medication reminders  /   Information and referral services   

Our personalized, nurse- supervised services are available 7 days a week and can range from a few hours a day to 24 hour and live in care.


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For more information or service needs, call 24 hours a day at: 800.348.0485 or visit www.AlwaysThereHomeCare-CT.com.


We are Always There!  

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