(Copies of all original letters and cards are held at the nursing home)

“Our Dad has had a new lease of life since moving to Portumna Retirement Village. He has regained his interest in life and there is a marked improvement in his happiness. We can’t speak highly enough of the care that he receives”

Christine B

“I am normally a suspicious type of person and having heard of so many positive stories of your nursing home, I thought it best to investigate. I have been delighted to find that all was true. Not only have HIQA and the NHI written about you in such positive terms, but I think every one of your residents and their families speak of your work in such glowing terms. Well done to all”

Niall D

............Words cannot express how grateful I am to you all for your kindness, professionalism and caring. Thanks to you all for the dignity with which Daddy died and for your care for Mammy before and since............

Jacqueline M

“................a very special thank you to your nurses and care assistants that cared for me after my hospital stay. It was a very emotional time for me and I was really in need of a lot of help. I am a different woman now and I am so grateful for the kindness and care that I received from you. May God bless you all.”

Elizabeth L

“...words cannot express our gratitude to you for the care and dignity and respect that was afforded to my mother in her final days. You were as much her family as I am and I am so satisfied to know that she was looked after so well. You were able to do everything that I wanted to be able to do. I can’t thank you enough”

Desmond T

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, ............as a family we owe you so much. From the first day that we contacted you, you have been so helpful, giving us so much assurance regarding Mam’s care and her health and wellbeing has just improved so much. We also appreciate your assistance and your advice on the financials and the Fair Deal process. It was so important to us. Thank you for making things so easy for us. You make us feel like we’ve just enlarged our family!

Conor Q

Sincere thanks for all your help in arranging Nana’s birthday party. It was a great day and enjoyed so much by Nana and by all of the family and friends. You really went beyond what we expected and we are so very grateful......roll on next year!

Sandra D

..................I will never forget your kindness, support and understanding during a very difficult time for Dad, and also for my Mother, myself and all the family. As you know going into a nursing home is very difficult for all involved, as it was for Dad and us. Again, when Dad’s condition deteriorated and when he was dying it was hard to see him suffer. And no matter how ill or how old, losing your Dad is always very painful, as it was for me and my family, and for my mother losing her husband. And throughout it all, until his passing, you were there, looking after Dad on a day to day basis, welcoming us when we came to visit. I want to thank you all for your kindness, support and understanding and I want to acknowledge your skills and professionalism at every level, all of which made a difficult situation bearable. I particularly want to express my appreciation for all you did for Dad in his last weeks. Your unstinting care at every level, being with Dad constantly, supporting myself and the family as we came and went – I can’t tell you how much it meant and again, although it does not seem adequate for what you did, to each and every one of you, Thank You.

Patrick McG

We are so very grateful to you for all your caring, kindness and support to M and his family over the years but especially during his final days. We were overwhelmed by your genuine concern for us all....

Lisa R

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the great care you gave to my beloved mother. I know she had two wonderful years there with you, all her little needs met. She seemed to come ‘into her own’ there with all of you, and I for one loved the way she “owned” the place and was allowed to! But most of all, when I left her after each visit, I went with peace of mind and confidence of the excellent genuine kindness and care that you all gave her.

Anna F

 

 

 

"Amanda  - A True Hero

This girl humbles me and shows me what it means to give and care and serve, expecting nothing in return, to total strangers. Her name is Amanda and she is a care giver at the nursing home my Dad was in in Portumna Ireland.

The first day that I was there, I realised that the goal was to get my Dad out of the nursing home and and home, but his wife was worried how she would be able to care for him on her own, if he fell in the middle of the night etc. I decided to get a team around my Dad as he is young and and could live for many years to come.

Then God sent many angels. One of them is Amanda, a young Irish girl, for which the nursng home is not just her job. She truly cares for the elderly. She truly cares and puts her all into every minute she is there, running, smiling, loving these paitents beyond what most would do. I was humbled watching her care for very difficult older people who have dementia or serious conditions.

I saw how competent and caring she was at her job, going above and beyond to care for my Dad and me, which I could tell was above her job requirments. She ran, did not walk, the entire time she was on the clock. She didn't just go the extra mile when people were looking, she did it out of the goodness of her heart. It was her nature, doing it for the  love of servcie of others, not what she would gain. She would be off the clock and stop to talk to us and hear our stories of the day.

I asked for her e-mail and her phone number and asked if on her days off if she would want to make extra money and and maybe come take care of my Dad at home. Her immediate response was - "Of course!, but you don't have to pay me, I would love to do that!"

Amanda'a day job is very demanding and I am sure exhausting and she is young and I am sure that she has dreams and goals of her own.  Her commitment to her job alone totally impressed me and I know that she has a desire to come to America but feels that she could never save up to do that. So money is somethig that I am sure that she needs and yet it is not her focus,  - helping others is. She blew me away, just in our converstaion.

I'm back in America and Dad is back home, but as I was talking to my Dad this week, he said "Guess who came to visit me? Amanda!, and she brought me sweets and candy". She not only gave her time, but spent her precious money to bring my Dad gifts. All in her own time, her day off, expecting nothing in return. I cried. Who does that in this busy self focused world? Amanda does!!

What a gift and blessing she is, humbling me and reminding me to do the same, serve others, even strangers, expecting nothing in return. Today I remember so many who God has dropped down and made my life and the lives of those that I love truly miraculous and sweet.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Amanda, for being you. I know that it will come back to you tenfold.

Patrice M..........................."

(reproduced from a Facebook posting with kind permission of Amanda Lynch )