Musculoskeletal disorders are common among seniors. Sometimes, seniors will have to undergo surgery to address long-standing problems. And, if they do not recover well, their mobility will get compromised. As a result, elder assistance in the form of professional post-operative care becomes essential. A good idea is to seek elder assistance from an established home nursing care provider.
Professional post-operative care for Srimanthi
Mohan Rao is a long-time resident of The City of Pearls. He has been availing the services of Life Circle, a home nursing care provider, for the last four years.
In 2017, his wife Srimanthi, was confined to bed owing to the progression of arthritis. The onset of the disease affected her ability to coordinate the movement of her limbs. Therefore, Srimanthi cannot balance herself. Also, she underwent hip replacement surgery at the same time. Because of this, she was in need of post-operative care. And her condition warranted 24-hour monitoring and professional elder assistance. It was then that Mohan Rao’s friend, a client of Life Circle, suggested he approach the home nursing care provider for a home attendant.
Elder assistance: The home attendant’s role
Having home attendants from Life Circle, has become part and parcel of Rao’s family. Since 2017, Rao and Srimanthi have seen a total of 13 home attendants come and go. Does Mohan Rao have any qualms about the frequent change in home-attendants? “Not at all. We have had home attendants from Assam, Kurnool, Guntur, Warangal, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu,” he says. Most importantly, the home attendants have all bonded well with the family. Rao goes on to add, “We treat them like our family members.”
The home attendant from Life Circle stays with the Raos and attends to Srimanthi’s every need like toilet, food and medication. Also, a nursing manager (NM) from Life Circle visits the Rao household every month. The NM monitors Srimanthi’s health condition. In addition to that, the NM evaluates the home attendant’s performance and offers guidance. Rao is satisfied with Life Circle’s services and is quick to say, “What more can I ask for?”.
Things took a turn for the worse when Srimanthi’s right leg required amputation owing to her medical condition. After the amputation, Srimanthi is unable to walk and needs help with her activities of daily living. An artificial leg cannot be fixed as her organs are not strong enough to bear the pressure. And owing to these constraints, every day, she ends up spending long hours in bed!
The current home attendant
Young Ruth Midra is the current home attendant at the Rao household. An orphan, Ruth studied up to class 10 and hails from Koraput in Orissa. Her small family consists of three members. This includes her two brothers, one older and the other younger. Ruth has been on her present assignment for the last three months. She got to know about her current profession by word of mouth. It helped that she liked the job. And the income she gets from working as a home attendant has helped improve her family’s financial condition. Along with her elder brother, she contributes to the family income.
A very dedicated worker, Ruth gives Srimanthi the best possible elder assistance. And what is her daily schedule like? Ruth starts her day at 6 am. All-day, she keeps a close watch on Srimanthi. During this time, she also helps her with her food, bath, and toilet needs. In addition to that, she takes care to feed the patient her medicines at the stipulated time.
Someday, Ruth aspires to pursue higher studies and hopes to earn more. Moreover, the higher earnings would help her lead an improved lifestyle.
(Some of the names have been changed to protect identities)
