Meet Beverley McDevitt
Describing herself as a real stirrer, Beverley McDevitt’s quick wit and dry sense of humour is still just as sharp as she approaches her 84th birthday. Her love for her family and connection to her grandchildren and great grandchild sustains her. Since the passing of her beloved husband of almost 57 years, it has been the visits from her “girls” at Home Nursing Group, which brighten Beverley’s day.
Born in Hobart Tasmania, Beverley spent the first three months of her life in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital with her mother who was recovering from Scarlet Fever. It was perhaps her gratitude for the medical profession that led her to pursue a career in nursing at Latrobe Hospital. When Beverley commenced her studies, she learnt that the nurse teaching her was the same nurse that delivered her as a baby and nursed her mother back to health.
It was when Beverley moved to Melbourne and was living in a boarding house that she met her husband, James (or Jim, as he is affectionately known). “He was a beautiful gentle Irishman with high standards. We clicked very quickly, he asked my dad to marry me, proposed with a piece of copper wire that he’d measured my finger with, and six weeks later we were married,” recalls Beverley.
Beverley and Jim lived in Melbourne for 30 years, raising three beautiful children, John, Brian and Susan. When Jim was 60, he fell in love with Laurieton and the couple moved in 1986.
In 2017, Jim passed away and John became Beverley’s carer. Realising Beverley needed some more help at home, they researched in-home care options and found Home Nursing Group to be the best provider in the area.
“Home Nursing Group came to visit me and really listened to what I needed. I felt that they really understood me,” says Beverley.
Beverley receives in-home care five days a week to help with showers and cleaning once weekly.
“My girls at Home Nursing Group are wonderful, I couldn’t be more pleased with what they do for me. I have lung problems and they always go above and beyond with the cleaning and are so thorough to make sure the house is spotless.”
“The girls will always offer to take me shopping, too. Whenever I call Home Nursing Group, nothing is a bother and they respond very quickly,” says Beverley.
Beverley says she particularly enjoys the regular interaction with her carers. “I really enjoy the girls coming into my home. They are always bright and so lovely. I also have a regular nurse who will take me out once a fortnight. We will have lunch and sit near the water. Jim and I used to go down every day and sit near the ocean and Home Nursing Group has made that possible again.”