WHAT'S UP With Project Bea & Pearl?

I received a message on facebook from a friend and fan asking where is my latest post on Bea & Pearl.  Thank you Kim, first for the interest in this project and second for prompting me into action.

Bea celebrated her 98th birthday on the 26th of March.  Her day consisted of numerous phone calls from her large family, each was filled with love and well wishes for a happy birthday.  Her special day found me in Flagstaff for the day with four other designers from the valley.  We had the privilege  of sharing our chosen profession with design students in the NAU (Northern Arizona University) interior design program.  On my way home I stopped by to wish her a happy birthday.  Our visit consisted of us searching for her two movie theater reward cards, as she couldn't remember where she had put them.  Once we found them I helped her retrieve her phone messages, along with answering her incoming phone calls.  Shortly thereafter Pearl and Richard came by the house to pick her up, they were scheduled to see Johnny Depp in the new "Alice in Wonderland" movie.  Hence the frantic search for the movie reward cards.

As for project Bea & Pearl, well it's in a holding pattern at the moment.  I did specify a lift recliner for her and she absolutely adores it.  It has made such a difference for her to easily get into and out of her chair fearlessly with ease and comfort.  During my visit I inquired about moving forward with fulfilling her wish to take a bath.  She said she didn't think so.  When I spoke to Pearl the other day she told me Bea was asking when her bathroom was going to be updated.  Confused are you?  It's quite the dilemma.  At this point a full remodel in either bathroom is not feasible.  If you've ever done a remodel you know what I mean.  The logistic of coordinating and scheduling the trade to come in and make the necessary changes and the natural mess that comes with it.  The disruption would be too much for her and the environment would be a safety issue.  We really don't know how much longer she can continue to live alone.  However there are some wonderful products out there that I can use to improve her current situation and fulfill her desire to take a bath with ease and most importantly safely.

There is a good lesson to be learned here.  We don not know what our future will bring us.  But we do know things are not always what we expected.  Why not plan for the unexpected so when or if it does happen it'll offer us peace of mind?  I don't know about you, but for me I'll plan for the unexpected.  It'll be a gift for my children and family members.                

RETHINKING Project Bea andPearl

Why would I consider reconfiguring Project Bea and Pearl?  Mainly the state of Bea's health, physical as  well a mental.  Bea will be 98 years old on March 26th.  On a recent visit with Bea and Pearl I couldn't help but notice the state of Bea's demure, the color of her skin and her attitude.  During this visit Bea was surrounded by her large family, showered with attention and love.  However her mood was dark and gloomy.  She spoke to anyone who would listen about wanting to be with her deceased husband.  As the visit progressed and the attention to her continued, her state of mind didn't improve.  When she said her goodbyes as the visit ended she left her great grandson's dismayed and upset as she spoke of her demise. 

Pearl tells me since the family gathering Bea has fallen twice in one week.  She needed assistance to get up.  Since she lives alone it required Pearl to travel to her home and help her up off the floor and into her bed.  She refuses to leave her home.  She no longer wants to go out to dinner, see her beloved new released movies in the theater, nor see her favorite acupuncture doctor. 


So, it's time to rethink the scope of this project.  What can be done for her right now to help make her home more of a sanctuary and not a prison of her own making?   

   

Project Bea and Pearl...THE PROBLEM, Part Two

The problem is first and foremost the home itself.  Second is the individual who resides in it and third is the available funds to address the problem.  What have I gotten myself into?  Actually interior designers are problem solvers.  Who have been trained to enhance the function and quality of interior space for the purpose of improving the quality of life for the resident while maintaining their health, safety and welfare.  Tall order...but doable. 

THE HOME: 

• Built in 1976 for able-bodied individuals
• Slippery kitchen floors
• Narrow door ways
• Sunken living room that requires stepping down into it
• Small guest bathroom
• Extremely small combination water closet and shower area in master bedroom, Bea has taken many falls in this room that has left her injured.

THE INDIVIDUAL:

• Bea, 97 yr old widow living alone
• Insistent on living independently in her home
• Refuses to move into assisted living
• Unable to cook for herself
• Gets around with the assistance of a walker
• Weak upper and lower body strength
• No longer drives
• Unable to keep up with the daily, weekly, monthly household chores due to her physical condition
• Dependent on her daughter and caregiver, Pearl, for most of her everyday needs
• Bea FEARS falling and getting injured
• Bea wants to take a bath, something she has not be able to do since her husband passed
• Bea falls out of bed on a regular base.  If you're a single lady and want handsome fire and police men to visit you in the middle of the night...Bea found the secret.  Fall out of bed and call 911.

FUNDS:

• Ultimately the driving force of the project
• Due to Bea's age and the family not knowing how long she can continue to live on her own, funds for the project is limited
• Few improvements to the home since 1976, therefore the family is willing to make modest changes
• The budget is set at $12,000.00 max

The goal of this designer is to address first and foremost Bea's fear of falling and getting injured.  For Pearl, deliver peace of mind in regards to Bea's safety while she is home alone. I will address the function and aesthetics of the two bathrooms, the slippery kitchen floor, prevent Bea from falling out of bed and her most desired wish  to soak in the bath tub.  

Project Bea and Pearl: THE PROBLEM, Part One

Safety is a huge issue!

Fear is a driving force behind this project.  What is there to fear you ask?  The fear of injury, the fear of falling, the fear of isolation, the fear of leaving a beloved environment.  These are Bea's fears.

For Pearl her fears are similar to Bea's.  She worries about Bea receiving an injury should she fall.  Which indeed  she has done in the past.  She worries about her being alone.  Is she eating properly?  Taking her medications as needed and prescribed?  Is there enough income to support her for the rest of her life, and the list goes on and on.  Because Pearl is the caregiver her fears go beyond Bea's.  Not only does she have the responsibility of her mother's health, safety and well being, she has her own along with her husband's and her children.  It's a difficult transaction for an adult child to assume the parent role for a parent.

The safety issue is indeed huge to both of these ladies.  In the next posting, The Problem, Part Two, I'll address the additional problems facing this project. 

PEARL'S Story...

This is Pearl.  She is the "Pearl" in Project Bea and Pearl.  Pearl was born in Syracuse, New York in April of 1934.  She was raised in the home her Belgium grandfather built at the turn of the century.  Syracuse is cold county with an average yearly snowfall of 115 inches!!!  As a young girl she told her mother she was moving to warmer country when she grew up.  And indeed she did.  She met and fell in love with a man that was bound for college in Tucson, Arizona.  So she married him in 1954 and moved to the land of sunshine, warm temperatures and cacti. The plan was for her to work, her husband to attend school by day and work part time in the evenings.   She landed a good job with the phone company.  However, nothing goes as planned.  She found herself in the "family way".   Corporate America in the fifties prohibited pregnant women to work.  She disagreed with this policy and being the independent woman she is, she rebelled…she hid it from the company for many months and continued to work until they figured it out.  This child was the first of six. 

Pearl wears many hats.  We've established she's a daughter, wife and mother.  She also is a grandmother to twelve and a great grandmother to three.  She's a business woman who helps her husband in their communication company.  She's a teacher, a talented and gifted quilter who shares her skills and knowledge with others.  She’s an avid reader and loves to travel with her husband.  And most of all in regards to Bea, she is a caregiver, a responsibility that is always at the forefront of her mind and life.  This brings us to why Project Bea and Pearl came to fruition.   

Bea and Pearl are special women. I know them well, I belong to them.


Up next...the Problem at hand.