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No, this isn't another reminder about becoming politically
active, although I will get a plug in right here for doing so.
Building relationships with your state and federal legislators is,
of course, the way to take control of your company's future.
But for what I'm writing about today, you already are
involved.
Earlier this month, my Aunt Helen turned 90. Beyond that
impressive life milestone, she's had something of a medical journey
as well. I've told you about my aunt before. She's struggled with
heart problems, has been on and off oxygen and, at age 87 after a
fall, had emergency brain surgery. The best part of the story is
that she has fully recovered after several near misses. My family
thinks she may have 29 lives.
To celebrate Aunt Helen's 90th, more than 40 of us met in the
cedar-scented mountain town of Brevard, N.C., for a big Labor Day
party.
We laughed. We talked. We oohed over the newest family baby
(little month-old Frank Austin) and aahed over my cousin Donna's
gourmet cooking. We toasted an upcoming wedding (Reina and John).
We browsed at a roadside market for local farm-grown fare (try a
delicious Candy Stripe heirloom tomato if you get a chance). We
went out to eat. We had a huge cake for Aunt Helen to share with
her friends. We even stopped in at Caesar's Head, a granite-browed
overlook close to the Eastern U.S. Continental Divide (3,208 feet
up).
The point is that Aunt Helen kept up all weekend (well, she did
take a nap during the Caesar's Head thing). While she has lost much
of her mobility and takes advantage of lots of home medical
equipment to help with activities of daily living, she was right in
there with the rest of us. Everyone, including my aunt, had a
ball.
So what I really want to say is, simply, thank you to this
industry. To all of the manufacturers who come up with the
equipment that makes it possible for people to live as they wish.
To all of the HME providers who counsel, suggest and provide those
tools that keep our country's elderly active — and at home in
the heart of their families.
It's a task that is often under-appreciated, but this is truly
HME in action.
