A Red Deer family’s journey with The Lending Cupboard

 

It’s always terrific to hear about the impact The Lending Cupboard has on our clients over the years! Take Mary Jane. Over the years, she has borrowed medical equipment for her daughter, her husband and most recently her mother-in-law.

“My youngest daughter, Kate, has some physical and developmental disabilities,” she explains, adding that while there has been some coverage for specialized medical, it does fall short of what a family does require over the years.

“We did find, in a lot of instances, that if we were going to spend $1,000 for a bath seat, to purchase it brand new, in some cases we were able to find a similar one at The Lending Cupboard,” she said.

As Kate matured, her needs of course changed as did the types of equipment that would best suit her. And so the family kept utilizing services at TLC.

“It’s been a huge help.”

Most recently, Mary Jane also borrowed a lift to help in transporting Kate during home visits. “It’s going to help us be a lot more independent – things will just be a lot safer for both of us.”

In terms of other family members, she recalled how her beloved mother-in-law Anne, who passed away in 2019, needed medical equipment particularly after fracturing her hip several years ago. “She was a very social person, and she liked to get out a lot, so I went to The Lending Cupboard and borrowed a transport wheelchair for her.

“It was very lightweight and super easy for me to fold up – she actually didn’t mind riding in it, either. It was very easy to handle, and just fantastic when we able to use that!

“As she aged, she needed her own personal wheelchair when she moved into long-term care. But until then, we were using this transport wheelchair and just going anywhere and everywhere with it – so she didn’t have to miss out on anything. We also borrowed some bathroom equipment for her as well over the years, so it really helped us.”

Sadly, Mary Jane’s husband Ken also passed away in 2016 after a battle with cancer. Once again, the couple turned to The Lending Cupboard for help during his illness.

“He was ill, but he was also very disabled by his cancer,” she recalled. “He became weak very, very quickly because they had him on a lot of chemotherapy.

“It weakened him so much, he spent a lot of time in hospital. When he did come home, we had some retrofitting done on our shower and bathtub. But it got to the point that Ken became so weak that he couldn’t get up or down from the chair on his own.

“It was dangerous for me as his caregiver, but it was more dangerous for him as I couldn’t (by that point) do a lot of things for him. So we borrowed a wheelchair, a walker, a bath chair – plus we bought a few pieces of equipment to help him get out of the bed. We just had to have that equipment in our home for him to be able to stay at home and to have that bit of independence.

“There were so many things going on in our home at any given time – so knowing The Lending Cupboard had these items available was such a blessing to me and to Ken and to our kids, because they knew their dad was more comfortable at home.”

Ultimately, Mary Jane noted how vital the services offered at TLC really are to the region overall.

“Anyone can have an injury in the blink of an eye, and it’s just so stressful. And of course there are people with chronic disability and illness. And then there are those like Anne who are aging, but were healthy and mobile all of their lives. All of a sudden they are having mobility concerns,” she explained.

“Red Deer is definitely so fortunate – the staff at The Lending Cupboard are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful,” she said. “They don’t just randomly give you equipment – they make sure that it’s fitted and appropriate for each of the clients that they serve.”

Can we help you? Call us at 403-356-1678 or email contact@lendingcupboar.ca