SpeakOut 8/26

Call 471-6636

This message is for anyone who is looking for a housekeeper or a caregiver. Please give me an opportunity to define each. A housekeeper will come into your home and clean any and everything in the time it takes for anywhere from $13 to $28 an hour. This includes offices. Most housekeepers are hired by the job, say $35 a house or office. But it only takes them one or one and a half hours to clean. You figure it up. On the other hand, a caregiver is not a housekeeper. There is about a $5 to $20 difference. A caregiver takes care of people. There is a minimal amount of cleaning such as dish washing, cooking and bed making. This is required because it is part of the patient's personal care. I defined the two because I am a very good caregiver. I love my patients. I just recently started a new job and this little lady, like so many others, had the wrong idea of what she's supposed to be getting for $8 an hour. She has a 3,000-square-foot home that had been neglected horribly when I started working for her. The other lady who works for the patient and I have worked our butts off just so she can have a healthier environment to live in. There is nothing wrong with this lady that a good swift kick in the pants would not take care of. She's 80 years old and the only thing wrong with her is that she feels sorry for herself and has one pity party after another. I know I sound awful, but don't judge me until you've spent a week with this person. She thinks the help she hired should be scrubbing baseboards, cleaning kitchen cabinets and scouring her oven, all the time, whether they need it or not. She can walk but she refuses to, so we have to push and pull on her 150-pound frame in a wheelchair, only because she feels like she's paying for it. I've never left a patient and I know not too many people would put up with what this patient dishes out. Has anyone ever been in this kind of situation before? The other caregiver and I are at our wit's end. We do sympathize with her but she really is bordering on employee abuse. I need an experienced caregiver to please reply. We're desperate!

I have heard many remarks over the last several years about the school my child attends, Scott County Central. I have two who have graduated and one who is in high school and I will tell you that I am more than proud to call that school ours. It is a top-notch school with teachers who care and I have always seen a smiling face of someone to help me or others. The positive attitude is awesome. So my hat is off to Scott County Central. Keep up the good work.

To prove there are angels among us, this evening I called a barbecue place for help for food for a cancer patient, who is in the fourth stage of this disease. The young man is 37 years old and is dying, unless God undertakes. His family is coming from Indiana to visit this person. As I picked up the food from this restaurant, a face of an angel asked no questions. She just helped a man and his family in need. It goes to show you angels are among people here on Earth. Thanks, Dexter Barbecue, and may God bless you for your help in time of need.