If getting out of the house is the problem
A lot of people stopped having massage not because they stopped needing it, but because getting dressed and into a car became the hardest part of the day.
There is no table unless you want one
I work on beds, in recliners, in wheelchairs and in ordinary kitchen chairs. A hospital bed is easier for me, not harder. Side-lying with pillows is often the most comfortable position and there is nothing second-best about it.
You do not need to get dressed, get up, or be ready for company.
This is a regular part of my week
Not a favour and not an exception. It is a large part of why I work this way at all — and it is the one thing a room with my name on the door could never offer.
Consent, and stopping
An adult books their own massage, even when somebody else makes the phone call. If the person I am coming to see has a guardian, a healthcare surrogate or a power of attorney, tell me that on the phone and tell me who holds it. I would rather know before I am standing in the room.
Consent is not only what is agreed at the door. If someone cannot tell me in words that they want to carry on, I take my cue from everything else — pulling away, tensing, going quiet, turning the head. Any of that and I stop, whatever was agreed beforehand. You can stop at any point, for any reason, and you do not have to give me one. That is true of everybody I work on, and it matters most for the person who is finding it hardest to say so.
And one thing said plainly, because it is better said before than after. If I ever have reason to suspect that a vulnerable adult is being abused, neglected or exploited, Florida law requires me — as it requires anyone — to report it to the Florida Abuse Hotline. That is not a threat and it is almost never relevant. It is simply true of anybody in my position, and you should hear it from me rather than find it out.
For the person arranging it
Often the call comes from a daughter, a son or an aide rather than from the client. Call me rather than booking online. I will want to know what they can and cannot do, whether there is a hospital bed, whether there is a hoist, and who will be there.
You are welcome to stay in the room. Always, and without explaining why.
How it goes, for this
The call
Usually not from the client
A daughter, a son, an aide. I will want to know what they can and cannot do, whether there is a hospital bed, and who will be there.
At the house
Nobody has to get ready
No getting dressed, no getting up, no being presentable. I work around whatever the day looks like.
After
I fold the table and go
No appointment to have got to, and nothing to recover from getting home.
Not sure I can work on you? Pick the one that fits.
I can get on a massage table
Then that is what we will use. It is set up and ready in the room — and at home, for my regulars, it goes up and goes away within the hour. Nothing for you to arrange.
Only my own bed
That is fine and it is common. I work alongside the bed and adapt the positioning to you — pillows under the knees, side-lying if lying flat is not comfortable. A hospital bed is easier for me, not harder.
My recliner
Good. Neck, shoulders, arms, hands, feet and lower legs all work well in a recliner, and for a lot of people that is where the pain actually is.
I use a wheelchair
We can work in the chair, or transfer to a bed or table if you transfer easily and want to. Tell me which on the phone and I will bring what suits.
A kitchen chair is all I have
That is all I need. I bring a proper seated setup — you stay fully clothed, and it is the same work through the neck, shoulders and back.
I am asking on behalf of someone else
Call me rather than booking online. I will want to know what they can and cannot do, whether there is a hospital bed, and who will be there. If they have a guardian, a healthcare surrogate or a power of attorney, tell me who holds it. You are welcome to stay in the room.
Still not sure? PHONE and describe the room. It takes two minutes and costs nothing.
Questions
What if my mother cannot tell you where it hurts?
Then we go slowly and I watch rather than ask. Tell me what you know about her, what she likes, what she does not, and what a bad day looks like. That is usually enough for me to work well.
Can you come to a facility rather than a private home?
Usually yes, with the facility's permission. Some have their own requirements for outside practitioners. Call me before you arrange anything and we will find out together what theirs are.
Do you charge more to come to us?
Tell me the address and I will tell you before anything is booked. I come to every part of Citrus County, but some of it is a long way from the rest, and I would rather you heard the figure from me at the start than found it on an invoice.