Gloria, an actively involved community supporter of the arts and music, moved to our area 20+ years ago with her then-husband. They renovated an older historic home and Gloria became actively involved in the community, serving on many local and national nonprofit boards.
In March 2016, Gloria suffered a debilitating stroke. Her two sons were working with her attorney, who referred them to our Long Term Liaisons team. We were hired in October 2016. Gloria had already been receiving care for several months and was away from our area during that time. She spent time in two different rehab facilities.
The family coordinated modifications to her home to accommodate her needs, including an electric stairlift, roll-in shower, sit-to-stand lifts, and an adjustable bed. Despite experiencing no additional strokes, Gloria needed 24/7 care and a variety of medical services, which we coordinated for her. These services included:
- Arranging 24/7 care with a non-medical in-home care agency
- Requested home health for skilled nursing, along with physical, occupational, and speech therapy services.
Coordinated primary care services to occur in the home. - Connected her with a local neurologist.
- Involved our nurse in management of medication, including crushing it to make it easier to ingest. The nurse also helped work with her physicians to educate the family and to wean her off the medications that were no longer needed.
After her home safety and medical needs were stabilized, we helped her access Medicare and privately funded services such as physical therapy, speech therapy, music therapy, athletic training, massage therapy, a wheelchair-accessible van, and drivers to transport her to and from social events. One special thing we did is made sure that services continued with her long-time hairdresser.
Everyone who knows her, loves her, so she has a vibrant social life that regularly includes friends and acquaintances who are local and those who have moved away enjoy stopping to see her when they are in town.
A challenge many stroke survivors face is limits in speech and the formation of thoughts into spoken word. This is no different for Gloria. Her speech is very limited, and she repeats a two-word phrase regularly. She can say yes, no, but, and I know.
By getting to know her, the members of our team can understand her inflection and we are mostly successful in deciphering what she is sharing. Her friends and family knew her prior to the stroke and are also able to understand her communication. This ability is an important aspect of her well-being.
Having a stroke is a very stressful and scary event! The most important step to take is to bring in a care manager who is the advocate for the client. We look at the whole picture to make sure that complete care is provided, and the needs of the stroke survivor are met. If you or someone in your family are facing challenges relating to strokes or other conditions, please give us a call at 803-215-1019 or email us at info@longtermliaisons.com to find out how we can help you.
