Alyssa Pinche: When Kim and I decided upon Alyssa as our Kudos caregiver for December,   I needed to take a second look at our caregiver roster to double check her hire date.

Much to my surprise, she has been with us a mere three months!

In that short time, she has created a mutually respectful, harmonious and enjoyable relationship with her client, a mature, pleasant, outdoorsy, dog loving, accomplished horsewoman in need of some supervision and assistance but more importantly, genuine companionship.

Many of our clients come to us in need of a great deal of physical care, with attendant medical issues requiring monitoring in order to remain in the comfort of their homes. This special client RW had no such serious needs. As her caregiver, Alyssa was ever watchful of any signs of decline or minor changes in skin, ambulation, fluid intake etc. as with any client of her age.

But RW is remarkably well physically, taking her adorable small dog Emmitt, for regular walks around the horse farm where she lives along with her son EW.

MOM-TO-BE EXTRA THANKFUL AFTER WORRY-FREE HEART PROCEDURE AT UCONN HEALTH November 24, 2020 - Lauren Woods - Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine

Sameda (Angie to us) is a former AMAZING caregiver for our company. She is now a C N A at a rehab facility where she excels in that role. She and her family have become dear friends. Angie is also a full-time nursing student and mom to the lovely Mishelle (My honorary grandchild and best friend to Darcey) And is expecting a son in May. This story highlights her courage, stamina, and commitment to helping others.

Semeda Amegashie with her husband and daughter, Raymond Owusu Sotia and Michelle Owusu Sotia. (Courtesy of Semeda Amegashie)

Since her daughter’s arrival three years ago Semeda Amegashie, 33, of New Britain, experienced heart palpitations once in a while. She chalked up the infrequent episodes to stress.

Is 2020 the...

This week’s cover of a news magazine featured the apocalyptic phrase “2020.Worst Year Ever.”

There are several reasons for the disappearance of “news magazines”. Readership has seriously declined, there are numerous media outlets, etc. But there is room in the explanation list for irrelevance, exaggeration, downright misleading, and simply WRONG information. 

Our Worst year(s) as a country? Seriously? How about these nominees for "Worst Years"?

TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF CAREGIVING by Rosemary J. Allender, LCSW-C

How Can I Thank you

You are special

I will still love you

Even with the roles reversed

At first I feared taking on the task

Caregiving has strengthened our bond

Memories are saved in the family scrapbook

It seems like only yesterday that you were my age

We all sat at the table as you cooked the holiday meal

Everyone gathered for the traditional family time together

There were grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and siblings

Each year it seemed like our numbers grew in leaps and bounds

In our November newsletter Reflections section, we published a long list of Gratitude statements from our caregivers. There was a short time line and two were submitted late.

See below their messages. More meaningful now than ever: Their responses to the question “What are you especially grateful for this year?” In their own words:

Alyssa Pinche - Well, I suppose I’m always grateful that I’m living and healthy. They say health is wealth. Also very grateful to have the unconditional love of my man I chose to walk this earth with. And we have a wonderful lil mutt!! Having 2 jobs is something during these times I’m grateful for too.

Candy Francis - Each Day I am thankful for Family, Health, a Home and good friends. I am extremely grateful for my Job and amazing co-workers. I am most Appreciative that I Realize how lucky I am to be Alive today.

Note: Candy was our first and only caregiver to contract Covid in the early days of the pandemic. A hospitalization, then re-hospitalization followed by a long quarantine at home with her family and she returned to us healthy. To say the least, we are all grateful for Candy! ■

Ryan turns 6!!

We are privileged to have received referrals from and be able to coordinate care with many Assisted Living facilities, rehab facilities, and Medicare Home Care and Hospice agencies. Our growth is in large part due to the trust the staff in these organizations have put in our caregivers. We are likewise impressed with them and we are committed to referring to them on a regular basis