Jerry was 82, widowed, and living alone when his oldest daughter stopped by for a visit. She lived a couple of hours away, so it was a wonderful surprise. He was curious, though, what brought her all the way over to visit with him that day. 

His suspicions were running deeper and deeper as they sat by the kitchen table talking. She seemed to be “beating around the bush” and he kept prodding her find out exactly why she was there. 

When she finally got around to it, she brought up the topic of home care options. After all, as an aging senior living alone, she was worried about his safety. He dismissed her concerns right away, but he wasn’t all that convincing to even himself. 

Jerry was growing concerned, too.

He didn’t want to talk about home care options for seniors, not because he didn’t want help of any kind, and not because he was completely safe and fine on his own. He knew full well that his physical abilities were in decline. 

There were more and more mornings when he would wake up and worry about getting out of bed. His feet just didn’t seem to be as sturdy underneath him early in the morning. But, he also didn’t want to have an accident in the bed, so he kept pushing himself a little bit more than he probably should have. 

His main concern, though, was losing independence. 

Many seniors worry about losing independence as they get older. They don’t want to become beholden to other people and their ideas and opinions about what should or shouldn’t happen in their life. The last thing Jerry wanted was for his own children to start telling him what he could or couldn’t do. 

Then, if he did hire a home care provider, he didn’t want to sit around all day being told, “You can’t do that” or “What are you thinking trying to do that” by an aide. 

He wanted to be able to live independently, still maintain control over his life, and still decide what he could or couldn’t do. That’s why he didn’t want to listen about home care options at this time. 

Then, his daughter mentioned being able to do some activities he had given up. 

This piqued his interest. He wanted to know how it would be possible to hire a home care aide is still be able to visit with friends, go for a walk at the park, and feed the birds. 

When he finally realized that home care was about supporting him and helping him maintain a high quality of life, he was willing to listen even more. To know that he wouldn’t lose independence by hiring a home care aide was a great relief. 

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Home Care in Spartanburg, SC, contact Heart of the Carolinas Home Care at 864-991-3116.  Providing Home Care Services in Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Anderson, Spartanburg, Mauldin, Seneca, Laurens, Charleston, Columbia and the surrounding areas. 

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Edward Harrison

Founder at Heart of the Carolinas

Edward Harrison founded the Heart of the Carolinas Homecare in 2007 when he saw there was a need for caregivers that provide non-medical home care services, at a price that most people could afford. It was standard in the industry to require hourly minimums and it was common to be assigned a caregiver, not matched with one based on your individual personal needs. Edward understood that to make a successful relationship between caregiver and client, skills were not enough, personality and compatibility plays as much a role as do skills.

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