At 93 Dad was doing well for his age. Then came the car accident and he needed round the clock care. Luckily our stepmother Clari, who is a natural nurturer, (she feeds neighbors who are in need and is at the bed side of the sick,) took up the challenge. It was all good, right? Here’s the story of what happened next.
It was 4:00 a.m. in California when Captain Raul got the call. Our stepmother was in the hospital in Puerto Rico. Dad could not be left alone. Raul frantically called around to see if there was any homecare available. NONE! Captain Raul could not abandon his job. Clari was in the hospital. He was 3,000 miles away.
My phone rang next. My desperate brother gave me the news. I was only 1,000 miles away on the East Coast. I put my husband and my life on hold and flew down to Puerto Rico.
Dad was scared of being alone. Clari was afraid of the possibility of cancer. We all worried. Diverticulitis and a prolonged hospital stay was the diagnosis for Clari. For two weeks I shuttled between the hospital and Dad’s house, comforting her and caring for him. Then one of my stepsisters put her life on hold and flew to her mother’s bedside. Clari was hospitalized for a month. She was discharged, but she was still recuperating and weak. It was my other stepsister’s turn to fly to Puerto Rico. Yes. It took three of us to handle the crisis.
Captain Raul, who was close to retiring, worried and waited through this process. Right there and then he decided this should never happen to other families. Thus Avida Home Care was born.
Emma