We Were In Your Shoes

By Paul, Right at Home Central New Jersey

Growing up I lived with my grandparents who had a big impact in my life. When my grandfather passed away about 10 years ago it was truly a loss that changed the lives of many people including the love of his life my grandmother. I saw my grandmother hurt and try to continue to live life alone without her partner and best friend. There are so many people that have to go through this in life as they get older, and not everyone has a family or support system to help ease that pain.

 

Paul with his Grandparents

As I see my grandmother getting older and facing obstacles that most seniors do, I worry about her being alone and taken care of.

By Jennifer, Right at Home Central New Jersey

When I was 10 my grandmother had a brain aneurysm, while she was lucky enough to recover she was never quiet the same. Over the years she had a series of strokes, dementia and eventually became bed bound. I remember the struggle my mother faced finding the right care to keep my grandma other in our home. Her dementia often made her combative and afraid of nurses and caregivers because she would relive her past experience as a hostage at a bank robbery in which she was badly slashed and left for dead. Finding the right care was so important to keeping her end of life dignified and helping our family cope with the challenges of her illness. This is my why, this is why I decided to work in healthcare.

By Karen, Right at Home Central New Jersey

My family and I experienced the challenging and very confusing landscape of finding care for my 83 year old father in law, a wonderful and proud 20 year Navy veteran. He was recovering from surgery and for an entire summer he went in and out of the hospital, off to rehab and then back home, only to go back to the hospital in what seemed like a never ending chaotic loop. His health was declining, my in-laws were both getting frustrated and our family was receiving conflicting information and advice. We witnessed his pain and their frustration dealing with the magnitude of facing a future that in no way was meeting their needs or their preferences.

Working at Right at Home allows me to be of service to those in our community who have the greatest need, at a time when they are at their most vulnerable. It is my privilege to help them navigate their path to best serve their individual wishes.

My Father Ray

By Joann

My father, Ray, was force of nature. He was that person to make everyone laugh and bring people together. He suffered from severe untreated anxiety and panic all his life which led to most of his health related issues.

At a young age I knew I wanted to be involved in some sort of healthcare as I got older, primarily because of my dad and his affinity for science. He loved teaching High School Biology for most of his adult life; however, there was interim he took over his father’s cutlery grinding business after his death. Knives and my dad did not mix. I was forever bandaging him up most of my childhood since my Mom and sister had weak stomachs. I was his go to girl for all his cuts, bruises, aches and pains.

Joann's Father Ray

My love of science and taking care of people led me to pursue my path in Healthcare. Over the years my dad’s health issues changed drastically from high blood pressure to misdiagnosed illnesses. Towards the end of his life my father suffered greatly with severe back and muscle pain. After failed surgeries, attempts at pain management, countless specialists and a misdiagnosis of Parkinson’s disease my father’s health deteriorated.

I unfortunately, have been in a Right at Home clients’ shoes; however, I am fortunate to be part of a team that assist and care for families that do not chose to be a situation like mine.  No one wants to see a family member struggle with their health but,  if need be we all have the option to reach out for help especially with a company whose sole purpose is to put their Right at Home “family” first.

By Brian Hentz, Director of Business Development Right at Home Central New Jersey

A few years ago, my father, now 70, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. His grandfather also suffered with the disease. So, we knew that there was a chance that it would reappear, eventually, in our family. It was a scary realization at the time, that he would inevitably begin to lose his faculties and that his memories would fade. We are fortunate enough to have my mother, a Nurse Practitioner, in the family, to have him seen by some of the best doctors, but it is no secret that a cure does not currently exist.

Like many families, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected us greatly. My parents had moved down to Florida, from New Jersey, shortly after his diagnosis, leaving me behind to continue on my own path. While I had originally planned to visit frequently, travel restrictions have severely limited those opportunities. It had been a full year, the longest time we have ever gone without seeing each other, since I had last been down to be with them for the holidays.

The distance was hard on me, but even more difficult for my father. He makes light of the situation by joking that he may not remember me the next time I come to visit. I would notice some things. He seemed more withdrawn than his usual outgoing personality. He was too timid to tell his ice-breaking jokes to strangers anymore. He appeared to get very flustered and visibly uncomfortable when pressured to complete, what most would consider, a simple task.

Let me tell you my story….

By Ellen Burke, Director of Client Satisfaction

My goal in my work is to make sure that every client is getting the care they need and that both the client and their family members are not just satisfied but happy with the service that we are providing. I do that because I believe in the guiding principle that Beth has established for her business: “we care for your family as we would care for our own”. Beth’s goal is to exceed our client and their family members expectations every day!

I know that’s true because I have been where you are! Before I was blessed to work for Right at Home of Central New Jersey, I was a client.

Ellen Burke's Mother

About 10 years ago my dad who was a relatively healthy 83 year old got dizzy one day, went to the hospital and tests revealed a myriad of conditions that were intimidating. A lifetime of smoking had finally caught up to him. After his initial stay in the hospital, he was so weak that he needed to go to a rehab facility to get his strength back and be able to walk on his own again.

A few weeks into his long stay, the social worker approached us and said that in planning his discharge they strongly recommended that we get in-home care for him. My mother insisted she could do it but I knew that as someone in her 70s, she wouldn’t physically be able to manage a lot of the care my dad would need. We asked the social worker to recommend some homecare companies to us and they gave us several candidates. One of them was Right at Home of Central New Jersey.