Sibo's story
Sibo, joined Elder in September 2017. Her client's daughter got in touch to share what life has been like since Sibo came to stay, and what makes Sibo such a fantastic live-in carer.
Sibonile is the most gentle, dependable and capable carer you could wish to meet. She came to us when our family was in crisis with a suddenly dependent 91 year old mother who had fallen and broken her hip. Her previously healthy independent life had ended abruptly and we were faced with hospital wards, nursing homes and rehab centres closed with covid, and nowhere for our mother to go.
Sibo has skills beyond our hopes and expectations. She did night shifts to begin with when our mother was very ill.
She's a font of knowledge and advice as to the equipment we needed and the help that was available from the NHS and Social Care.
Then the nights became calm and Sibo took on all the day care as well. She did catheter care, is rigorously skilled in safe moving and handling and hoisting, and she’s a font of knowledge and advice as to the equipment we needed and the help that was available from the NHS and Social Care.
Sibo formed a happy and respectful relationship with our mother and I would often arrive to find them laughing or singing together. Sibo supported the physiotherapist helping our mother with exercises too. As well as doing all our mother’s personal care she shopped, cooked meals, laundered and ironed and cleaned the house until it shone. She made friends with the neighbours and supported our mother in maintaining a social life despite her complete loss of mobility.
I think Sibo’s quiet confidence comes from being a mature intelligent woman who has brought up her own family and worked in every care setting imaginable. It was a joy to be able to hand over our mothers care to such a wonderful person.
