Jeanie Wagner Appreciates VNA Help and Invites Them Back ‘Any Old Time’

Ron Wilshire

Ron Wilshire

Published March 5, 2018 5:45 am
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CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — Jeanie Wagner does not hesitate when asked about how the Clarion Forest VNA has helped her mend following three surgeries.

Jeanie is 71, wishes she was younger, smiles a lot and is thankful for what people and the VNA have done for her.  She lived all of her life with her mother and father, and when her mother’s health declined after her father’s death, she moved into Highland Oaks personal care home in Shippenville and into Highland Oaks at Water Run when the new WRC facility opened last year. She lived with her mother for 67 years.

“The girls came and helped me,” said Jeanie about the VNA. “They were my cousins Cindy and Lisa.”  She treats everyone like a cousin and considers them as part of her family.

“They helped me shower,” recalled Jeanie.  That was after she had kidney-related surgery, and she had a temporary tube.  The VNA nurse checked on the tube and changed the bandage.

VNA sends its nurses wherever needed, no matter if it is in the patient’s own home or a personal care home like Highland Oaks.

Jeanie has had three surgeries, and VNA followed the orders made by discharging doctors to help her improve after the surgeries.

“They make me feel better,” said Jeanie.  Her sister Joanne Bauer added, “They help her to the point where she went to the doctor, and she was doing better.”

Jeanie loves the daily exercises at Highland Oaks, but she also appreciated the extra attention from a physical therapist secured through VNA.

“Seth, the physical therapist, walked the hallways with her, and she had to get to a certain point with her oxygen level before they would release her,” said Joanne. “He was very good keeping track of what she could do.  He started out at a slow pace, and he was really good with her.  The girls showed up, and every time they made sure she was feeling well.  They released her after the therapy.”

Jeanie and her VNA visitors became friends, and she was sad to see them leave because they had made such a strong connection. 

“They don’t know I cried the day they left.  I was feeling really bad that day.”

The family had experience with VNA, and when it was time to pick an agency for help after Jeanie’s surgeries, the choice was easy.

“We had VNA when our dad was sick and knew from that experience that it was always a good experience, and my dad looked forward to the nurses’ visits,” said Joanne.  “With Jeanie, the doctor needed a follow up with each surgery after she was released to Water Run. We used Clarion Forest VNA each time because we knew how good they had been with my dad.”

Jeanie likes to talk with people and other residents of Highland Oaks and even jokes around.  She always had a new joke every day the VNA visited because she has a library of joke books.

“Why did the doctor go to the doctor?” asked Jeanie. “Because he was running out of patients.”

Jeanie felt the VNA has a lot of patience, but admitted that her jokes “sometimes don’t have a lot of patience.”

In her spare time, she reads her joke books and cookbooks. Although she isn’t able to cook herself, she loves reading cookbooks and watching cooking shows on TV.  Her mother was the first one to teach her how to cook.

Joanne and sisters Ruthie Niederriter and Mary Wagner take time looking in on their sister, and it is a real family looking over her.

As for her adopted VNA family, Jeanie welcomes them back at any time.

“Come back and visit, I love to have company,” said Jeanie.

For more information about VNA services, call 814-297-8400, or visit Clarion Forest VNA website at cfvna.org.

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