To whom do our teams help?

B.T.  is 65 years, divorced, with a son who lives in a distant city and visits him very rarely

He has a brother in the same location where he lives, but they are not getting along very well and don’t keep close contact. Before joining in as a user of the services of the "Home Care" Centre in the town, B.T.used to take care of his mother – M.G. /age 89/ and maintained the entire household. In winter his home is heated with a wood stove. While chopping wood for the stove as usual, B.T. suffered a stroke and was taken to the hospital. His mother was not able to provide care for him and turned to the local "Home Care" Centre. The “Home Care” Centre teams started immediate visits at his home Immediately after B.T. was discharged from the hospital. He suffered severe left-sided hemiplegia /paralyzed left side of the body/, he was unable to move himself in bed and provide any self-care (he had catheter and a diaper), he also had aphasia /he was unable to speak/. At this point he was completely unable to provide for his daily needs, very nervous, with negative attitude to his situation. Recently been active, efficient, socialized, and out of the blue - socially isolated, anxious and frightened by the fact that there is no one to take care of him. He met the team of the Centre with distrust and reluctance to allow strangers in his home and into his private life, refused and denied any initiative on the part of the team.

During the recovery period the team of the „Home Care” Centre achieved a lot in its work with B.T.: he was trained in techniques for independent movement in bed, talk was greatly improved, the patient is independent in urination and defecation /he can help himself to the bathroom/, he can dress and undress, he can move about his home using a mobility aid. Thanks to this, the daily life of the patient is greatly alleviated and with the help of the staff he can go for a walk outside his home. The nurses from the Centre have recommended and arranged for B.T. several visits to a "Rehabilitation Centre for physiotherapy and therapeutic exercise." Due to the frequent hypertensive crises of the patient as identified by the nurses on their visits, consultation with specialists and a consequent change in the initial therapy had to be made. As a result, the somatic indicators of B.T. normalized. Slowly, the patient’s nervousness and negativity significantly reduced, and the diligence of the team was rewarded with his and his family’s trust. B.T. recognizes that he can not even imagine how he would be doing without the help and support of the "Home Care" Centre - Vratsa.

An year later his mother deseased. B.T. continues to receive care from the Centre team, and at the moment, due to the recent loss of his closest person, the team's efforts are primarily focused on improving his psycho-emotional status and overcoming the difficult period associated with the realization of loneliness.

L.K.  is 83, a widow, she lives alone in her house in a village near the District Centre town and has no children of her own

In the District Centre lives her nephew, who visits rarely, because he is taking care of a sick parent in a different location. In winter L.K. uses a wood stove for heating.

The team of the „Home Care” Centre has been caring for L.K. for one year now. In the beginning she distrusted the team and despite the obvious need of help in her everyday life, she was afraid of the fact that strangers were coming to her home. She trusted only her neighbour and received only partial support from the Centre team.

Two months later, L.K. fell in the yard of her house and broke her right femur. She underwent an operation and was discharged from the orthopedic ward with pressure sores. She was totally unable to move herself in bed and completely dependent on her daily needs. She was very depressed, not smiling, often crying, and showing no desire to fight and live on. She thought of herself as of a prisoner doomed not to go out any more. Her neighbour on whom she trusted until recently refused to visit her, worried by the heavy cares she had to provide. From the day of her discharge, the every day cares for L.K. were taken by the staff of the "Home Care" Centre in the nearby town. These were heavy cares for a bedridden patient at home environment.

The staff of the "Home Care" Centre organized and conducted a consultation with a surgeon under whose prescription they made bandages until L.K.’s wounds healed. During their visits to her home, the team members of the Centre instructed her how to move and change position in bed using makeshift aids to prevent the formation of new bedsores. Everyday efforts were made to keep hygienic care of her body, and skin in good condition. After consultation with a medical specialist in orthopedy the team started to practice motion exercises in bed with the patient and later on organized for her a stay in a Ward for rehabilitation and therapeutic exercise. After her discharge from the Ward, the team continued with the motion exercises and started training L.K. how to use a walker aid and other movement aids. Following a diet recommended by the nurses of the  “Home Care”Centre, L.K. reduced some of her weight, making it easier to exercise and start walking again.

Thanks to the care and training the team of the "Home Care" Centre provided, the old lady was able to do by herself a large part of her daily activities – she could light the wood stove and cook, she could move seamlessly with a walker in the house. With the help of a member of the Centre's team she could go out and walk in the yard and in the street in front of her house. The greatest progress was reported in her psycho-emotional state – she meets the team with a smile and hope. The patient recognizes that the Centre gives her strength to live and she awaits eagerly each visit. The fact that on the next day the team members will come to visit her again gives her peace and security.

Family I.A. and T.A. are beneficiaries of the integrated services the "Home Care" Centre in their town provides

They live on the 4th floor in a residential building with no lift, making it extremely difficult for them to move. T.A. has a poor general condition, Parkinson's disease, with permanent tremor, hypertension with congestive changes, state after femoral neck fracture in 2012. I.A. has a total hysterectomy, as a result of malignancy, osteoporosis, bilateral coxarthrosis and gonarthrosis, disc hernia, hypertension, chronic pyelonephritis with hydronephrosis. Due to the high floor and the lack of a lift the couple rarely left home. Two years ago, they suddenly lost their only son. They have no grandchildren or other relatives in the town. Because of their diseases and the tragedy of the loss of their only child they were severely depressed, with no energy and desire to live. They lived isolated from everyone and everything, alone with their ​​grief until they started to receive care from the staff of the local “Home Care” Centre. The task of the team was conscientious and difficult – to bring back to life the elderly couple. This included help in everyday life, but also in social, emotional and health aspects. The representatives of the Centre approached the couple with care and patience and organized consultations with medical specialists. What was important in the situation was that the elderly couple trusted the team memers and complied with their recommendations. With persistence and consistency the staff of the "Home Care" Centre achieved a lot – they managed to return the faith to the couple that life is good, regardless of the tests and ordeals it brings to us. The family feel reassured and secure with the nurses and the home helpers, and hope that the cares they give them will not cease. The most valuable achievement of the team members of the Centre are the results they have realized together withI.A. and T.A. and the gratitude of the elderly couple which they cherish.