Welcome to Our Blog!
We are Premium Choice Home Care. We provide in-home care services in Idaho Falls, Idaho to the elderly, disabled, children and infants across all of Eastern Idaho.
There are a million ways we could kick off our new website and blog, but we’ve decided to get down to the roots of why we do what we do with an impactful story written by one of our very own employees.
My grandpa was one of the most amazing men I’ve ever known.
Grandpa Terry was one of those manly men who loved hunting, fishing and playing sports. Raised on a farm in Southeast Idaho, he was accustomed to hard work and was fiercely independent. In fact, he worked until he was 80-years-old. He was well-known for his exquisite carpentry work, but he was even more well-known for his outstanding character and goodness.
With time, his body started to wear down. His knees grew weak and feeble from years of carpentry and sports, and he soon became restrained to life in a wheelchair. This was probably one of the most trying times in his entire life.
My grandpa continued to try to do things on his own, but this would often end in him taking a tumble to the ground. It soon became apparent that he needed someone to watch after him. This was when my family decided to move in and provide care.
One day in particular stands out in my memory.
I had just gotten up and went to the kitchen. I heard some noise coming from his bedroom and decided to go check on him. When I opened his door, I found him standing up, leaning against his dresser with knees trembling as he tried to make his way to the door.
“Grandpa! What are you doing?!” I questioned as I sprang to his side, bracing his weight and stabilizing him momentarily.
He was terrified and exhausted as he plead with me. “I’ve got to get the dogs! Mom told me to go get them! There’s a thunderstorm. I’ve got to get the dogs!”
At the young age of 14, panic and worry clouded my mind as I envisioned my grandpa falling to the ground.
I tried to reassure him saying, “It’s OK Grandpa, the dogs are OK. Let’s sit down.”
I mustered all the strength I could to carefully support my grandpa back to safety.
And yet, I was nearly in tears. I was shaken to the core. My grandpa could have been seriously injured, and each word he spoke pierced me with sadness. His mother was long gone. Was he having flashbacks? How long would he be in this state of confusion?
The prospect of him falling down put things into perspective for me. There was no way I could have helped him back up, and what if he had gotten hurt? It was at this point that I realized my desire to care for my grandpa was not equal to my ability to care for him.
Why This Matters
At some point, someone you know and love will need assistance to live and function properly — if not at this very moment, sometime in the not so distant future. It could be your mother, father, grandma, grandpa, spouse, aunt, uncle, friend or even your child.
Right now, more than 34.2 million Americans serve as caregivers for someone over the age of 50. And the need for caregivers continues to skyrocket.
The truth is, illness, age and disease hit home for just about everyone. And at some point, you may need to seek help outside your family.
There is help and assistance available.
Trying to find balance as a family caregiver can be tough, and if you’re like me, some tasks might seem outside your abilities. But you are not alone! There is an entire community willing to help you and your family.
Home Instead Senior Care conducted research concerning in-home care and found that family caregivers who supplement their care with paid in-home care services had the following:
- Better personal health.
- Better quality of life.
- More help with seniors who make greater care demands, especially those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
- Help in staying in the workforce.
- Help in reducing the financial sacrifices that caregiving often imposes.
- Help in delivering more care and better care to their seniors.
Please know that you’re not alone and that it’s OK to seek outside help in order to give your loved one and yourself the best quality of life possible.
Our goals for this blog are three-fold.
The need is more prevalent than ever to create a community where caregiving knowledge is freely shared. We want to be a resource to you in determining the best options for you and your loved one. This blog will serve as a resource to family caregivers, professional caregivers and providers alike.
We look forward to:
- Providing you with helpful information about home care and caregiving
- Discussing problems you or a loved one may be facing and providing you with helpful solutions
- Connecting with you and sharing what’s going on in our world!
We’re excited to come together and improve caregiving in Eastern Idaho.
If there’s something you’d like to learn more about or discuss, please drop us a line! We’d love to hear your feedback.
More about us
We are Premium Choice Home Care. We’ve been providing personalized care to the Idaho Falls, ID community since 2013. We understand the challenges that families face in finding suitable care for their loved one, and we’re here to step up and be a part of the solution.
In just a few years, we’ve grown into a leading professional in the home care industry. We are now serving ten counties in Region VII, including cities like: Idaho Falls, Ammon, Iona, Rexburg, Rigby, Ririe, Roberts, Sugar City, Teton, Pocatello, Blackfoot, Shelley, Driggs, and Salmon, and we continue to expand throughout the valley.
Resources
(1) http://www.nahc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/10hc_stats.pdf
(2) http://www.caregiving.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015_CaregivingintheUS_Final-Report-June-4_WEB.pdf
(3) https://www.homeinstead.com/Documents/IMPROVING%20THE%20LIVES%20OF%20CAREGIVERS.pdf