Jayne and Barrie Flower are grateful for every day they spend together at their beloved Bendigo home of the last 45 years.
“If it wasn’t for our home care packages through Uniting AgeWell, Jayne would undoubtedly be in hospital and we’d be apart,” Barrie explains.
He’s not wrong. Jayne, 74, is in heart failure and has a serious lung disease which entails being on oxygen around the clock, but Barrie says she’s “a fighter who is determined to live.”
Through her home care package, she gets oxygen bottles, and has bought a special bed, a chair for the shower and other equipment, including trialling an electric lounge chair that can lift her into a standing position.
Barrie, 75, who has arthritis in both knees and myopathy in his feet, is also on a home care package which means they get their meals, help with cleaning the home and also doing the garden.
Jayne says she’s totally content sitting in the sun in the lounge and watching telly, reading and chatting to friends and family. “Barrie helps me with my personal care, but when that gets a bit too much for him, I’ll ask our fantastic care advisor Vikki Carter to organise someone to come in,” she says. “Nothing is too much trouble for Uniting AgeWell, they’re wonderful.”
A respite carer comes in for two hours every week to give Barrie the chance to run a few errands and just to have a bit of a break knowing that Jayne is safe and being looked after.
“We’ve been married for 54 years, she’s my inspiration,” Barrie says. “We’re a team, and with the help we’re getting, we’re going along just fine.”
Another team is 72-year-old Tim and his wife, Carol, 71, who are still living in their beloved weatherboard home they bought when they moved to Bendigo to be closer to their daughter 15 years ago.
Tim was working as a broadcasting engineer and Carol as a teacher in Alice Springs, when he was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 57.
Carol has cared for Tim for years, but things got particularly tough during COVID-19 and she found her exhaustion levels were growing. “I realised I couldn’t do things on my own anymore, that I needed help,” she says simply.
Tim accessed the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) through Uniting AgeWell which afforded him flexible day respite care at home and at the Seven Hills Respite House, while they waited for his home care package, which offers greater levels of funding for services, to come through.
A few months ago, Tim commenced his home care package and now gets help with his personal care. “But I do all the cooking, shopping, ironing, basically everything,” Carol explains. “I’m thinking of getting some home cleaning to help out. And I’m grateful to have Uniting AgeWell in my corner.”
Many others are also realising this.
Over the past few months there has been a huge increase in the number of people taking up their home care packages through Uniting AgeWell, says Program Manager Loddon Mallee Community Programs, Kaylene DeWacht.
She says 70 new clients signed up for packages ranging from levels one to four between July and December last year, which she attributes to word-of-mouth recommendations, as well as a greater need for care during COVID-19 restrictions.
“We’ve heard from so many clients that their Uniting AgeWell home care team became increasingly important in their lives during isolation restrictions, especially with family and friends not allowed to visit.”
Uniting AgeWell also lent clients computer tablets, and with staff showing them how to zoom, it meant they could connect with friends and family more easily.
Uniting AgeWell CHSP team leader Cheryle Hague says day respite care, which was closed during COVID-19 restrictions, has started up again and is operating at reduced hours five days a week from the Seven Hills Respite House, in White Hills.
Cheryle says numbers are being strictly monitored to ensure social distancing and participants will direct what the program includes. Currently they’re enjoying doing crosswords, playing cards, watching movies and chatting.
Cheryle says many who attend are frail or have dementia, and the respite is welcomed not only by the participants who love to socialise, but by their loved ones who are their carers.
The Strath-Haven residential community in Bendigo offers round the clock nursing care and support, including for those with dementia, and a vibrant and engaging lifestyle program and social events calendar ensures there is always plenty to do.
Many have taken up the special respite stay package currently on offer at Strath-Haven which enables people to book a three week stay for the price of just two, while their carer takes a break.
For details call 1300 783 435 or visit unitingagewell.org