Stories of Love: Meet Joanne

The Scenario

Joanne Pearcy really enjoys her home in beautiful Broward County, Florida, where she can eat her own home-cooked foods that bring her comfort, surrounded by the things that are familiar to her. However, her children living down in South Miami were starting to get worried about not being able to help her on a daily basis. She did not want to move into an assisted living facility. “No! No! I did not want to move and that was it,” explained Joanne. “However, I knew I could use some help, so my family and I talked and agreed that if I could find the help I needed and it met my needs, as I use a walker 24/7, I could stay in my home.”

Help When You Need It Most

Joanne began researching different options and a friend recommended a company she hadn’t heard of before: Seniors Helping Seniors. She made the call to find out more. “That is when I met Diana. What a positive experience. She answered all my questions about SHS and then some I hadn’t thought of. I took what I had learned to my family and it was unanimous, SHS was for me. That was about 3 years ago. Now more than ever I know SHS is for me.”

She formed a close bond with her caregiver Linda Chiodo. “Better known as Sunny because each morning she pops in here, she is smiling, sunny and delightful,” said Joanne. “She just meets my every need. You know, she’s flexible and funny. I can be funny too, and between the two of us we get a lot of laughs.”

“The coffee is always ready because she always cleans the pot and resets it for the next morning. The first one to the pot gets to push the button! After solving the worlds problem’s, Linda is off and running. She can and does most anything from tightening the dining room chair legs to fixing the light, watering the plants (that incidentally she brought), feeding the squirrels.”

Joanne loves all the help and quality time she gets with her Seniors Helping Seniors caregiver. “I have a lot of mangoes. Linda just made me mango bread, oh so good! I made mango cheese pie last week. We made mango pudding, we made mango crisp. Oh it was delicious! The food she shares is delicious. I always tell her she can get a chef/cook job if needed. My kitchen is spotless when she leaves, the clothes folded, mail brought in, no clutter ever.”

The Caregiver’s View

Linda Chiodo really enjoys her time spent with Joanne. “It’s fun! It’s like being at home. We talk a lot. I keep things exactly at home like I do in her house. I make her coffee, I make her breakfast, I vacuum, I wash.”

“We come from the same era so we go back and talk about the old days. We talk about our families because we’re very family oriented. We get along very well, I feel like she’s my sister. I’m happy to get up and go to work, I mean I look forward to it.”

Voice of the Customer

“I met Linda and she met me, and we just hit it off,” explained Joanne. “She so great! She keeps this house running. She comes every day 9:30 to 2:00, but if I have a doctor’s appointment at 3:00, then she’ll change her schedule or somehow we work it out and she’ll come a little later that day and take me to the doctor. They’re so willing, you know. ‘Let me go get your pills or your medications. I’ll get them on my way in in the morning. What do we need?’ It’s almost like a family relationship, an extended family relationship.”

“We just have a lot in common and learn from one another. Fortunately, we like the same music. We grew up in that era, the Frank Sinatra era. It was a different day. And Linda and I come from the same day.”

Seniors Helping Seniors in Southwest Broward has allowed Joanne to happily stay in her own home and live independently. With Joanne’s needs being met with a lovely, enjoyable caregiving experience, and her children content with the service, Seniors Helping Seniors is truly a perfect match for in-home senior care.