Hands-on Care Needed For My Mother In Florence

About who needs care: Satya (75) - my mother -, and we're looking for someone able to hangout with her (in a fun way) for a couple days a week, including taking her out on drives, shopping, to lunch, or other activities; go on walks with her around the community (she may need to be pushed in a wheelchair, which we have); read with her; play music, and dance. She LOVES dancing more than anything, especially to music of the 60's and 70's (the Bee Gees are her favorite). She loves to laugh, loves animals, humor, being silly, clothes and style, spirituality, anything uplifting and aimed at self-growth. She is a life-long truth-seeker, and has studied all forms of spirituality in many different communities, especially eastern, metaphysical, and esoteric. (Her name, Satya, which she gave herself, means "truth" in Sanskrit.) She also loves nature, loves being taken out for walks (in a wheelchair if longer, walker if shorter), loves going to parks and scenic places. CONDITIONS: She has a neurological condition affecting both cognitive decline (mostly memory / judgment) as well as walking and mobility, and she uses a walker or cane, or a wheelchair for longer distances. She is suffering from dementia, and in general struggling to accept a lot of the limitations she has, including a recent loss of ability to drive. She insists she can drive, and denies much of what the doctors have deemed necessary/safe. She is very independent and has been her whole life - with a fascinating life story of living in an Ashram and being a life-long spiritual seeker, following gurus of Eastern philosophy and yoga - and the loss of independence is very hard for her. However, she responds really well to anyone willing to listen, offer empathy, laugh with her, sing and dance. She is a very playful, joyful, and silly person at heart, and these are the people she responds best to and wants to be around. IDEAL DAY: Satya is struggling to accept the loss of driving, and her ideal day would begin with going out with someone to do whatever small errands she has in mind (we will give guidelines for these, as there are a few things off limits). After errands, she would love to go out to lunch (she would pay), and possibly do a small, fun activity. She usually doesn't like to be out more than 2 - 3 hours, and is tired after that. Another form of her idea day might be reading in her room (being read to from one of her books), or listening to music with someone (she has many CD's and a player in her room), and dancing or singing. She also loves sitting with someone on the couch in her room and talking about her life, looking at photos (on her phone, or in albums). THE KIND OF HELP SHE NEEDS: 1) For outings, she needs someone who is going to come up to her room (at Christopher Heights) and - if needed - help her get ready. Sometimes she is ready to go and needs little assistance, other times she sits on a chair and seems stuck at the idea of putting on her shoes or getting dressed. This changes day by day. Someone might need to help her with these things, or not, depending on her state. When leaving Christopher Heights, she needs someone to walk with her (her balance is VERY unsteady), encourage her to use her walker, and help her in/out of the car (including buckling her up). Because mobility is such an issue, she really needs to be accompanied and helped in all outings (and we are also looking for someone to really hangout with her, in a meaningful way, not just ferry her around). 2) For hanging out in her room, we'd also love for someone to help her with basic housekeeping and picking things up. Christopher Heights offers VERY minimal help with this, and her room often has shoes and clothes all over, and we are always trying to move trip/fall risks from the floor. Any light cleaning - of the bathroom, floors, etc. - would be good. Helping organize her clothes on her shelf, making sure her hearing aids are charged,