Sometimes, Clean Queens is called to assist after a client has had a fall. This is usually an elderly person, who needs emergency help and calls the NSW Ambulance service.
The client then spends some time recovering in hospital and when they are ready to go home the OT’s and social workers step in to make sure home is all safe, clean and ready for their arrival.
We are currently cleaning for ‘Beryl’, a very trusting sweet 68-year-old woman in this situation.
When I first went to view Beryl’s home, I could only walk down the hallway. I couldn’t view the “L” shaped lounge and had no idea there was a sun-room or a third bedroom. Piles of clothing in the bathroom were level with the toilet and somewhere there was a bath with a separate shower.
After a few days work, we can now see the carpet in a few rooms and the original 1950′s lino. We have meet Beryl’s neighbors and it’s starting to break my heart that this sweet lady has been living in such poor conditions and no one has been inside, reported it to the local priest or been in the position to do anything to help.
We have started to piece together what may have started this sad turn of events. It looks like she had been nursing her late husband through an illness. With his passing, life for Beryl changed irrecovably. Then depression followed.
The loss of a partner, when someone has been married for many years, can trigger a strong depression.
In addition to obvious feelings of sadness and grief, the death of a partner in old age might herald the first time in years that an elderly person has lived alone, without companionship, and this can be an extremely daunting and lonely prospect for an aging person.
– Associated Counsellors and Psychologists Sydney website
If you or someone you know has a loved one facing these issues, please make sure you look in on them, call, visit or suggest a walk. How are they
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