Gratitude for the Helpers
Alex is kind and hard-working.
I am so lucky that I could afford to hire aides during this time of recovery from my stroke. I couldn’t have lived alone without them. My favorite aide at the moment is Alex, and I’ve had many favorites. Alex is in her thirties and has two kids. She is a physically strong black woman who lifts me out of a chair if I get stuck in it. She helps me take a shower until I can go it on my own. Not to mention, she makes a wicked egg salad sandwich. She goes to the grocery store for me and likes to stay busy, so will throw a load of clothes in the washer while she washes dishes. She excels in tidying up.
Rocky loves her, too, and does zoomies when she shows up at the door. She works for Freedom Home Care, a service I use here in Greenville. I am completely spoiled by them. They have been invaluable to me and were here waiting for me when I was released from Rehab.
I’ve slowly worked my way down to having one aide a week on Tuesdays for the month of May. I’ve requested that Alex be my steady aide. Tuesdays is shower day and grocery shopping day. i.e a great day to get help. Alex is helping me learn to live alone again, which I am really looking forward to. As an introvert, I’ve had way too many people around for months!
Since they are all in the nursing or caretaking fields, my aides are fascinated with the idea of me writing books for a living. So I get to be ‘novel’ in that way. Pun intended. I doubt they will ever read any of my books, and that is fine with me. They have done enough and have helped me in profound ways that I am grateful for.
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” —Fred Rogers.
I am grateful for all the helpers that I have been blessed with through the last few months. Too many to name. Doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, aides. People who were there for me when I needed help.
Not to mention the friends and family who didn’t desert me. Particularly, two college friends from years ago—we were music majors together—Carolyn Williams and Sharon Watkins. And my neighbor and dear friend Lola who has walked Rocky every day since last February when I had my stroke—I am deeply grateful. Everyone needs a Lola in their lives.
So this post is about gratitude. We can’t do it alone, nor would we want to. May we all be fortunate to have helpers around when life gets scary.
Thank you for reading, my friends. I am going to get back to writing books now. In the comments, tell us about the Lola’s in your lives or the helpers who stand out. Thank you for your interest in my stroke recovery over the last few months. I will give you a break from it now. I’m going to be just fine.
Love you!♥️
Tell us about your Lola and the helpers in your life!
I too have an Alex! He is my physical therapist for balance. Since I have fallen twice this past year my primary care physician thought I would benefit from some PT. He is wonderful. So patient and so kind. He never makes me do anything I can’t do. Such as a sit to stand. He just says, okay we’re going to work on that. And so knowledgeable about the human body. I’ve had PT before and most PT’s have tunnel vision. They give you something to do and then walk away. He stays with me the whole time and his focus is just in helping me. You can tell he loves helping people restore their strength.