by Joy Loverde
The subject of my last blog “Joy Loverde Shares Tricks of the Trade: Part 1” focused on a creative solution for financing the care of an aging parent. I wrote about three siblings who managed to cover the cost of their mother’s care in spite of being on extremely tight budgets.
This blog, Part 2 takes you down a different path. My goal with this series is to continuously feature caregivers who creatively solve eldercare problems. Their suggestions and inventions never cease to amaze me. Here is a tip that’s worth noting.
A good friend of mine, Anne manages the care of her husband, Jim. He has Parkinson’s and has been confined to a wheelchair for over three years. In spite of his physical frailties, the one thing that has remained the same is sharing their love of music. They often sit for hours listening to classical music on the radio.
Before Jim got sick, he used to play the piano every day. There is a grand piano in their living room situated in front of the bay window. It is one of the most beautiful instruments I have ever seen. Jim often tells me how much he misses playing the piano and hearing the notes when it is in use.
During one of our conversations about the piano, Anne’s face lit up. She said, “You both just gave me a fabulous idea!” And here it is…
Anne called her neighbor and asked if her daughter (a freshman in high school) was still taking piano lessons. Her neighbor said, “Yes.” Then Anne asked if the daughter would like to practice the piano at her house. And that is exactly what happened.
The daughter comes to the house about three days a week to practice. And Jim cries with happiness every time the piano is played. Win-win!
Can you think of someone who might want to know about this idea? Please feel free to share.
