08/08/2012
Well we went back to clean the dear old client's house today whose family had previously thought he would be dead and buried by now. Pleased to say he was looking really well and getting around efficently as well. I prepared myself in case he didn't look that good, but was so pleasantly surprised to see him so well. When his daughter contacted me 2 weeks ago she said that they'll just have us once a fortnight, she & the carers can do the off week. When we were leaving I went and said goodbye to him. "Have they paid you?" He said, "No.. but I'll find Mary". He said "OK we need to sort out days, when you are coming next". I told him 2 weeks. "I want you to come weekly can you work it out please? I go to town on Mondays & Wednesdays so we need to work around that". I was gobsmacked! He fully intends on going into the City 2 days a week, this dear old man who should have the maggots eating away at him. Now we have no vacancies at all. We have 5 on Fridays and that's heaps by the end of the week. But guess what we decided? Yes of course we can fit him in weekly - on a Friday. As his daughter said, we are so important to his recovery. We are part of his previous routine and it is vital that he returns to his routine as soon as possible. They've made minor changes to his home - nothing major or terribly expensive. Put a ramp from the verandah into the front porch etc. removed all the mats so that he can use his "pushy" thing, changed the bathroom door so it opens outwards not inwards. All minor stuff that has enabled him to stay in his own home. When we left he was sitting in his bedroom - it's a very large room, in his chair by the window overlooking his beautiful garden with a cozy heater going and reading a book. How peaceful and happy he was. I walked out of there with such a nice warm fuzzy feeling. Days like this make me very proud that we do the job we do. We are more than just Cleaners.
