An avid fisherman, Jeff poses proudly with a recent catch. His Uncle Ted helps clean the fish, and his Mom cooks it.
In the middle of the night, Jeffrey was telling his mom that he heard a beeping sound. It wasn’t like him to make things up like that, but she couldn’t hear the beeping.
She eventually gave in, searched the house for unusual sounds, and sure enough, the carbon monoxide alarm was on full alert. She called the fire department, they came and resolved what could have been a deadly situation.
“You can count on Jeff to pay attention and recognize things that might not be right,” his mother Alice said. “He is very alert to his surroundings.”
A veteran of BCArc’s Center for Development for more than 30 years, the COVID virus has kept Jeff home for many months.
“He stays busy with all of the online programs BCArc offers,” Alice said. “He knows how to work his iPad far better than I can, and he doesn’t like to miss an activity.”
She named a few of his favorites: “He exercises on Zoom with the wheelchair workouts, that keeps him limber, he needs that, we all need that. He plays bingo, plays their brain games on Tuesdays, does their sing along, he basically does something everyday. It’s amazing how much is offered, it’s really a godsend. I had no idea he does all these things when he goes to the day program.”
“He participates in everything, and his energy pulls other people in to the activities. He also loves to give cards to everyone. You can be sure he’ll have a card for you on Valentine’s Day.”
Jeff and his mom live in Great Barrington. Along with attending CFD, they are part of the Adult Family Care program, which provides a team of support – specifically AnnMarie Cairns, R.N., and Ida Patella, Case Manager — and a monthly stipend.
“Jeffrey is a draw for the programs,” Ida said. “He participates in everything, and his energy pulls other people in to the activities. He also loves to give cards to everyone. You can be sure he’ll have a card for you on Valentine’s Day.”
While the virus changed everything for mother and son, Alice’s attitude remains upbeat. “We are homebodies,” she said. “We learn to manage here. We also go out when we can, get fresh air.”
Jeff’s brother visits most weekends from Connecticut to offer any help or transportation they may need.
“Jeff is generally very busy,” Alice said. “Everyone expects him to be on all the classes. If I forget, he reminds me,” she said, laughing. “If he misses one of his TV shows that he likes, he finds it on his iPad and catches up. I couldn’t do any of that for him. He would have to teach me,” she said, laughing.
