Alfredo Guzzi is a wise man. The Preston 92-year-old also knows that keeping as healthy and as mobile as you can, goes with having the supports you need in place to continue living well at home.
He’s got the food-side of things sorted out! Alfredo enjoys the traditional Italian meals cooked by his wife, Carmela. She uses fresh herbs from their garden to create the pasta sauce, and creates her dishes with olive oil and love.
Alfredo has Parkinson’s disease – and needs other supports in place to enable him to carry on doing what he enjoys: pottering around the garden, listening to opera and watching telly.
Alfredo first joined Uniting AgeWell when he opted to go on an eight-week Short Term Restorative Care Program. The program aims to keep clients living well at home and out of hospital while they wait for their home care package.
During this period, Alfredo received a slew of equipment including a reclining chair, walking stick, sock-donning aid and a personal alarm.
Now that he and Carmela are both on home care packages, they get help with the house and the garden as well as physiotherapy and podiatry services. Working with their care advisor, they used their packages to install safety rails around the home and have both got electric beds.
Making your home care package work for you makes sense, he reckons.