Couple Continues to Live Together at Brightmore of South Charlotte With a Little Help from a Friend
John and Lucia Sehon have been married for 40 years. With a little extra help in the tasks of daily living, they are continuing to reside happily together in their independent living apartment at Brightmore of South Charlotte, a premier senior living community in South Charlotte, North Carolina.
Lucia, who has multiple sclerosis, fell and broke both her femurs nine months ago. She’s received physical therapy and has seen improvement, but she still needs a little help getting dressed in the morning. For that, she relies on FirstLight Home Care. On-site at Brightmore of South Charlotte, the home care service enables residents to arrange for help as needed for activities of daily living, including dressing, bathing, and more.
“When that service came on site, it opened a whole new world of service for us,” Lucia says.
Five mornings a week, a personal care provider comes to the Sehon’s independent living apartment, where she helps Lucia get dressed.
FirstLight is Brightmore of South Charlotte’s officially recommended partner in providing home care. With its own office in the senior living community, residents have the convenience of stopping by to chat about arranging or changing any services they receive. FirstLight provides a discounted rate to residents of Brightmore of South Charlotte.
While residents are welcome to use any home care service provider they wish, it’s rare to be able to book them for time frames shorter than several hours. A benefit of Brightmore of South Charlotte’s collaboration with FirstLight is that residents can book services for a time frame lasting as little as a half-hour. Lucia only needs minimum help and is glad to know when their task is complete, her caregiver can go on to help the next resident who’s arranged for assistance.
“I’m glad they don’t have to come here when there is nothing for them to do,” Lucia says.
In addition to independent living, Brightmore of South Charlotte offers assisted living, memory care, rehabilitation and skilled care. While some residents may need to transition to assisted living as their needs change, FirstLight enables residents who only need a little help to continue to live in their independent living apartments.
“It’s helpful for people who are a little shaky and, for example, want someone nearby as they are taking a shower,” says Anna Jordan, director of sales and marketing at Brightmore of South Charlotte.
Jordan says the service is beneficial for all residents, but especially so for couples who want to live together in the same apartment for as long as they can rather than living in two different levels of care.
Looking ahead, Lucia says John may need to have surgery, and they feel fortunate that they will have the opportunity to increase their use of FirstLight as they need.
“All that can be easily worked out,” Lucia says.
John says having the FirstLight on hand has lightened the load of caregiving for him. It has also given comfort to the couple’s adult children who are glad to know that their parents are receiving the help in daily living they need.While there are occasionally some changes, the couple says the caregiver assigned to help Lucia get dressed is usually the same person and is someone the Sehons have come to know and regard as a friend. “Her name is Keisha, and she’s very gracious,” says John. “She’s congenial and humorous, and we have lots of laughs.”The caliber of the FirstLight caregivers is essential for the Sehons, who say they look forward to seeing Keisha, who has a bubbly and warm personality.“She’s a bright spot,” John says.
Brightmore of South Charlotte
Brightmore of South Charlotte is full-service rental retirement community located amid lovely homes and plentiful public spaces in Ballantyne, a growing neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina–named one of the “best places to retire in North Carolina” by U.S. News & World Report. Brightmore of South Charlotte offers independent living that supports a vibrant lifestyle for active seniors. The Terrace, located onsite, offers assisted living and memory support, while The Pavilion Health Center offers respite care, rehabilitation, and skilled nursing. These entities provide care for both residents of Brightmore of South Charlotte and the surrounding area, thus providing a complete continuum of care for seniors. Brightmore of South Charlotte is owned and operated by Liberty Senior Living, LLC, a division of Liberty Health that specializes in senior living and retirement communities. To learn more about Brightmore of South Charlotte please visit www.brightmoreofsouthcharlotte.com. To learn more about Liberty Senior Living and the communities they offer, please visit www.LibertySeniorLiving.com .