Videophone reverses decline during COVID-19
The pandemic pulled them apart
“He has slipped so much in the TWO months that we have been separated.”
—Tillie Freeman, 83, devoted wife of Jack.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tillie reached out to Konnekt. We were experiencing extra-ordinary enquiries due to lock-down of Aged Care homes and adding to that the shipment delays were forcing us to prioritise urgent medical needs. When we heard how quickly Jack’s condition was deteriorating, we knew we had to help her.
“I was devastated when I realized how quickly Jack was losing his ability to communicate. When I thought about it, I realized that his situation wasn’t social distancing, it was more like social isolation. We had been “separated” for two months. He couldn’t recognize the people around him with their masks on and he couldn’t understand what they were saying; and I couldn’t be with him to help him engage in conversation.”
Konnekt team came to rescue
The Konnekt Team was touched by Tillie’s story and was determined to help, so we quickly set-up her contacts and preferences for the Videophone. The technical team put together everything in a jiffy and before we knew it, the 15-inch Videophone was all set, customised and ready to be shipped. The device was delivered straight to the Care Home in New York, where the only work the carers had to do was to plug the device into the power socket and it was all up and running.
Tillie could not be there physically to teach Jack how to use the device due to the restrictions, however, because of auto-answer feature, Jack did not have to learn anything. A few weeks later, Tillie wrote back to us with her #Tillievision story 🙂
The #Tillievision story
“WOW what a wonderful day we have had, it’s almost like visiting my husband’s room in the nursing home. We’ve had virtual breakfast, lunch and dinner together. He has been visited by some of his friends and I’ve been able to thank staff who have come into his room. Since installing the Konnekt videophone, his communication has improved. I’m thrilled when he is able to pick up today on a conversation we had yesterday.
THANK YOU for this wonderful gift during this otherwise stressful pandemic. It has exceeded my expectations.”
— Tillie.”
Jack continues to improve
Konnekt has many examples where Videophone has helped to improve mood and help lower depression risk. We have also read the medical studies about the importance of face-to-face conversation to cognitive function. However, this is the most profound example we have seen of a turn-around and Konnekt has been doing this for over 5 years.
“Every day he is able to stay engaged in conversation longer and longer. Several of his hiking friends have appeared on his screen. He had long conversations with friends and they shared vivid memories of adventures they had shared (like climbing Mt. McKinley). He calls them by name and while they only have minimal conversation right now, they too are dedicated to helping him regain what has been lost because of this pandemic.”
Tillie says Jack’s extended family is also seeing the improvement in his health including the staff at his care home:
“On Monday, he was calmer and began rehearsing names of his friends and the names of their children and I was virtually there to fill in the blanks when he got stuck. He was on a HIGH and he hardly slept all day which hasn’t happened for at least 2 years. His brother was shocked at a glimpse of the “old Jack”, the staff was shocked too.”
Jack wears hearing aids and sometimes has them turned on. We’re looking forward to enabling captioning for him. We are not yet sure but we expect subtitles to add to Jack’s comprehension of his video conversations.
Small disclaimer: Your loved one may not experience the same results experienced by Jack, but the Videophone allows you to communicate with your loved one anytime with ease which could help in their struggle from social isolation.
Contact Konnekt to learn about the Videophone.
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