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| Gary on his birthday at West Park |
It has already been a long, and at times arduous, journey for Gary but he’s a very strong and tenacious individual who has weathered this life storm in a most admirable way. If you haven’t been keeping track, he’s been at Bracebridge Hospital, Toronto’s St. Mike’s, Barrie’s Royal Victoria ICU, Toronto’s East General, back to Barrie ICU and then to West Park. Things may be changing once again for Gary. Just when we were beginning to worry about how we were going to get the renovations completed and the nursing/personal assistant staff in place by the end of his West Park program (which would have terminated at the end of November), West Park began a discussion with us about another possible option.
Within the West Park complex there is a facility called Gage House. Gage House is a place where people live with other folks in a less institutional, more natural home environment. Residents may share a room or co-pay and have their own room. There is a living/dining/kitchen area where residents eat their meals at the table together, socialize and most importantly there is a nursing station right outside of the residence if someone needs assistance. If accepted to the program Gary could be in this facility for an undetermined length of time. We all welcome this opportunity and are hoping Gary gets this chance to take yet one more step toward greater independence.
Because there is still much to do to ready Gary and Gayle’s home for his return this extra time would take the pressure off when it comes to getting everything in place. The generator has been installed thanks to a generous donation, so there will be an uninterrupted source of hydro to run his ventilator constantly. But there are still many things to be done and as usual many of them are related to money. Gayle has applied to all the agencies and she and Gary are working with the various government agencies to overcome these obstacles.
The other issues is finding the nursing/personal assistant staff we need to augment the care Gary will get from his family. If Gary lived in Toronto there would be no problem getting help but it seems there is a serious shortage of nursing staff in Muskoka. Please, if you are an interested retired nurse, or a new nurse who needs to gain some experience, consider giving Gayle a call to let her know you might be interested.
We would be remiss if we didn’t sing the praises of West Park and what they have done for Gary. This facility is absolutely amazing. Rather than a place where paralyzed people on vents sit around and feel sorry for themselves, it is a place that helps them learn how to live again. The staff are wonderful, caring folk who obviously love what they’re doing. The facility brings in clowns, drummers, speakers, Swiss Chalet, Mandarin, etc. They have already trained Gayle, Gary’s three sisters and two friends on how to suction him and drive the wheelchair if he gets tired. As if this isn’t enough West Park has generously offered to train the nurses and personal assistants who will be working with Gary when he returns home. How great is that?
Please keep your fingers crossed for us.
- Judy
