“Life is Nifty after Fifty”
“Life is Nifty after Fifty” – This tag line is one of many quirky quips Mr. M. loves to say. His jovial behavior makes his wife laugh to this day. After 48 years together, the M’s complement each other like yin and yang. They openly acknowledging their strengths and weaknesses, filling gaps so that they are better together. Their way of summarizing this partnership is for Ms. M to say to her husband in a wheelchair, “I’ll be your legs” and Mr. M replies to his wife with missing fingers, “I’ll be your hands.”
Their love has filled their house for over 20 years, and Westminster Home Connection has helped them stay in their beloved home by updating their bathroom floor, securely closing the entry to their crawl space, tightening railings, and replacing rotting siding. Ms. M. also does work around her home and community. In the Fall, she removes leaves from the neighborhood sidewalks. This beautifies their street and makes it safer for Mr. M. to navigate in his wheelchair.
The M’s were full of praise for the way Westminster Home Connection Staff arrived on time and cleaned up after themselves. They have referred others to our services and are so glad they can continue to live safely at home.
A caregiver and his Mother
Since Mr. H. cannot leave his 99-year-old mother unattended, home repair projects piled up around this attentive caregiver. He wakes up 3 times a night to help his mother to the bathroom, and paces his days around her medicines, meals, and exercises. Mr. H also protects his mother from any concerns, paying every bill, keeping their house clean, and taking her to appointments. They are a positive pair. Ms. H. thanks her son daily for his care, and they are both very thankful to God and to their pastor, who makes home visits to the H’s.
As wonderful as this caregiving partnership is, Mr. H. could not work on home repairs. Westminster Home Connection helped by replacing the bathroom sink, replacing the toilet, updating the bathroom drainage, adding grab bars in the tub, repairing damaged subflooring in the bathroom, installing GFCIs in the kitchen, building a porch handrail, replacing damaged gutters, and patching a large hole in the living room ceiling.
The letter from Mr. H. captures how meaningful Westminster’s work was for this family. His compliments of our wonderful construction staff also speak volumes about Don and Wayne’s ability to perform diligent technical work while taking the time to exchange kind words with clients.
Letter from Mr. H
Ms. C. Gives Back
A few months ago, Ms. C. needed critical home repairs that were beyond her means. Water from a roof leak pooled inside her home, threatening to ruin her appliances. Her gutters were damaged and clogged with leaves. Westminster Home Connection made the necessary repairs for Ms. C. to age in place safely. Imagine our surprise when we received this note.
Enclosed is a check . . . I came into some money and felt God wants me to give you this amount. I want to thank you for helping me when I needed it. This is small compared to how much you help folks. Thank you again. God bless you and your congregation for giving so you can help others.
Ms. C shared her unforeseen good fortune to help others get the peace of mind she received. No payment is required for our services, but our staff loves getting notes from clients. Ms. C’s donation touched us and we want to share her story. Ms. C believes in giving back, and it is with this sentiment in mind that we enter the advent season.
A Close-knit family
Ms. S. was connected to Westminster Home Connection through her daughter and her case manager. Ms. S’s daughter is a tenacious home health nurse, who has helped her mother through difficult health-related transitions over the past decade.
They are a close-knit family, and Ms. S. will happily tell you that their shared trait is their mischievous nature. She recounted stories about scrambling over neighbors’ roofs and realizing how much trouble she caused her mother when her son got up to similar antics. Ms. S. had a lot to share about different perspectives as you age. In this video, she explains the importance of realizations that hit you later in life.
Originally from a small-town west of Nashville, Ms. S. moved to Nashville to be closer to family and superior healthcare. She loves her home here, but needed some help keeping it safe and functional. Westminster Home Connection secured her loose toilet, installed GFCIs, fixed kitchen cabinets, cleaned gutters, and built a ramp out the side door. This was a unique ramp design that involved reversing the direction the door opens. Tom did excellent, creative work to make this ramp possible for Ms. S.
Ms. L’s Compliments
Ms. L has a cozy living room with inviting furniture, traditional art, and a warm fireplace. To top it off, she has a bright Picacho blanket draped over her chair. Her face split into a grin as she explained that it belongs to her great niece, a frequent visitor. Ms. L wants her niece to know that this home is hers too.
Like so many of us, Ms. L’s life is split into a bittersweet mix of blessings and challenges. Her family surrounds her with love and company, but she also spends extended hours getting treatment a couple of times a week. At the end of most days, Ms. L is content, but she is drained of energy and resources. She needed assistance with critical repairs and mobility modifications.
Westminster Home Connection fixed leaking appliances, installed GFCIs, fixed the doorbell and doors, installed downspout pipes on the gutters, trimmed a tree with limbs overhanging the roof, and installed an ADA compliant ramp. The ramp was built with the assistance of volunteers from two churches. They braved a rainy morning to make sure Ms. L can safely leave her home and reverse her history of falling on her front steps. She made some heart-warming comments about their work ethic in this video.