Another group of people I couldn't have made it without were the
aides and nurses from Cleburne County Home Health who came to check
on my mother and to help her get baths. I looked forward to their
vists, and I think my mother usually did as well. Sometimes it
seemed she though she was being visited by an old friend. It didn't
take her long to begin refusing to let me help her get a bath, but
she rarely refused one of the "bath ladies" as we called the aides.
The Home Health aides came three times a week to give my mother a
bath, and to check her temperature and pulse. They also trimmed
her fingernails and toenails, and they would dry and brush her hair.
She loved it when they would tell her how pretty her hair was and
how they wished they had thick hair like hers.
The Home Health nurses came once a month to check my mother's blood
pressure, and to listen to her heart and lungs, and to talk over
how she was getting along and answer any questions I had. Once
every three months, there was an additonal visit by a nurse who
took blood for testing. I always looked forward to the results
of that blood test, because the nurse would go over it all with
me, and I could tell whether I was feeding my mother right in order
to lower her cholesterol and to keep everything else in balance.
It was great to have the aides and the nurses to talk to, to discuss
whatever was going on and what I could try to make my mother feel
better. To them I also owe a big "thank you" for making my "Year
to Remember" possible. Copyright © 1996-2004 Brenda S. Parris
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