Wanda's Story

Wanda’s father was wheelchair-bound and her mother had diabetes and cancer. Both parents were in their 90s and required round-the-clock services for approximately 18 months. Emily Lowe was their care manager.

"My brother found out about Intervention Associates through a coworker. His coworker had used Intervention Associates in the past, and mentioned that they were a Quaker organization. That was a pull for us; because of it, we thought they would be more caring. We looked into other organizations, but decided on Intervention Associates.

The initial interview went well with Emily Lowe (care manager). Mom was involved in the initial interview and decision-making—four of us were. Our main concern was to have a caring organization and Emily was very calming, caring, understanding, and very clear in answering our questions. That had a strong impact on my mom. It’s hard for a family, but even harder for the parent who has to have strangers in her home, caring for her husband. My mom was very scared.

My father was an invalid in a wheelchair. My mom was a diabetic. Many times she would have a seizure and I’d have to run over there. All the Intervention Associates employees stayed very calm and collected in emergency situations, and there were many emergencies.

For example, when my mom developed cancer, she was put on morphine. A few days after she received the morphine, she had hallucinations—a bad reaction to the drug. Initially, she tried to leave the house. Then she actually got on the floor, crawled into a corner and was completely out of it. Odette, our aide, called us. She was taking care of my father, who was trying to get out of the wheelchair to help his wife. My dad couldn’t walk. He panicked. Odette was trying to calm my mother on the floor, as well as my father, who was trying to get out of his chair. The entire time Odette didn’t flinch once, and she had me on the phone while I was driving there. When I got there, I was on the floor trying to check my mother’s sugar while she was flailing her arms. She was really agitated. Odette put my father in his wheelchair and rolled him into the dining room to help diffuse the situation. It did! My father began talking to my mother and just his presence calmed her.

I would absolutely recommend IVA—no questions—absolutely! They were always on top of everything. The person on call always returned calls immediately. Any concerns were immediately addressed. If I had to do it again, I would definitely choose Intervention Associates. I can’t thank them enough."

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