I’m a retired caregiver now caring for grandchildren and volunteering but the gentleman I worked for part time for 8 years said he was C4-5 complete and like Aaron has 2 hours of care in the a.m. and 2 hours in the evening. He also has 2 caregivers at a time but has had 3 which i think is ideal. As you know not much is ideal when it comes to finding and keeping good people.
He lives in a gated (albeit frequently broken one ) condo complex alone but his brother lives in the same complex, a 4-5 minute walk away and is available most of the time for non- personal care problems. His elderly mother fixes a simple lunch every day at noon. He pays $15-20 hr but has ample resources. I agree background check is vital but as u know won’t be all revealing. He had one caregiver nurse who unbeknown to him had lost her LPN license because she was stealing narcotics at the hospital and using them while on shift. He became suspicious of her character when she seemed to be under the influence of at times. His brother decided to look at the LA State board of nursing site online entering her name when it became obvious she wasn’t locking his door at nite to save herself time due to a series of steps required to unlock the door if she had to return to work for him the following morning which was often. Best wishes Lori and the rest in the daunting task of finding the right people! Sent from my iPhone >> On Feb 24, 2020, at 11:25 AM, [email protected] wrote: > > You’ve made some really good points, C4 complete here, and I have 5 hours > daily. I can’t feed myself rather than a snack that is sat out > strategically, but I am alone mostly from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. So I am total > care but I still work and volunteer with master gardening. I had to totally > reinvent my lifestyle a few years ago and it can be done. > I also use craigslist and spinal cord injury and try to find caregivers with > no experience for the same reasons. 😊 however, and here in Reno I have to > pay $16.00 an hour for any private care, and the program than I am on pays > $11.00 per hour and I have to supplement $5.00 an hour just to find anyone. > Reno is booming and we basically have no unemployment which makes it > difficult. > I have been somewhat successful with Facebook pages and finding attendants. > It is a difficult job to fill and a difficult job to find somebody. Good > luck Lori, just keep rolling along and try and make each day the best in your > life. > > > From: Aaron Mann <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2020 12:57 PM > To: Eric Olson <[email protected]> > Cc: Lori Michaelson <[email protected]>; quad-list <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Advertising for caregivers... > > Lori, I cannot remember what level Quad you are? > > Have you tried the approach of room & board in-lieu of pay or with less pay? > How independent are you once you're up? > > I'm sure you've figured out most of the methods for handling things, being 40 > years post. I'm a C4-5 33 years post and live on my own with 2 hours morning > and evening attendant care. If you need or want tips from a fellow "higher" > quad, let me know. > > My attendant experience: > All of my attendants come from Craigslist primarily. I purposely seek out > women primarily (intuitively better caring generally) who have little to no > prior experience. I find that nurses and even CNA's have too many > institutional methods driven into them to be open to MY way of caring for > myself. I do pay well, at least $10/hr with 2 hr min, and give bonuses pretty > regularly. Often bonuses are a nice dinner out or gift cards. I used to use > contracts to formalize the arrangement, but have found my "reliability radar" > is better now and don't use them. I always have at least 2 attendants, one > always ends up sick at some time or needs a break. > > In regards to using "Quadriplegic" in an ad. I use "Spinal cord injury". It > seems more universally understood. In regards to safety, can you interview > somewhere away from home at 1st? If it goes well, show them around your home, > show routine, etc. Oh, also, I recommend to all my female friends with > disabilities needing caregivers, do a background check. It's relatively > inexpensive and informative. Can stop the bad ones right up front. > > Aaron Mann > > > On Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 1:55 PM Eric Olson <[email protected]> wrote: > Sorry you're having trouble finding someone. I had this site bookmarked. > http://assistantpages.com/ Not sure it will help. How local is this paper? > I think you should think about expanding your search area. I get where you're > coming from about using the word quadriplegic. It can make you a target but > it's not really something you want to spring on a potential caregiver either. > Wish you luck > > On Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 3:18 PM Lori Michaelson <[email protected]> > wrote: > Okay, only one member on here knows of my situation (Dana) but I really need > to ask a question. > > I have been on my own for the last 40 years as a high-level quad. I have > always lived with family except over the last 4 years whereby I found a > live-in caregiver that I could afford. Now the live-in caregiver I have had > over the last 4 years users moving on and out-of-state. In our original > contract if either of us were moving on we had to give the other person a 90 > day written notice. She gave me a good 6 months notice so I've started > advertising in January. > > I found her via craigslist when I was in Pennsylvania living with family who > wanted me to move on when they knew I had nowhere to go. Absolutely nowhere > and I was not going to move into a nursing home. I had a beautiful support > dog and I would NOT survive in a nursing home anyway. All of my caregivers > over the years know that I would not survive in a nursing home 2 months and > I know that as well with my needs. > > Unfortunately or fortunately, I am not eligible for state help and that is > because I received my Social Security from working, my husband's Social > Security, a big savings account for so many reasons (I need a lot of dental > work, I need to be able to have a co-pay for a new caregiver and so many > other reasons) as well as my husband investing before he passed away. > "Spending down" is like committing financial suicide because I don't think > versions of Medicaid is going to last long and I have no way of controlling > what I get from Social Security every month as well as a small annuity from > the accident (which is peanuts when you live alone and my lawyer at the time > screwed that up by not factoring in inflation and "What if Lori needs > around-the-clock care at some point?"). > > * I put an ad on craigslist for 30 days which will be up on February 20th - > soon. I got absolutely no response from anyone from that route. It used to be > free to advertise 4 years ago but now it is $25. > > * I have signed up with care.com but have not found anyone yet. > > * I put an ad on the Facebook closed group for caregivers in my area but no > responses. > > * For those familiar with Next-Door ... I put feelers out there with no > response. > > * I have thought about putting an ad in our town newspaper and I have spoken > with the head of classifieds for this. Their highest circulation output is > Sundays and Wednesdays and if I want it and therefore a month it will be > $273. I have used as little words as possible but my question to you guys is: > > When advertising in a newspaper and you live alone... should you use the word > Quadriplegic? I have to have a way for people to reach me so I put my phone > number and e-mail and asking for a "live-in" caregiver. > > I need to start training people ASAP since my current live-in is leaving the > first week in August which sounds like a while from now but by the time you > train someone and you make sure they are going to stay for a good amount of > time for it to be worthwhile... time goes by quickly. > > My wheelchair batteries had some dead cells and they needed to be replaced > which just happened this past Tuesday. My co-pay for those is $244. > > My live-in caregiver has not had a break in a year because of certain > situations so she has really burned out and the one caregiver in my area who > knows my care (but has a family and a full-time job) is going to take care of > me 3 days next week and that is $600 but I have no other option. > > I have contacted so many places including my local Center for Independent > Living and, being a quad as long as I have and working for an independent > living center for 7+ years and having lived with family or my spouse over the > last 40 years and to be fortunate to have found a fabulous live-in caregiver > for the last 4 years... I am now desperate. > > My health deteriorated after being hurt soon after moving back here along > with a domino effect that caused to this very day but I still have a great > power wheelchair, Roho cushions, a fully adjustable hospital bed which I have > always needed, a rotating air mattress that I have found my body can't go > without (terrible autonomic dysreflexia if it's not working), my big Desktop > Computer that I keep so very active with with many programs on it, my nice > wheelchair conversion minivan, my German Shepherd support dog that I want to > train more, and a host of different things that I definitely need for daily > care. > > So, I guess I will advertise in my local newspaper but maybe just for two > weeks to start but I need to know your opinion on me using the word > Quadriplegic or not. Factoring in that I have pain medications. Finding > trustworthy people in general is hard enough but to find someone new will be > dependent upon for your whole care... :-( > > Thank you! > ~Lori > > -- > “Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and > heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.” ― Dean > Koontz
