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All this about being careful when hiring full-time help is great and very helpful. It does, however, make me very grateful for the wonderful experience I have had, and I just walked into it blindly. Ken was in a nursing home, Medicare said he wouldn't get any better and should become a maintenance patient, and I should now pay. He was getting worse daily. I felt he would do better at home if we could manage it, and I was referred to a wonderful Philipino lady who runs a local agency. She came to visit and sent me Arnold. He went to the nursing home for a week, and said he could handle Ken at home. He told the agency that he thought the assignment would last about 6 months. He is relieved each weekend by an equally fine young man named Reggie. They are both very honest and have never taken advantage of me in any way. The agency owner comes by occasionally to be sure all is well. Both young men are trained CNA's. At tax time the agency gives me a form to send to the IRS saying how much I spend on health care through them; all I have to do is sign it and send it in and take the deduction on our income tax. This all started a year ago last October. My husband is getting better and better, and we just returned from a two-week trip to Yosemite National Park with Arnold along to care for Ken! Yes, it is expensive, but if you get the right arrangement, it can be lifesaving. I am sure that without the care Arnold and Reggie provide, Ken would not be with us today. Barbara Smith,CG/Ken/70/17