Caregiver Story Spotlight | Shield HealthCare “What Makes Caregiving Rewarding?” Contest
Written by Sandi B.
“I have been a professional as well as a family caregiver for the past seven years. During this time, I have cared for my parents as well as other caregiving clients through an agency. At the present time, I am only caring for my Mother who is in the end stage of Alzheimer’s disease. We lost my father in January this year. He also had Alzheimer’s. My parents had been married 68 years, but in the past year they had lost each other. Even though they had forgotten each other you could still see the love they had for each other.
Being a caregiver is a choice for me. It has been very rewarding to know I am providing comfort and care for my senior clients when their own family is unable to. I love seeing their eyes light up when I enter their homes and I know they are comfortable and secure. I have been there for several of my clients as they leave this life. My last professional client passed away at 102 years. I had been with him for six years. A few days before he passed on he took my hand and thanked me for being there and told me everything would be okay. He was actually comforting me.
At the present time my sister and I share caregiving for my Mother who is bedridden. She no longer knows who we are, but it is such a joy to see her smile when we are taking care of her and every once in a while we’ll catch a glimmer of the person she once was.
I guess just knowing the good that I provide is the one most rewarding thing about caregiving. I like to feel that I am adding feathers to my wings every day.”
Shield HealthCare | Serving The Caregiving Community Since 1957
