by Kelly Kimura
Tokyo, Japan
We are an American family living in Tokyo. Although we visit our families in the U.S.A. once a year, we didn’t really give much thought to the changes my husband’s aging parents and aunts were
going through. Suddenly there was only one person left: his mother.
His mom is a diabetic in her mid-80’s, a heart attack survivor with bad knees, and an independent lady whose English is an increasingly rusty second language now that she is alone.
Her driving has become more erratic, and she falls more frequently. The house she loves and has lived in for over 40 years has become challenging for her. She is faced with making it safer or moving to senior housing.
I applied for a nonprofit community development grant to install a ramp in place of her steps, but the slope of the lawn made the ramp too expensive. On other occasions, we couldn’t get the resources my mother-in-law needed right away.
On my last visit, she had trouble standing for more than 10 minutes because of a fall. On her limited income, she couldn’t afford a helper, so I contacted the county senior services for light housekeeping services. However, there was a waiting list and it was months later when the housekeeping service became available.
During the application process, to our surprise, my mother-in-law was assigned a social worker specializing in senior citizens. I assumed it this was just to verify that she needed the service.
I didn’t realize that Lori, the social worker, could and would do much more.
Lori makes home visits and takes the time to patiently understand what my mother-in-law’s needs are. She has gone with my mother-in-law to the doctor, arranged for a mailbox and mail delivery at the front door, and even pushed through a modified, affordable version of the stalled ramp project.
Lori has even driven my mother-in-law to see several senior housing complexes. On top of all this, she emails me updates to let me know about options and resources.
I know it’s Lori’s job to know what to do and who to go to in order to resolve issues common to senior citizens; however, Lori doesn’t stop there. When there is something that would help my
mother-in-law, Lori runs with it and sees it through — as if my mother-in-law were her only case.
Thank you, Lori, for making such a difference, both for my mother-in-law and for us.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:04 — 3.8MB)
Audio Credits:
- “25 car drive by” by adegenerate via freesound.org
- “Footsteps down stairs 2” by sinatra314 via freesound.org
- “Door open close” by amholma via freesound.org
- Japanese_Communities_-_Nenbutsu_ceremony_-_part_1 via freesound.org
How awesome! What a wonderfully thoughtful person Lori has been. America needs more folks like this – NO – the WORLD needs more folks like this! Thank you Lori for being such a loving, caring person who looks for ways to help those around her!
Lori has a vocation – not just a job. What a wonderful example of what a Social Worker should be. Thank you!
This Social Worker is obviously in the right job! She loves helping people and doesn’t just pass information and recommendations along to the next person down the ladder to handle. She does it herself and makes sure the far-off family knows how their loved one is doing.