“I’m thriving every day.”
Lena, a bubbly and confident 44-year-old, credits her mother’s wisdom and the care she receives from CCS Long Term Care for her ability to live independently. “It’s knowing I can do things for myself, even if I have to do it a different way.”
Lena was born with cerebral palsy, posing some challenges to her mobility and other capacities. Every month, she receives 158 hours of home care services from licensed and certified Home Care Aides, who help her with transfers, dressing, medication, range of motion, medical appointments, transportation, and other tasks. An exercise program with resistance bands helps Lena maintain her capacity to transfer herself from her wheelchair to her caregivers’ cars.
Ten years ago, LTC caregiver Catherine approached Lena and her mother as she transitioned from living with her mom to her first apartment. “I had a few clients in the area and knew we could help them.” A conversation with LTC supervisor Aldona led to caregiver relationships that would sustain Lena when she lost her mom to ALS five years later.
Lena’s only nearby family member, an uncle, drops by from time to time, providing a fresh supply of adult coloring books. These, along with Word Search, are her favorite activities. “I can’t get enough of them!” She sees more distant family members “when I can.”
“I am my mother’s daughter”
“I thank my mom for me being at home as long as I was. She gave me the tools to be on my own once she passed. I have a toolbox for action now.” Those tools include the capacity to advocate for herself through a four-year waiting list for housing and the persistence to negotiate for ADA accommodations like a ramp and a new bathroom once she moved in. “We had to voice it. Write it on paper. Get the doctors involved. Everything you can imagine we had to do, and we had to really push for it.”
“And It really paid off. All this. I did it for me.”
“For me,” in Lena’s case, means “for others,” too. “I am my mother’s daughter,” she says.
She maintains her mom’s custom of sending greeting cards to family and people in her community. As an active member of the local community club, Lena and other volunteers help maintain a lively schedule of birthday parties, barbecues, movie days, and other activities. “She and a couple of other ladies actually run the place,” Catherine notes with a smile. Lena participates in an online support group for others with different disabilities, sharing her experience, empathy, and positive outlook. “We are like family. We are there for each other.” Among other topics, they discuss their experiences with caregivers.
“Catherine helps with everything you can imagine I need assistance with. She asks my opinion about things. She reminds me, every so often, ‘Don’t forget we need to be okay,'” shares Lena.
“Slow and steady wins the race.”
Reflecting on the last ten years, Catherine says, “It’s been the greatest pleasure working with Lena. I’ve learned so much from her. She’s shown me that it’s little steps that make success. I’m learning that in my own life. She teaches me it’s just persistence to keep doing these little things, even the smallest thing if it’s in the right direction. “
Lena agrees. “The small things are just as important as the big things. And slow and steady wins the race. Slow is all I’ve ever known, and that’s okay. I still get there.”
Support CCS Long Term Care by making a gift to the 2024 LTC Appeal today. With your help, LTC can continue to provide over two million hours of home care to our neighbors like Lena.