Finding the Right Fit

My mother-in-law, Bernice, was a dynamo. A homemaker widowed at the age of 49, she took over the running of her husband’s hardware business. When she was 77, she had a stroke. After a lengthy stay in the hospital and in rehab, she came home, but she wasn’t the same Bernice.

She needed a walker to get around, and her thoughts were confused at times. She obviously couldn’t go back to work at the hardware store. Snippets of her quick wit emerged occasionally, but mostly, Bernice was depressed. Her active, productive life was over, for the most part, and she needed help.

Soon a steady stream of potential caregivers trailed in and out of Bernice’s townhouse. She didn’t trust this one. She didn’t feel comfortable with that one. Another one treated her like a child. We beseeched God to help us find the right person.

One day a woman named Bonnie rang the bell. Bonnie turned out to be spunky and fun-loving, a younger version of Bernice herself. She and Bernice hit it off right away, and Bonnie became Bernice’s caregiver as well as her treasured companion.