When Plans Change

Sometimes, providing the right care means helping with the routines of daily life. And sometimes, life changes with a phone call.

That happened recently for a Houston-area couple receiving care from Cambridge Caregivers. The husband learned that his brother had died in New Orleans. Burial arrangements were made quickly, in keeping with Jewish tradition.

The question was: How could the couple get there?

A Cambridge Caregivers caregiver, Jackeline, regularly provides support that helps them continue their daily lives together at home. The husband, approaching 90, has some mobility challenges and needs help staying on top of daily activities and appointments. His wife is living with brain change and requires more hands-on assistance, including help with dressing, bathing and staying safe.

A trip from Houston to New Orleans — arranged on short notice and involving several days away from home — was another matter. But Jackeline was ready to make it happen.

“The funeral was within about 48 hours,” said Shelley Kutina, Community Liaison in Cambridge Caregivers’ Houston office. “Thankfully, Jackeline was able to arrange for care for her children at home and agreed to travel with them.”

Jackeline drove the clients to New Orleans and remained with them for nearly three days, including two nights away from home.

For the couple’s adult children, many of whom live out of state, her help made the difference between their father attending his brother’s funeral and, very likely, having to miss it.

“The family told me that it would have been nearly impossible for them to get their parents to New Orleans on time,” Shelley said. Family members would have had to arrange transportation, pack for the couple, assist them throughout the trip and make sure both remained safe and supported.

With Jackeline there, they didn’t have to solve those problems from hundreds of miles away.

More Than Transportation

Once in New Orleans, Jackeline was welcomed by the couple’s extended family. They included her in dinners and other family meals, including a visit to the Café du Monde.  They even included Jackeline in family photographs.

“The family all spoke Jackeline’s praises,” Shelley said. “They truly feel at peace knowing that their parents are in such good hands.”

After other relatives headed home, Jackeline still had one more important stop to make before driving the couple back to Houston. She took them to see the husband’s childhood home.

As the couple sat in the car, they reminisced about his early years in New Orleans and shared stories from the past. Jackeline photographed the house and recorded video of the couple talking so their children and other family members could share in the moment later.

“One of the family members said what a blessing that was because, at his age, this may very well be his last time in New Orleans and his last time seeing his childhood home,” Shelley said. “It was amazing for them to see him see his home and tell his stories.”

What began as an urgent trip for a sad occasion also became an opportunity to revisit a meaningful place and preserve some family memories.

Care That Adjusts to Real Life

At Cambridge Caregivers, customized care includes responding flexibly and quickly, when possible, as clients’ needs and circumstances change. A caregiver may ordinarily help with personal care, transportation, companionship or daily routines. Then a hospitalization, family milestone, funeral or other unexpected event changes the plan.

Travel support is one way Cambridge Caregivers steps in to help. In another example, the Dallas and Houston teams coordinated care for a client who traveled to Houston for cancer surgery, arranging support that included travel, transportation, overnight care and assistance following surgery.

For Jackeline’s clients, the New Orleans trip also reflected something that had been developing long before the family needed emergency travel help: friendship and trust.

A week or two after the funeral trip, the couple took Jackeline and her children out to dinner to celebrate Jackeline’s birthday.

The caregiver who had accompanied them through a difficult family weekend was no longer simply someone assigned to help with daily tasks. She had become part of the family.