Visiting Angels help with light housekeeping and keep good
company
Gilroy – The doorbell rings at Gloria Harris’ Morgan Hill apartment and you can tell that moving is the last thing she wants to do. Just lifting her legs off the couch appears laborious for the petite 50-something. She shuffles to the door in obvious pain, walking stiffly and slowly, and wearing a smile for the person on the other side.
It’s a neighbor looking to borrow some eggs for baking. She hands him the entire carton before closing the door and heading back to the living room, walking passed a sign reading: God Bless Our Home and Peace to All Who Visit.
For nearly three decades Harris worked as a registered nurse, caring for emergency room patients and standing watch at their bedsides. But about six years ago she developed a condition known a fibromyalgia – a disease with no known cause – and devastating symptoms.
“It feels like arthritis. But it’s not just in your joints – It’s everywhere,” she said. “It’s burning. I feel like I’m on fire. It always interferes with my sleep.”
The disease is considered a form of arthritis and the pain varies in patients, ranging from a deep muscle ache to sharp pangs. Chronic fatigue is often associated with the disease.
“What I do is I don’t think about it,” Harris said. “I don’t like to dwell on it. I’m just trying to keep up my sense of humor. There’s a lot of sick people more worse off than I am. That really sets me in my place when I think about my former patients.”
Prior to fibromyalgia, she was an avid hiker and skier. It didn’t hurt to walk. It didn’t hurt to sit. She was forced to leave work – and caring for her disabled son became a source of worry. Keeping up with the housekeeping was nearly impossible and getting out of the house for errands was even harder. The disease was breaking her down mentally as well as physically.
“I prayed, ‘God give me an angel,'” Harris said. “Then I got a call and they told me I was getting Visiting Angels.”
For the past month a caregiver from the new Gilroy franchise of Visiting Angels comes to her apartment performing light housekeeping and visiting with her a few days a week.
“She’s a doll,” Harris said of her caregiver. “She helps me do my laundry. She visits with me. I feel like she’s my friend. Thank God for (Visiting Angels). Now I have time to spend with my son. Single parenting is difficult for anybody even if you’re healthy.”
Visiting Angels is a nationwide assisted living service for seniors and disabled individuals. The Gilroy franchise opened in April under Executive Director Dorie Sugay and will service individuals across South County, South San Jose, Hollister, Aromas, San Juan Bautista and Salinas.
In the past, Sugay owned a successful consulting firm for high tech and medical firms and worked in real estate as a mortgage broker. The recent switch to owning and operating a Visiting Angels franchise was a long time in the making.
“It was one of those situations where my heart was somewhere else,” Sugay explained. “I wanted to work with the elderly.”
She wanted to get an advanced degree to counsel elderly patients, but felt it was an unrealistic goal. Upon visiting some convalescent homes she saw patients staring at the walls with no one to comfort them or talk to them.
“It broke my heart.” she said. “I would just die to think of my own mother in that position.”
Sugay started looking into different ways to get involved and came across Visiting Angels.
“The more I started looking into Visiting Angels the more I thought ‘This is for me,’ ” she said. “It fills a void for me.”
Caregivers help clients with basic chores, personal hygiene, meal preparation, shopping and companionship.
“Our role is to make sure the client can feel as independent as possible.” she explained. “You don’t want to take away their dignity.”
When her own father got sick she found herself following him around and trying to help him with everything – even when he didn’t need it. He told her to take a step back, teaching her to focus on the independence and dignity of patients in the future.
“I’m into the total health of a person,” Sugay said. “We actually look at ourselves as an extension of the family. I tell them we’re the eyes and the ears of the family.”
For more information about Visiting Angels contact Sugay at 408-846-2988 or at do***@vi************.com
