Butler County esp client enjoys small pleasures of being in her own home
Vereline is a tiny figure in her big chair. Never a large person, the hardships of health problems, medical bills and misfortunes have whittled her down.
But when she starts to talk, her voice is strong and sure. She wants people to know how grateful she is for the Butler County Elderly Services Program (ESP) and, in particular, her ESP care manager, Monica Lynch.
“She is an exceptional person,” Vereline said. “Whatever I needed, she took care of. She has taken so much stress off me; I just can’t even say all the words of what it’s meant.”
Vereline, 75, has lived in a small apartment in Middletown for the past 21 years. Her daughter, Melissa, lives with her and is her caregiver. Or, as Vereline calls her, “my Rock of Gibralter.”
Vereline has endured much tragedy: the early deaths of her husband and father, the death of her first child shortly after birth, and, in 1985, the death of her 21-year-old daughter by accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
It all led to a nervous breakdown, Vereline said. But there was one hardship that ended with “a miracle.” At the age of six, Melissa contracted pneumococcal meningitis. Doctors suggested a drug that was experimental at the time. “I was ready to make funeral arrangements, but I prayed about it,” Vereline said, “and the Lord told me to go ahead.” Melissa recovered, although she still has some disabilities. “It gives me cold chills thinking what the Lord done for her,” Vereline said.
Vereline’s own health problems go back nearly two decades. Her lungs were damaged by ammonia in an accident when she was working as a hospital janitor and she also suffered from COPD. In 2009, she had a heart attack and in August, 2021, a stroke.
She enrolled in Butler County ESP at that time and received an emergency response system, grab bars in her bathroom and some medical equipment to help her move around safely at home.
“I am just so grateful to be able to sleep in my own bed, sit in my own chair, and use my own shower at my own pace and in my own time,” Vereline said.
Her care manager also helped set up a plan with the hospital and medical providers so Vereline could gradually pay off her bills.
“I don’t have a 401K or retirement plan,” she said. “I’m doing the best I can on a fixed income. So, I can’t tell you what it means to have this set up so I can pay my bills and have that stress off me.”
Last January, Vereline was using her walker when the brake failed. “It spun me around and I went down,” she said. “I fractured my hip and pelvis – shattered like a lightbulb.”
Vereline’s ESP care manager arranged for her to be transported to the hospital where it was determined that time and physical therapy would do the healing.
That, plus ESP, and the loving care of Melissa are helping Vereline recover. Family counseling has helped the two of them weather their hardships and work together with openness and understanding.
“We’ve been through a lot,” Vereline said. “But we’re fighters. We’re there for each other. We keep a positive attitude. As long as you have love and respect in your like, it’s priceless.”
(Story from 2021 Butler County ESP Annual Report)
