We love taking the time to chat with our MGA Families and learn more about what brought them into our world. We sat down with Emilia Garcia, a mother of one of our patients, to ask her a little bit about her family and the experience they’ve had with MGA Homecare over the last three years. Mia, the youngest member of the Garcia family, became a patient with us when she was six years old after her physical therapist recommended her family check out MGA Homecare for their in-home care needs.
“When Mia was 18 months old, around the time she got her G-tube, we didn’t want to have any sort of in-home care in addition to her regular therapies,” said Emilia. “That changed when our second oldest started attending Kindergarten. Balancing the responsibilities of having two older kids in school along with Mia’s care was difficult. That’s when we made the choice to find an in-home care provider.”
As many parents experience, finding the best in-home care fit can be challenging. Once the Garcia’s first (and excellent) nurse decided to go back to school after four years of caring for Mia, they felt it was time to explore all options to find the right replacement.
“The first person I spoke to at MGA was Ozie – who couldn’t have been friendlier,” said Emilia. “He explained all of the benefits and programs the Dallas team offered, and it sounded like they’d be a great fit for my family. Luckily, I was right. MGA hasn’t just provided great care, they’ve been attentive, friendly and always helpful. Plus, we’ve been included in fun things like a family photo shoot and annual barbeque!”
As the youngest of the Garcia children, Mia has always gotten along very well with her two older brothers. According to her mom, Mia loves to spend time with her family and when you leave her side, she will be sure to let you know she wants you back.
“Mia would always call for her big brother, Michael, on her alternative communication device while he was at school,” said Emilia. “We’d send him pictures of her using her communication device to say his name. You can really tell they really care for each other by the way they interact.”
In addition to her family, Mia loves listening to music, watching Moana (and now Coco), or playing outdoors. Her favorite days are the ones when the whole family gets to spend time together, which is “awesome,” her favorite word.
According to Emilia, Mia and her nurse, Megan, seemed to hit it off on day one, allowing mom to start doing more in and out of the house.
“Since having Megan’s help caring for Mia, I’m able to do house chores, run to the grocery store, and volunteer at the kids’ schools,” said Emilia. “I’d recommend any parent with an in-home nurse take advantage of having that bit of freedom – don’t try to play the second nurse when you don’t need to. Focus on other things during that time or just take a nap!”
Thank you to the Garcia family for sharing their story with us and for being such wonderful members of the MGA Community. If you think you or someone you know would benefit from working with MGA Homecare, check out our blog on Becoming an MGA Family for more information or give your nearest MGA Homecare office a call.