In this modern day and age with our busy lifestyles, life seems to flying by far too quickly. When I was growing up as a youngster people would always say “life is too short” and that you should make the most of the time you have, and they couldn’t have been more further from the truth.
My name is Jack and I’m currently fifty eight year’s young. I’ve recently been divorced from my second marriage, and whilst I consider myself completely independent, unfortunately my body tells me otherwise.
About thirteen months ago now, a few months after my divorce was finalized I was playing a round of golf, like I do every Friday, with my semi –retired pals. When I look back on that day, everything seemed normal apart I remember my chest feeling a lot tighter than usual, although I had only recently got over a cold so I assumed that was why. Anyway I met up with the guys at our local driving range and around hole six I noticed I was feeling rather dizzy and slightly nauseous. The next thing I remember was my pal Robert asking me to hand him his nine iron, and as I went to reach it out of the bag, I felt this immediate sharp chest pain that caused me to drop to the floor. I vaguely remember Robert and the rest of the guys running to my assistance as my eyes started to close from the pain, and the next thing I know I’m in an ambulance on the way to the hospital having been told I’d had a heart attack.
I was completely shocked when I found out what had happened, especially considering I lived a very healthy lifestyle as a non-smoker, and I always ate well. Of course I had the odd nights where me and my pals would meet up for a couple of beers but it was never to an excess, so this further confused me to why this had happened. Perhaps it was post-traumatic stress from going through my second divorce, who knows?!
After three weeks of being monitored in the hospital I was released to continue my rehabilitation at home, however I was still very fragile when it came to doing your day to day tasks, so I knew I needed help. Unfortunately my eldest son was in another country fulfilling his duties in the army, and my youngest son was living in England with his family, so I basically had to find an alternative. I heard there were some really good in-home caregivers in San Francisco, that can provide support as and when you need, so I ended up making a few calls to see who might be able to help me
I found myself speaking to a company called Care Indeed who provide Bay Area home care as well as in-home care in many other locations in the US. After speaking to one of their team I was matched with a care giver called Matt, who spookily had the same stature and size feet as my eldest son. In the beginning Matt came over to help me with daily tasks that required lifting anything, even the lightest of things like a pile of laundry or a full kettle of water. He helped me work on my mobility daily, and given I was getting cabin fever from being in the house twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, I really appreciated having someone to physically talk to face to face.
Four months down the line and I’m starting to feel myself again. I can do things more independently now and Matt only pops in to help me every other day. It’s safe to say I genuinely don’t know what I would have done without him, he has helped restore my independence, and I hope to get back to driving range as soon as I get the all clear from the hospital. I would highly recommend Care Indeed or any other form of in-home care for others who might find themselves in similar predicaments, as it really does make the difference when it comes to getting your life back on track!