Nanny frustrations: what families of children with special needs go through when looking for a nanny.
So here comes the issue with nannies and nurses for children with special needs. It's a huge headache for us. To find someone who is literate but at the same will play with your child and stimulate his development. And of course I need someone who will show him a lot of love. It's really hard to get a correct nanny these days and this has become a challenge now to mothers in general so how much more a mum who has a special needs child.
As I wrote this piece last week I was angry and very hot and bothered. Why does our society believe money grows on trees? So in my case, Giovanni requires a nurse or at least a caregiver (someone with some healthcare knowledge) to take care of him while I'm at work. I've been dealing with a number of agencies. Having a nanny can cost between 300 and 600 Ghana cedis a month but a nurse/caregiver is much more. My child doesn't run around, yes he would need to be cleaned, fed and played with like all other babies. The only difference is giving him medication and exercising him. Kids with cerebral palsy can be compared to individuals who have experienced a stroke: they need to be massaged and exercised to allow stimulation, blood flow and gain strength in the muscles.
Ok so back to the nurse/nanny/caregiver issue, I call this agency and they want to charge me a whooping 1300 cedis a month for their service (provision of a nurse/caregiver- cost doesn't include feeding by the way).
Why am I angry? Because society can be so damn unfair. You see the market for those type of agencies are old people (old people who can't do much on their own or are probably not too well) and you see with the older folks their children (those days there were freaky so minimum of four children) contribute (catch word is contribute) towards their care. So when you do the math, it's affordable for that group of people.
Now take my circumstance. A young couple now starting life with average salary, classified as middle class. Do you think we can afford 1300cedis a month? Catch word is afford. There is a huge difference between "I can't afford your services" and "ei this is too high I won't pay that money for this" and this right here is the "I can't afford it" type of thing. My group/class of people which are a number but not as significant have been left out. We haven't been thought of. Because the immediate thought is when you have a special needs child you must stop work and stay at home and look after the child. Easier said than done, when your salary pays for other things. Those of you thinking that I should stop and then how the hell do we save for the future?? Funding money is temporary it does run out you know, and it runs out fast. After that we are on our own (which is fine and a reality we as parents must prepare for by working and saving) because the government cannot even support us. Money was raised and is being used for medical review, medications and therapy. The rest, of course we parents take up our responsibility and handle it.
Nanny/nurse services, medications, therapy, medical reviews, equipment, consultations with specialists, Why? Why? Why?
Now I can't blame the agency because everybody has to make a living. But in a case like this I would cut my coat according to my size and look for an agency that I can afford and I'm comfortable with.
So right now, we are on Nanny number 4. Got her from a more affordable agency.
I wake up this morning and go check on what the nanny is doing. My mother has asked her to get Giovanni's medications ready. As she is new she has to give the medications to him. I come and I see her putting a lower dose for one medication and a higher dose for the other. Now you all know me as someone that wears my heart on my sleeve, I was furious. I didn't shout at her but I just told her what she had done wrong, told her what she was doing is very dangerous and walked away to cool off. They take every single thing for a joke. And she was smiling while I was telling her all this. One mistake and this boy could have a grand mal seizure.
She finally confessed that she cannot read, this is highly essential for us due to the medications Giovanni takes. On to nanny 5...
This isn't a write up, it's a rant but this time I think I am absolutely allowed to. I visited a friend in France who has a a child with many disabilities and her government pays for therapy, healthcare, some medications, and also provides equipment for the therapy and to enable and facilitate her living. I know Ghana is far from that and so this is the reality we young parents with special needs children in Ghana have to face every day. Every day people, every single day...
As I wrote this piece last week I was angry and very hot and bothered. Why does our society believe money grows on trees? So in my case, Giovanni requires a nurse or at least a caregiver (someone with some healthcare knowledge) to take care of him while I'm at work. I've been dealing with a number of agencies. Having a nanny can cost between 300 and 600 Ghana cedis a month but a nurse/caregiver is much more. My child doesn't run around, yes he would need to be cleaned, fed and played with like all other babies. The only difference is giving him medication and exercising him. Kids with cerebral palsy can be compared to individuals who have experienced a stroke: they need to be massaged and exercised to allow stimulation, blood flow and gain strength in the muscles.
Ok so back to the nurse/nanny/caregiver issue, I call this agency and they want to charge me a whooping 1300 cedis a month for their service (provision of a nurse/caregiver- cost doesn't include feeding by the way).
Why am I angry? Because society can be so damn unfair. You see the market for those type of agencies are old people (old people who can't do much on their own or are probably not too well) and you see with the older folks their children (those days there were freaky so minimum of four children) contribute (catch word is contribute) towards their care. So when you do the math, it's affordable for that group of people.
Now take my circumstance. A young couple now starting life with average salary, classified as middle class. Do you think we can afford 1300cedis a month? Catch word is afford. There is a huge difference between "I can't afford your services" and "ei this is too high I won't pay that money for this" and this right here is the "I can't afford it" type of thing. My group/class of people which are a number but not as significant have been left out. We haven't been thought of. Because the immediate thought is when you have a special needs child you must stop work and stay at home and look after the child. Easier said than done, when your salary pays for other things. Those of you thinking that I should stop and then how the hell do we save for the future?? Funding money is temporary it does run out you know, and it runs out fast. After that we are on our own (which is fine and a reality we as parents must prepare for by working and saving) because the government cannot even support us. Money was raised and is being used for medical review, medications and therapy. The rest, of course we parents take up our responsibility and handle it.
Nanny/nurse services, medications, therapy, medical reviews, equipment, consultations with specialists, Why? Why? Why?
Now I can't blame the agency because everybody has to make a living. But in a case like this I would cut my coat according to my size and look for an agency that I can afford and I'm comfortable with.
So right now, we are on Nanny number 4. Got her from a more affordable agency.
She finally confessed that she cannot read, this is highly essential for us due to the medications Giovanni takes. On to nanny 5...
This isn't a write up, it's a rant but this time I think I am absolutely allowed to. I visited a friend in France who has a a child with many disabilities and her government pays for therapy, healthcare, some medications, and also provides equipment for the therapy and to enable and facilitate her living. I know Ghana is far from that and so this is the reality we young parents with special needs children in Ghana have to face every day. Every day people, every single day...
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