Home Care workers offer a reprieve for retired Cooma couple

Local residents Dr George and Vida Timmins, both 76, built a happy and successful life for themselves and their three sons in Cooma.

Dr George, a respected and beloved veterinarian for almost 43 years hung up his stethoscope in 2016. In the years since then, Vida has withstood some significant health challenges.

“We were having Christmas up at Thredbo about eight or nine years ago and Vida had a massive forebrain haemorrhage,” Dr George explained.

Vida was taken by ambulance to Cooma Hospital and transferred by helicopter to Canberra Hospital where she underwent a four and a half hour surgery.

“The best surgeon in NSW if not Australia was there ready to take her on. They sort of said she had no hope of surviving because it was so severe. But she did survive. She’s a tough cookie.

That was about eight years ago, and since then dementia has started to set in. Now years down the track, she’s not going too badly,” Dr George said.

Dr George explains he sought out Home Care for some help around the house and caring for Vida.

“Way back when I first started (applying for Home Care) I was trying to wade my way through all the paperwork and My Aged Care and do this and do that. It was getting me down.

“Then one of the chaps from IRT came to my house and within half an hour he had me totally sorted. Fantastic. It was very stressful before that and it all turned out fine,” Dr George said.

IRT Home Care Far South Coast is award winning and recently won the Bega Valley Business Award 2024 for Excellence in Large Business. IRT Home Care provides a range of home care services covering the Far South Coast of NSW and surrounding areas including but not limited to: Cooma, Nimmitabel, Pambula, Merimbula, Tathra, Bermagui, Narooma, Dalmeny, Bodalla and Moruya.

Services include personal care, domestic assistance, transport, social support, allied health services, home maintenance and modifications and nursing.

IRT Home Care employees visit Dr George and Vida’s home multiple times a week to help with house cleaning, yard work and to spend social time with Vida.

“The extra help just makes my life so much easier. A gardener, who is an absolute gentleman with lots of empathy for my wife, comes and does the yard work while I do the weeding. He does a fantastic job.

“A lady also comes and does the cleaning. She does a really good job of the floors and the bathroom. If we didn’t have this help, I probably wouldn’t get to all of it. It all becomes too much.”

Dr George explains that Vida has a very short memory of about half an hour, so he reminds her when the Home Care employees are coming and who they are.

“A couple times a week they take her downtown for a coffee and a chat. When they come back she’s always laughing and talking. Vida loves her gardening and the Home Care staff are great at talking with her about that. She gets on well with them. They’re quite caring and dedicated,” Dr George said.

Vida also likes to paint and will complete a painting in one day over four or five hours.

“It keeps her happy. The part of her brain that involves words is not affected and she flogs me at scrabble once or twice a week.”

For more information about IRT Home Care visit irt.org.au/home-care/ or call 134 478.