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Partner of the Month page 2  Sherone M. Mayes Chicago, IL Andrew is 16 years older than his wife. She is very active and outgoing. She continues to model and travels to do professional fashion shows. At first she put the one thing she loved doing on hold to care for him. She would sometimes cry and tell me how much she missed modeling because she had no one to watch him during the shows. Since they were mostly on the weekend, I volunteered to help out with his care so that she could continue to model. I explained to her that my very first job was volunteering in a hospital at the age of 14. I would primarily visit the pediatric ward and the elderly. I'd bring the paper and sit and talk to them for a while. I also said that all she had to do was show me what she does and I would take care of him whenever she needed a break. She talked to Andrew about me caring for him when she needed to be gone for 1 or 2 days. He was very happy about it. I showed concerned from the first day that he came home. I would go in and always kiss him on the forehead and say, "What's going on with you today, Sir?", and he would smile and say "YOU". I would help prepare his meals, wash him, change his urine bag and clean up after him. Andrew and his wife receive no support from his immediate family. His only daughter lives in another state with her 2 young daughters. They have only visited once since his stroke. Andrew and his only brother do not get along so well, so he does not visit frequently. Therefore, I am the only support that he and his wife have. I stay over at least twice a week to visit with him and be a support to his wife, who is my son's grandmother. It is a pleasure to see his face light up when he sees me and when I am not there, he asks his wife, "Where is Sherone? Is she coming over today?" I make it a point to visit with him and provide the best support that I can. I must say that it is a difficult thing caring for an adult who is very limited in what they can do for themselves. But Andrew and I have a lot in common. We both belong to Greek organizations that have the same colors (red & white). He is a Kappa and I am a Delta, so we talk about the Greek world. We both like reading, jazz and the theatre. Although Andrew is 38 years older than I am, we both know a lot of the same people, so I have to update him on who is doing what and give him the unfortunate news of those that have passed on. I am his news source. These are the famous
words that I live by "A sacrifice is not a sacrifice unless
you give."  |
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