About who needs care: Up until a year ago He was a strong, very active man, farming most of his 52 acre ranch himself. We started noticed unusual fatigue...
About who needs care: Up until a year ago He was a strong, very active man, farming most of his 52 acre ranch himself. We started noticed unusual fatigue in him and he was complaining of stomach pain and constipation. After a long 5 months of doctors appointments and tests they diagnosed him (in October 2023) with Stage 4 Lymphona. They gave him only a few weeks to live, so we agreed to start Chemo. After one round of chemo he became very ill and so we stopped after only one chemo treatment. In March of this year he was doing so well they took him off of Hospice. Unfortunately, he has had two shorts stays since in the hospital for "Aspiration" pneumonia. They say this is happening partly because he eats too quickly and he is causing particles to go into his lungs and because they found some issues with his heart which is also causing fluid buildup in his lungs. He is most recently recovering from the latest bout with pneumonia and is in a skilled nursing facility in Lodi. He is coming home on July 10th. He has had caregivers (private) and Home Health care in the home for the past few months. That has not always been successful for a number of reasons, but we would like to try that again since he seems to be a bit more fragile than before and taking care of my Father has been a great strain on my 86 year old mother. My Father is now 92 years old age. He walks with a walker, but needs help toileting and getting washed up, shaved, and bathed. He wears a pull up diaper and for the past 30 years (due to a prostrate cancer operation) has no control over his urination. He can do bowel movements in the toilet, but has accidents from time to time. He has short-term memory loss but can easily carry on a conversation and remembers faces and names, tasks he did on the ranch, old friends and family etc. I would like to see someone come to the house from approximately 6 am to noon and a different person come to the house from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (the night shift might change hours somewhat depending on how easily my Dad goes to sleep)
About the care needs: We would like someone who can take my Dad's blood pressure and help my Mom administer his medication, and the night time person must be willing to learn how to set up his CPAP unit. We will show all caregivers how to do things things and the best caregivers even if they don't know how to do some of the medical stuff have been willing to learn. My Mom is really private and its a really challenge for her to have strangers in her home, so they need to be calm and understanding with her. She doesn't want them in certain rooms and not to use her kitchen sink for any reason, only the bathroom that they use to clean my Dad. And if they need to use the restroom they must use a bathroom that my Mom designates. We do not want to have to provide lunch or any meals to the caregivers. It would be nice if they can help my Dad do some brief exercises and take him on walks.
Services needed include: feeding, bathing / dressing, and mobility assistance.