Envigor Brisbane North West’s Care Coordinator Kate Allen shares a story about her client Lola, who has been receiving Envigor care since 2017, and how she is supported to live independently in her own home within a retirement community.
Lola receives services under her Home Care Package in the form of domestic assistance, personal care, meal preparation, social support and transport to and from her medical appointments.
Lola has a support worker with her five days a week, for a minimum of two hours each day. She enjoys her time with her various support workers and there are always stories to be told. Lola was a school teacher and some of the stories she tells are quite funny and some are quite serious. She tells of students being “little ratbags” and how their dog would go and eat the flowers that were growing around the school fountain.
Our lifestyle support workers who see Lola are always impressed with the lovely flowers and ferns that are around her little unit and enjoy doing some simple gardening with her. Her daughters have made some lovely photo books and she takes great pleasure in showing her support workers photos from her past.
Lola also gets help in the form of grocery shopping and meal planning. Her favourite meal for quite some time was Kate’s salmon patties. Lola would eat them hot out of the pan, which meant that there would always be a minimum of two batches cooked each week. Her Friday lifestyle support assistant Cynthea makes her an omelette. She enjoys these immensely and has now renamed Friday Omelette Day. Some of these famous omelettes are salmon and cream cheese, and some have a yummy side of mushrooms, tomatoes and avocado, which also assists Lola in getting in her 5 serves of fruit and vegies.
Lola’s daughters Lisa and Sara are very thankful for the work we do with their mother and they have said that the difference they have seen in Lola has been life changing. She has made great connections with her workers and enjoys their company and sitting down having a sneaky chai latte and chat about all things including the weather, politics and various world issues. Her attitude toward life and living continues to improve and Lola is now living life Envigorated each day.