I was really impressed by how Cody took care of my mother when she was in the ICU at Jefferson Cherry Hill last month. His care and compassion were everything I would hope to see in a caregiver. A few specific points stand out.

One time when I came to visit my mom, as I walked into the room there was Cody, gently and touchingly helping my mom eat. At that point, she was too weak to bring the spoon to her own mouth, so there was Cody helping her eat a couple of spoonfuls of fruit. He was so gentle and so in tune with my mom’s rhythms that I honestly felt that if it were his own mom, he would have been just as gentle.

My mom had a seizure from a stroke which resulted in speech aphasia. Not only could she not express herself clearly, but she also had difficulty understanding and processing language. I saw Cody do something in response that I’d never seen a caregiver do before. Seeing the difficulty my mom was having trying to communicate, he actually squatted down so his face was at eye level with my mom’s. I saw her really connect with him. Not only did she understand his words, but she also understood that she was cared for and in safe hands. I loved how Cody made and held eye contact with my mom, how he smiled at her with his eyes, and communicated compassion in the patient tone of his voice.

Finally, I appreciated how Cody communicated with me. He was patient with my questions and thorough in his answers. Most importantly, he was very aware that I wouldn’t know all the medical terms or patient care jargon, so he caught himself a number of times and explained terms that were unfamiliar to me (“telemetry” for example). The level of care and compassion he showed my mom helped make her feel safe and comfortable and were also a great reassurance to me. Thank you, Cody!