Impact Stories

Support for Providing Care

When Phyllis Heathcock was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease [also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS], the lives of her and her family were changed forever. Her husband Richard states, “I became a caregiver instead of a husband.” Phyllis, who loved shopping, playing board games and spending time with her family, and Richard, who was involved in county politics and building homes for families in the community, led a normal life. They had three sons and several grandchildren that they loved dearly. Phyllis always had been a physically active person, but when she started having severe problems with her legs and feet, she sought out medical attention and was diagnosed with ALS at age 70.

Richard, like many loving husbands, refused help. He took it upon himself to take care of all of his wife’s needs, however, she gradually became paralyzed, and the constant care she required was taking its toll on Richard’s health. He eventually realized that he couldn’t do everything by himself, and if his health was to suddenly decline, he would be of no use to her. It was at that point that he made an appointment with their doctor and requested that hospice services be engaged.

The doctor contacted MidMichigan Home Care late on a Friday afternoon, and a social worker and registered nurse were at the Heathcock’s home the next Monday morning. Richard states, “At 8:30 a.m. Monday morning, I received a call from a social worker asking if she could come to our home. At 10 a.m., she and the nurse were here evaluating Phyllis and accessing her needs. They called right from our kitchen to order all the appropriate medical equipment, and by 4 p.m., Phyllis was set up with a hospital bed, oxygen and other necessary supplies. It was fantastic service.” Richard was relieved to finally have the help he needed to get Phyllis stabilized. With the help of home health aides and other community resources, such as Meals on Wheels, he was able to devote his time to being with his wife.

Phyllis received home nursing visits several times a week. “The staff at MidMichigan Home Care are very special people,” states Richard, “they were genuine, dedicated and truly cared about their job and their patients.” Richard was impressed with the commitment they showed toward his wife. There were a couple of instances when Phyllis couldn’t wait for her regularly scheduled visit. Richard called the home care office and within a few hours, a nurse was at the door, even on weekends.

Throughout the two years Phyllis lived with ALS, Richard found support in agencies such as MidMichigan Home Care and the Gratiot County Commission on Aging. He was amazed by all of the help available and grateful for the assistance and medical supply donations. Phyllis Heathcock passed away in November of 2007, but she will be forever loved and remembered by all who knew her.

Red Cross First Aid Training Prevents Death

A teacher, who had recently participated in the American Red Cross CPR and First Aid training, noticed that a student in one of her classes seemed to be having difficulty staying awake throughout the week. The student was usually alert, talkative, and happy. She had complained of a bad headache for most of the week, her stomach was upset, and she just didn’t feel well. As the week went on, she seemed to get more lethargic, looked pale, and had trouble staying awake; something just didn’t seem right. Her brother, another student in her class, had gone home a couple of times during that week with a headache as well. As the teacher questioned her why she wasn’t feeling well, she kept saying “I just don’t know.” I explained that we could call home and have her mom come to school to get her. Her reply was, “No, if I go home, I’ll feel worse.” She then began to relate the story about the family’s carbon monoxide detector and how it had kept going off all the time. She said it kept waking her up.

When the teacher questioned her brother, he told the teacher that they usually kept the attic vent open to stop the detector from going off, but somehow, the vent had gotten closed and that’s what caused the problem. As we talked, his sister kept laying her head on the desk, and it became difficult for me to get her to respond to my questions. After unsuccessfully trying to reach mom, who was at the home sleeping at the time, I brought the situation to the attention of our principal, Mr. Saylor, and our superintendent, Mr. Keck. It was decided that we should contact 911 for assistance.

After the ambulance arrived, the students were transported to the hospital. It was discovered that both students were suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. The brother related to me that he had very little oxygen in his blood at the time he was checked and was told by hospital personnel that he could have died. Had it not been for the American Red Cross training, the consequences for these students may have been very different.

Mrs. Burk says that the words “Thank You” are not heard very often these days, so I’d like to say “Thank You” for the continued education and training that the American Red Cross provides to people like me—just in case we might be placed in a position to help someone in the future.

Over 1,400 units of blood have been collected from Gratiot County donors but that’s not “what matters.” What matters is Jane will live another day.

Gratiot Area Hospice Grief and Loss Support Service Users

A senior citizen who completed our eight week series of adult support group told the group facilitators that he felt as though he had his feet planted on the ground again. “I will always love my wife and will continue to miss her. Now I look forward to getting out of bed in the morning and deciding what I will accomplish that day. I’m going to church again and look forward to visit with friends and family. Thank you.”

A woman writes, “Support Group has been my link to sanity. My husband died a year and a half ago. For the first twelve months I kept congratulating myself on how well I was doing. I rarely cried. I learned to pay the bills. I hired a yard man. I started playing bridge again with the girls. Then the floor fell out from under me. I had accomplished all those ‘firsts’ believing that once the first year was over my period of bereavement would be over and life would begin anew. Was I wrong! I had stuffed my grief so deep that I wasn’t required to deal with it. Then the headaches started. Eventually my doctor suggested that they might be grief/stress related. I assured him that they weren’t—after all, I hardly even cried since my husband died. He looked at me hard and long. Then he said, maybe that’s the problem. Well, let me tell you; if that man had other patients to see I’d never have known it. He sat quietly with me as I cried, wept, stated my anguish over my husband’s death. When I felt I was ready to leave the office he talked to me about a grief support group another patient had found helpful. He gave me the phone number of a Gratiot Area Hospice. I said I’d think about calling. That’s how I made my way to be one of the eight people who gathered for support one evening a week for eight weeks. We came to sincerely care about each other. We shared our feelings and our fears about going on alone without those we love. I didn’t want to have the group end.”

Over 19. 000 pounds of food has been distributed to Gratiot County residents, but that’s not “what matters.” “What matters” is the five-year old who went to bed with a full belly.