Back to work next week, but I’m off the clock with a personal note this week:
I’m recruiting one or more speech/memory or occupational therapists to work with my wife Juanita. Here’s the LinkedIn announcement.
I’m satisfied with the performance of the nurse’s aide and two professional therapists (both from Fox Rehab) who have been working with my wife. The excellent results from them and two volunteers who have been working with my wife have convinced me she might benefit even more from additional therapy. I’m doubling down.
I provide the following to help potential candidates decide if this job could be right for them:
- The text of a 2024 New Year’s Day family update, available at the bottom of this post or in the formatted PDF version with photos, available through a Dropbox link.
- A link to the Facebook account where I post one update about my wife every week.
- A couple of videos showing Juanita interacting with the hired nurse’s aide who helps me take care of Juanita:
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2024 Lawson Family Update
Since Juanita got sick, it’s been difficult to stay in touch with relatives and friends. I’m sending this update to those who have asked about her or sent us Christmas cards:
Juanita was hospitalized in September 2021 with encephalitis (brain inflammation). This affected her memory and speech. After six weeks at Inova Fairfax Hospital and two months at Fairfax Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, I brought her home in December 2021. While Juanita still has a long way to go, she continues to improve.
Her physical condition is good. She walks a two-mile course around her favorite lake three or more times a week. She performs what doctors call activities of daily living with minimal assistance and also does things like washing dishes and cutting up fruits and vegetables. She helped prepare this New Year Family Update.
Juanita has “fluent aphasia.” She speaks freely and usually can get across simple ideas pretty well. When trying to communicate more complex ideas it’s often hard to understand her, since she uses what doctors call non words. Since we have been married 50 years, I can frequently tell what she is trying to say. She is much better than most people at detail-oriented tasks like jigsaw puzzles, find-the-difference puzzles and loves to teach others to play her favorite video games.
Memory is her biggest problem. She has trouble with long term and short-term recall. Her speech/memory therapist visits her once a week. She recently certified Juanita for two additional months of therapy, which is encouraging since Medicare requires proof than a patient is still improving before they will pay for additional therapy. Her occupational therapist visits twice a week.
I am blessed to have other help, including a hired nurse’s aide who works 40 hours a week, frequently doing therapy-type activities like puzzles, games or watching TV or movies with her. Two volunteers visit for other therapy-type activities on most weeks. Other neighbors and friends visit her from time to time.
The best news is that Juanita’s personality remains the same. She is cheerful and enjoys chatting, which means that visitors like to see her. She places others’ interests ahead of her own. For example, when walking recently on a blustery 29-degree day she refused to let me give her my knit cap because she did not want me to be cold. She does everything she can do to help others. For example, when her hired caregiver injured her ankle in a fall, Juanita was quick to tell not to move, reassure her she would be OK, bring her pillows for cushioning, everything she could do.
Most important, she retains her almost childlike capacity for joy. When she likes a restaurant, she really likes the restaurant. When she likes a ballgame, she really likes the ballgame. When she likes a joke, she really likes the joke. It’s always a joy to be around her.
My Facebook account (facebook.com/zzlaws) has one post a week about Juanita. Follow us if you are not doing so already. Comments and reactions posted there help her indirectly.
Jerry Lawson
5406 Kinnerly Court
Burke, VA 22015