Matters of Life -- Household Matters: Gloria Brown's Story

Household Matters

Gloria’s Story

Gloria Brown made an appointment with her local funeral director to preplan a funeral for her aging mother Agnes. Things had been complicated for Gloria since her father died three years ago. As an only child, she was her mother's sole provider of transportation to appointments, trips to the supermarket and any other errand that arose.

Initially, she had been leaving work early on Tuesdays and Thursdays to do the laundry, keep the house picked up and make sure that her mother was taking her medication. She had always stayed to cook dinner for Agnes and would watch television with her until her mother fell asleep in the recliner.

These regular visits became more and more infrequent as Gloria was given more responsibility at work. As time passed, she could not leave the office early and by the time she arrived at Agnes' house after work, her mother was often already asleep.

A few weeks ago, Gloria arrived to find Agnes lying on the kitchen floor with a broken hip.

While her mother was still in the hospital, Gloria became even more concerned about Agnes managing on her own as her return home got closer.

After hearing Gloria’s story, the funeral director that helped her told her about Household Matters and put her in touch with a Matters of Life™ provider. Within the same week the provider made a visit to Agnes’ house to conduct a thorough inspection for safety, accessibility and comfort.

By the time her mother was discharged from the hospital, Gloria had managed to make several adjustments to Agnes’ house to accommodate her new wheelchair. She had a checklist of safety concerns to stay on top of and had even arranged for a part-time health aide referred by her Matters of Life™ provider.

Now when she visits her mother on the weekends, the house is neat and organized, right down to the pill case with the days of the week on it that now sits in a handy spot next to the recliner. Instead of running around trying to get everything done and worrying about what will happen when she is not there, Gloria is able to enjoy the time she spends with her mother; something she has not done in years.