Tribute to Gorgi

Today was a downer – our first client with Stay Home Forever Inc., passed away. We had been trying to call her for over a week as her housekeeping service was due. She is usually quick to return calls and chat endlessly. She would call us even from the hospital and tell us to please meet her at her apartment the day she is released from hospital so we can assist her undress and get to bed and give her some food. She had no one. Briefly she said she had no contact with her children and her husband had passed away – she had 1 good friend in Toronto and that was it. When she was sick she called 911 and ambulance picked her up and she took a taxi back to her apartment. She added us as her emergency contact person because she had no one else. She wanted to chat to someone more than anything else.

Christmas day I got a call from her. She was in hospital ( again) and she said she will be released on 26th. She wanted someone to be there when she got home. We tried hard to find a caregiver to go but being a holiday, with lock down starting there was no one to take the shift. I had to tell her very reluctantly that there was no one willing to come. I knew she was upset and scared. 26th December she calls me to say she was home and she that she was very hungry and she only feels like eating fish and chips. She cannot get off bed to cook. Can someone please pick up some food for her. I called around, all the fish and chips places either were not answering the phone or was closed. I called her to say I will come personally and drop off food but there is no fish and chips. She begged me – please bring me fish and chips – I cannot eat anything else. At this time I was thinking if I was hungry I would eat anything – why would she insist on fish and chips. I was a bit annoyed, it was cold, snowy, I had my grandbaby who I knew I would not see for a long time because of the lock down taking place and I wanted to spend some time with family. I would have taken her turkey – but she wanted fish and chips. My husband Rohan volunteered to go wade through the snow and look for an open fish and chips restaurant. Luckily he did find one – waited for the order to be made and dropped it off at her home. She called to thank me profusely. I am glad now that we could have provided her with a simple request for fish and chips.

I got into the senior care business, because of the hardships I experienced and continue to experience looking after both my sick parents. I wanted to help other seniors and their loved ones in the process and provide the senior with the chance to live it at – if that’s what they wanted to do.

However, I had no idea what I was getting into. As a person, I am emotional and I am told that I think more with my heart than my mind – which is great personally as I am able to be empathetic to people’s situations and help if needed. However, in business this may not be the best thing. Whether it is making financial decisions, or servicing a client that tells you a sob story or collecting money that’s due – thinking from your heart can go against you in business.

In this business, I try not to get emotionally attached to my senior clients, but it’s not easy knowing how lonely some are….and days like today are just a bummer!