My husband recently signed up for the VA after ignoring/refusing to do so for years. He has advanced Parkinson’s disease and has been experiencing multiple falls at home. My husband received Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), where we hope it could slow down the progression of the disease. But his symptoms kept worsening with rigidity, tremors, and limited mobility, leaving him heavily dependent on me for daily tasks.

Overwhelmed by the sudden loss of independence, he became withdrawn, more depressed, refusing to eat and rarely speaking. His quality of life rapidly declined. Nurse Liz Adjei was his assigned nurse on the team, and she was our angel. She constantly spoke with my husband about community care referral for a home health aide to help reduce my worry while I am at work. We later got assigned to an HHA agency that was able to be with my husband while I got the peace of mind to work.

Due to my husband's extensive tremors and unable to drive, Liz educated us about the VA Home Base program that will allow all our primary care to be switched and focus on care at home. Even though we miss her as our nurse, this was a great initiative and choice for us. We felt very supported by our primary care team and Liz's leadership and guidance. Liz is indeed God-sent, and we don’t know where we would be without her guidance.

She is always very prompt in answering our call back and "My Healthy Vet" messages we send. We are never left to worry about any questions we have. Thanks to Nurse Liz’s empathy, creativity, and personalized care, my husband regained a sense of identity, joy, and dignity. We still explore our choices about whether a nursing home will be an option in the future due to safety. What had started as a simple enrollment turned into a transformative turning point in his care journey.

In a busy primary care clinic, she created space for dignity, understanding, and meaningful change. We can’t thank her enough!