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Meet a Recipient
of the 2007 "Caregiver of the Year" Award:

Norma Bell, Hardy, Va., Nominating Letter

Hello,

I'd like to nominate my mother, Norma Bell. She is 85 years old and is acting as caregiver for her husband (my dad), Harold Bell who is soon to be 87 years old. In the past three years my dad has suffered both a stroke and a heart attack. They left him with few physical deficits.

However, his cognitive ability is impaired as he has little long term memory. To make matters more difficult for my mother, he needs bilatral hip replacements. His left leg is 3 inches shorter than his right, has been all his life, and both of his hip sockets are totally degenerated. No one will perform the surgeries due to his medical background and his use of coumadin. Due to his medical history these past three years, he has not
regained much of his strenth back and this makes it even more difficult for them. Their home has steps front and back and it is difficult to get him to the car for his doctor's visits but mom has devised a system that works for them (right now) and is not physically difficult for either one of them.

He is only mobile with the use of a walker and his is very, very shaky when he uses it. My father stays in bed till 1100 every day, my mom arises at 0600. From 0600 she does all of the chores needed to keep their home running smoothy (mow, clean, shop, cook, laundry, etc.). She also does her yoga and exercises so that she can keep herself in good physical shape to care for both of them. At 1100 she awakens my father and sees to his daily living needs. Then she does an hour of physical therapy on him and gives him his medicines and his brunch. She has learned to be a nutrition expert so that she can provide him with the necessary calories and protein that are in line with his cardiac diet and his drastically reduced appetite. Throughout the rest of the day she meets his every need, making sure he exercises to keep as mobile as possible and that he eats and drinks to keep strong and well hydrated. In the afternoon, she takes an hour or so for herself and reads and rests.

She does all the things that my dad used to do (taking care of the car and insurances, and dealing with medicines, etc.) and has continued her own active life, as well.

She is active in her church and attends weekly Bible study classes. She is a member of a group of women in her community who meet monthly for discussions. She has little time for community service but does what she can through her church. We were all three baptised as a family in the lake near where we live just a year ago next week. She provides a lovely home with a relaxing atmosphere for friends and family who frequently visit (from as far away as Florida and Iowa). She is quick-witted and very active (she is a scuba diver) but this constant care is beginning to wear on her. She never complains. When she took her marriage vows it was "through sickness and health" She honors those vows. She is a strong, positive, Christian woman doing the best that she can. She truely deserves recognition for her efforts.

Thanks,
Sharon Pease

Meet Our Winners:

Leon Beer, nominated Sharon Lebenkoff of Leeza's Place at Park Slope Geriatric Day Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
MoZetta Zion, nominated by her self
Patty Kearns, nominated by Nancy Lewin of Johnson & Johnson Caregiver Initiative
Norma Bell, nominated by Sharon Pease, Norma's daughter
Kimi Morton Chun, nominated by Sheila Warnock of ShareTheCaregiving, Inc. (coming soon)
Aracelis Fernandez, nominated by Diana King of PSS Caregivers Support Program, Bronx, N.Y. (coming soon)

And, meet winners from previous years:

2003 Winner: Kathryn

2003 Winner: Joan

2003 Winner: Diane

2003 Winner: Elizabeth

2004 Winner: Chris Corbett

2004 Winner: Nancy Hoffman

2004 Winner: Pam Godzala

2004 Winner: Terri Jones

2004 Winner: Robert Olsen

Contest Rules

(Unforeseen difficulties caused us to put the contest on hold in 2005 and 2006.)

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