In May of last year I received a call from a home-care agency, which services seniors living at home in Somerset and Hunterdon counties. The agency was seeking my help with one of their senior patients, an 86-year-old who resides at home.
She was disconnected, disengaged, clinically diagnosed with depression, lethargic, genuinely uninterested, restricted to her home and wheelchair and reliant on live-in caregiver (provided by the agency), for all of her daily needs. All of her family members are deceased except for one niece, who lives in the mid west. Socially isolated, she had not been outside in months because she was afraid to leave her home.
The agency called upon my services, on behalf of the legal guardian, who could not get her to take interest in, or engage her in any activities.
By Laura DePrado
Published in the Somerville Courier News 1/8/2014, Page B1