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POSTED: Sunday, Mar. 22, 2009

Handling home maintenance

With a little help, the "Bionic Lady" has been able to stay in her beloved home of 34 years on the shores of Cain Lake.

Georgia Drafs, 89, has had both hips, both knees and both shoulders replaced. She has undergone three cornea transplants and treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome.

She takes pride in her nickname, but she'll be the first to tell you that even a "Bionic Lady" has limits. That's why she hires capable caregivers to enable her to stay in her longtime abode.

Drawing on resources to help with repair and maintenance around the home simplifies life for many Whatcom County seniors. However, for many, the best way to avoid being overwhelmed with home maintenance is to downsize. Here's a look at some of the options.

'EXTRA ENERGY'

"When we talk with the senior and his or her family, we talk about bringing extra energy into the home," says Debbie Gann, director of 25-year-old Home Attendant Care, based in Bellingham.

"Seniors start to be selective and establish priorities about how they want to spend their energy," she says. "Do you entertain friends, or do you try to do the cleaning?"

That assumes, of course, that seniors want to stay in their homes.

Great-grandparents Dick Fackler, 86, and Eileen Nutley, 81, who have been married 14 years, are still able to maintain their original home in Bellingham, in part with caregiver help.

Fackler has deep local roots - he was in Bellingham High School's first four-year graduating class, in 1941. He vividly recalls when the building (since remodeled) opened in fall 1937.

Both want to remain as active and independent as possible, especially since they still get out a lot. In his youth, Fackler, who taught math for three decades at Skagit Valley College, climbed every mountain in the state except Mount Rainier.

"When Eileen and I got married, I already had household help from Irma Gulick," says Fackler, who walks with a cane. "I've had 20 operations and need the help."

Drafs, who has six great-grandchildren, also has strong local roots and seeks to stay in her Cain Lake home as long as possible. She was in the last graduating class of the old Whatcom High School, in 1936.

"I'm absolutely determined to stay in my home as long as I can," says Drafs. "I just love my home. What I especially love is that it's a place where family members all can come and enjoy. They have a great time. And when they visit, I absolutely feel like a million, like I'm their guest!"

'ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING'

Small efficiencies can make a big difference. Vital household tasks include laundry and linen care, cleaning the bathroom, and maintaining the kitchen and refrigerator. Younger friends or family members need to realize how difficult this can be for some seniors.

"That's why we talk about what we call ADLs, activities of daily living," says Terri Briant Booth, director of Bellingham-based Visiting Nurse Home Care.

"We feel it's important to assess the needs for anything vital that helps people stay at home," she says. "There are some things, like bathing, laundry and food preparation, that all seniors either need to be able to do to stay in their homes, or have help to do. But sometimes, we'll even walk their dog and do some gardening."

Gann says that sometimes, just the location of laundry facilities can present a daunting task for care recipients who can no longer negotiate stairs safely or easily.

"That's me," says Drafs, whose husband, the late Jack Drafs, was a well-known Bellingham builder and constructed their home. "I can't go down those stairs."

Kay Minge, 94, has lived in her Bellingham home for 72 years. She is the widow of Maynard Minge and gets help from their son, Maynard, and his wife, Shelley, along with regular professional caregiver help.

"I get help with the cleaning, vacuuming and dusting," she says. "Not long ago, I finally realized it was time to get that sort of help."

Nutley, who has back problems and has had two hip replacements, says her household help is vital with regard to cleaning the bathroom, changing linens and washing.

"We wouldn't be able to stay in our home without help with the household chores," she says.

'HUGE OLD GARDEN'

One of the primary motivations Fackler has to stay in his home is his large shop, where for years he has made prize-winning religious sculptures. The same, of course, applies to craft rooms.

"I've done a lot of sculpture work, mostly with wood and wrought iron, and I still do some of that work," he says. "I love my shop. I'd be lost without it. That's a big reason I really want to stay at home."

Family or hired help can make it possible for a senior to keep up beloved home projects.

"I just loved that huge old garden I had," says Minge. "It was wonderful. I canned everything and gave the excess to charity and the food bank. But I had to gradually see my garden get smaller and smaller (as she aged) because I couldn't get around as easily.

"To be honest, I miss gardening so much it makes me want to stand in the middle of the street and scream," she says with a laugh.

Fackler has made similar physical and emotional adjustments.

"I once had a big garden I loved on our double lot, but now it's just grass," says Fackler, who hires help for his yardwork. "I'd like to still be gardening, but I just had to tell myself, 'What the heck. I can't do that anymore.' But, you know, I'm still thinking of having a small garden beside the garage."

Drafs satisfies her love of flowers with gorgeous hanging baskets on her deck, which require minimal maintenance.

"My son, Alan, helps with the yardwork," she says. "He's very handy - he once retrieved my whole dock from the lake after a storm."

Debbie Bengen, director of Visiting Angels In-Home Care, tells families to talk with their caseworker if gardening help is advised.

"Our caregivers don't mow lawns or do gardening," she says. "But they'll talk with caseworkers and families about the need to obtain gardening help."

Briant Booth, the director of Visiting Nurse Home Care, especially empathizes with seniors who need gardening help.

"I just can't imagine not having a garden of whatever size," she says. "It doesn't' have to be large. Just a place with some plants and a spot to sit in the sun on a nice warm afternoon."

'SO MANY CHOICES'

To some extent, seniors are able to stay active and keep up home maintenance longer, thanks to improved health in older generations.

With advances in medical help for many seniors, experts have noticed age creep regarding first contact with outside caregivers. Today's seniors, in fact, are often healthier in their 80s and 90s than their grandparents were in their 60s and 70s.

"We get a lot more people than we used to who are in their 90s and still able to function in their original homes," Gann says.

Bengen notes that until the 1970s and 1980s, there was little professional in-home care for seniors.

"There are so many choices now," she says. "We're in our ninth year with Visiting Angels in Northwest Washington, and we've seen a huge growth in home care. A lot of it is because we have so many more healthier seniors, who can live longer in original homes."

Briant Booth says staying in their own homes can be critical for most seniors, as long as they're able to function at home, with or without help.

"I always challenge younger people to close their eyes and imagine they're 80," she says. "How many imagine yourself in a nursing home? People usually want to stay in their original homes, if they can. It's where your stuff and your memories are. And there's that level of privacy, autonomy, independence and self-management."

However, she says people often must leave their homes when they can't afford visiting help - "when they're either physically or financially unable to stay."

State Medicaid funding kicks in when a person has less than $2,000 in assets, although home ownership is allowed along with certain other qualifications.

Briant Booth notes that Visiting Nurse Home Care offers a locally unique dual-licensing service in both home care and home health.

Some seniors who live alone, especially those with a fear of falling, pursue the relatively new option of a wide variety of electronic sensors and programs, which can be useful when seniors are participating in the activities of daily living. The use of sensors and their costs should be explored carefully in consultation with family and professionals.

THE WORKSHOP AND THE CRAFT ROOM

Beia has noticed what a stressful situation it can be to leave behind a beloved workshop or craft room. This is why some seniors move into a two-bedroom facility, if they can, to have space for their projects and hobbies. The potential for noise, of course, creates some limitations.

"Men often have amassed enough tools to do everything you can think of," says Beia. "They're accustomed to being able to handle anything that comes up. Part of moving involves the core issues of loss of control and identity."

Bob Morgan, 80, who relocated to Merrill Gardens in 2007 from Everson with his wife of 59 years, Bobbi, recalls how much it meant to have both the big shop and craft room, so they had to face up to leaving them behind.

Bob, who served in the Marines late in World War II and became a commercial pilot, loved mechanical projects and woodworking. He came to grips with the need to release many tools he had accumulated since the late 1940s. Likewise, Bobbi had done extensive work in stained glass, painting and sewing.

"I had a fourth heart attack and a stent was put in," says Bob, who has had three open-heart surgeries and three lung surgeries. "I realized I didn't want to leave Bobbi (who uses oxygen for pulmonary fibrosis) stranded out there if anything happened to me. I wanted her in a safe, secure place. Otherwise, I'd never have sold those one and a half acres."

Bob says he couldn't have made their move without a senior move manager.

"Leslie Beia was our savior," he says. "It would have been traumatic without her assistance. She took us through all the steps. She helped us make good decisions, and we don't regret those decisions. I don't know what would would have done without her, since we weren't in position to do the packing."

Bobbi realized she could convert her second bedroom at Merrill Gardens into a utility room, "So she still has a craft room of sorts," Bob says.

Since Dee Culver was a successful artist, she had to cope with leaving behind her craft room. She compromised, however, by keeping her much-loved sewing machine.

"In a way, yes, it was hard, because I had my easels set up and the light was good, and I realized I would not have that kind of room to paint at The Willows," she says. "But I told myself, 'It's all right. Been there, done that.' You just have to put those things away and find new ways to have fun.

Morley once did a lot of quilting and basketry, but found it had become difficult because of arthritis, so she adjusted.

'OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE'

Beia says people need to get creative when it comes to gardening and pets, such as working in a community garden, downsizing to a container garden, or accepting a smaller pet that won't make so much noise.

"For seniors who want to remain active in gardening, options are available no matter where they go," she says, noting how employees at nurseries can offer expert suggestions that might not occur otherwise.

Beia says she's often noticed that retirement communities accept pets, especially small dogs along with cats. More often than not, seniors who need to relocate do not have large dogs, she says.

"From what I've seen, pets aren't usually a big issue in senior moves," she says.

Bob Morgan laughs when asked what he misses most about gardening and groundskeeping at his old Everson home.

"You know what I miss? I loved my John Deere ride-'em lawn mower. But we had to leave that behind. Darn, I loved riding that thing!"

Michelle Nolan is a Bellingham freelance writer.