So Michael, made one of the hardest decisions of his life—placing his wife in a full-time skilled nursing facility. On May 13, Michael and his 12-year-old son drove Rebecca to the facility, with a box of her belongings and one-page introduction for the staff, a couple of family photos, and a note saying, “Rebecca loves art and beautiful things, pugs, scuba diving, Shrek, Aquaman, and Star Trek.” On June 27, she died as a result of COVID-19.
“It’s amazing and heartbreaking,” said Michael, who after that day never saw his wife again in person due to visitor restrictions. Rebecca tested positive for COVID on June 22, her 51st birthday. She had a hard time adjusting, she wasn’t eating well and had lost one-third of her body weight, Michael said. “There wasn’t COVID in the facility when she was placed, but once it got in, it was hard to prevent it from spreading.”
Michael says he will remember Rebecca, not as the person she was in her final days, but as the wife, mother, musician, artist and avid scuba diver she was before the disease took a hold of her. He doesn’t blame the pandemic for her death, instead he speaks to the value of adult day care centers such as VADS. “They gave me another year and a half with my wife at home. Without their service I would have been faced with a decision to either quit my job or have her placed in a residential center in 2018,” he said. Michael has since joined the Valley Adult Day Services Board, serving as Secretary.
Caregivers such as Michael pay less than $5 an hour for their loved one to be in day care for up to 10 hours. But the fate of VADS could turn with financial support, Muller said.
Muller said community support would ensure that an adult day care center remains a choice for caregivers in Tulare County.
“We work really hard to make sure that when someone comes in, we’re going to make them safe,” Muller said. “There is a financial component to this and unfortunately, we’re looking at devastating times when it comes to our client and the caregiver. We’ve been an outlet for them and we don’t know how much longer that can continue.”
Many cannot imagine what life will be like for both caregivers and those who have Alzheimer’s or dementia if Valley Adult Day Services had to close its doors, including Jennifer Corum, a Visalia resident and a newly appointed Valley Adult Day Services Board Member. Her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2015 at the age of 65.
“My mom was really in a desperate place when my dad was diagnosed and the day program was a light in a dark place,” she said. “We were terrified and desperate. We knew we needed care for him, but we didn’t know how to do that in an affordable way. This center bridges the gap for so many who are not able to put their loved one in a facility.”
Valley Adult Day Services is located at 227 E. Oak Ave. in Porterville, Calif. For more information on VADS, please visit ValleyAdultDayServices.org or call 559-783-9815.
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