Norma’s Story

Norma’s Story began in 2020 when she contracted Covid and had an extended hospital stay. The hospital released her to a nursing home because she needed daily physical therapy to build her strength and learn to walk again. Feeding herself was a task that she could handle, but she required assistance to get out of bed and could not walk on her own.

The two years Norma spent in the nursing home were not bad. She enjoyed the staff and thought they were all great at performing their duties. Her daily physical therapy sessions were very beneficial to her regaining mobility. What she didn’t like was her entire social security check going to the facility leaving her with very little personal money each month. Norma had always been a very independent person. She didn’t like the feeling of being in a nursing home with no independence and very little personal spending money.

It was during a physical therapy session, after acknowledging the tremendous progress she had made, that a therapist mentioned the Take Me Home program to her. The therapist commented that she saw so much determination in Norma. She told her that most people who enter nursing homes never return back home, but she didn’t see that future for her. She suggested that she reach out to the nursing home social worker to make a referral to the program. This is a decision Norma says she will never regret.

Shortly after the referral was made, Norma met her TMH Transition Team who started to get a plan in action. Finding an apartment is usually one of the hardest parts of the process, but she made a call to the manager of an apartment complex where she had lived years before and he had an open unit ready for her. With the help of her transition team her home furnishings were ordered, and she was one step closer to the independent life she missed so much.  When arriving at her apartment she had furniture, towels, bedding, kitchen supplies, a microwave, an air fryer, and “everything I could possibly need”. Take Me Home had also stocked her refrigerator and pantry.

When she returned home she required a walker to move around her apartment. She has now built up her strength and mobility and no longer uses it. She does have a cane available, but says she only needs it on days that her knees are hurting.

Norma’s advice to anyone living in a healthcare facility: “Take Me Home is a wonderful program. If you want to be on your own, Take Me Home is the best way to get a whole new start on life. I recommend anyone who is able get out of the nursing home and find your independence.”

Now that she is home, Norma says “I’m happy. I thank God every day and hope I live many more years to enjoy this life.”