September 15, 2017
The hum of generators is in the air here in Southwest Florida.
Relief efforts are well underway and life is starting to appear somewhat normal, outside of the local sushi restuarant giving away free sushi (ummm...no thanks).
Yesterday - was a particualrly eventful day. We've officially reached out to our clients to make sure all is well and help them out if they are in need. We have moved clients home from their hotels and moved others in with some of our staff until families arrive and/or power is restored (special thanks to Katrina, Molly, Selena and Tina). Even though many of our seniors prefer to keep their thermostats set a touch on the warmer side, it's just to dang hot to be anywhere without AC.
Fuel has also been a bit of an effort to find and get. While most of our CAREGivers and staff were available to come back to work, the availablilty of fuel was few and far between. My husband found himself syphoning fuel out of a couple of our Home Instead company cars to give to CAREGivers and staff so they could get to our clients. He's been braving the lines to keep our gas cans filled just in case we to give more.
Our staff found themselves out and about yesterday filling gas tanks, delivering water, delivering meals and changing tires so our CAREGivers could make it to their shifts, our staff could attend to our clients needs and our clients would not go without.
We were especially blessed by Living Waters Church in Estero and thier outreach efforts. Utilizing meals prepared by Mercy Chef's we deliverd meals to a few of our CAREGivers who were affected by the storm and were in need of some help.
We bought some clothes for a gentleman who was about to be released from the hospital and didn't have any clean clothes and also stayed with a client who's home has no power and the family has been unable to be reached.
We have received many phone calls from concerned family members who live out of state asking if we could stop in and check on their senior loved one and just make sure they are ok until the power comes back on. The answer is always a resounding "YES"!
Today - some special clients (He will turn 100 next year!) who have been with us for 11 years returned to their home and were thrilled to learn that "their girls", who care for them, were on their way. This sweet couple just celebrated their 76th wedding anniversary. Our Naples Taskforce (AKA, Sue and Patty) was out and about today checking in on some clients, delivering them meals, supplies, food and water. As they wrapped up their day, they decided to stop by this couple's home, just to give them a hug. During the call to announce their arrival, the couple was thrilled to receive the visit and asked if our task force could stop by the grocery for some water...it just so happened the LAST item in the trunk of our task force's car was a flat of water. Sue told the couple, "Of course we brought you water, because we love you.". With tears in his eyes the man said "I love you too, Sue".
It's been challenging, to say the least. There has been destruction, flooding, sewage, mold, mildew, dead fish (stinky), sweltering heat (also stinky), downed powerlines, downed trees (one into the owner's pool another crushing a staff member's garage!) and most of the population down here is still without power. But, we love what we do. We love our staff. We love our CAREGivers. And, we love our clients. We happily do what we do because we know that a senior in our care is in good hands, no matter the circumstance.
More updates to follow (and more pictures too!)
