About Russel

Reviewed on 10/3/2023

Russel is an outstanding caregiver who exceeds expectations in every way. Russel has been caring for my dear 90 year old relative for the past 7 years, and we have been totally pleased with her because she demonstrates compassion, expertise, and wisdom in every situation. After Russel started working just a few hours per day with my relative, Russel did everything she could to promote my relative’s independence and help her maintain her level of functioning for as long as possible. As my relative’s memory issues increased, Russel has advised us when it was time to gradually increase her hours, all the while working to preserve my relative’s independence and her connections with the people and activities around her for as long as possible. It was Russel who recently alerted us to the fact that Carla’s memory issues would soon require 24 hour oversight, so we are in the process of moving Carla to a memory care facility. Despite the fact that this process has taken much longer than expected, Russel has faithfully continued to work with my relative (much longer than she expected). She has even provided a substitute caregiver to watch my relative whenever Russel is unable to care for her. My relative was not able to get along with a previous caregiver, but she has enjoyed Russel from the start. Russel is very adept at working with people who are struggling with dementia. She is kind, patient and personable, and she makes my relative feel loved and honored. My relative has significant anxiety, and Russel has done a superb job of helping her feel calm and secure. Whenever my relative has complained of minor symptoms, Russel has been adept at finding a new activity to help her forget her symptoms. During the pandemic Russel discovered that my relative enjoys doing word find puzzles, and this has become a wonderful “centering” activity that has provided my relative with countless hours of enjoyment. Russel even figured out that having my relative work on word puzzles at medical appointments calms her down to the point that her blood pressure is normal (rather than being elevated due to anxiety)! Russel goes above and beyond the usual duties of a caregiver in many ways. She has accompanied my relative on countless medical appointments (using Russel’s car), and has provided valuable information to the medical professionals during those appointments. When the pandemic caused the entire city of Chicago to suddenly shut down in 2020, Russel stayed overnight with my relative for the first few nights of the shutdown until it was certain that she would be allowed to come and go from my relative’s home despite the shutdown. And when my relative’s hair salon shut down during the pandemic, Russel started cutting my relative’s hair. She has done such a great job that Russel has continued to cut her hair even now that the salon has reopened. Russel even learned how to hem my relative's pants (since my relative is very short and needs every pair of pants hemmed). Russel has also been entirely honest and careful while handling my relative’s money and possessions. She has willingly purchased household items for my relative on a regular basis, and she provides receipts for everything that she has purchased, giving us the confidence that no money is being lost or diverted… Whoever hires Russel will soon come to realize how fortunate they are, and they will rest secure in the knowledge that their loved one is receiving the highest level of care and compassion whenever they can’t be physically present with their relative.