Helena Hickson,
CAREGiver of the Year 2002
Savannah, Georgia

Helena Hickson of Savannah, Georgia came to Home Instead Senior Care with the highest qualifications. The third eldest of 12 children born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, to a carpenter and his homemaker wife, Helena had plenty of experience caring for her siblings.

When she was grown, Helena moved to the U.S. with the American Air Force sergeant she'd met in England and married. She and her husband, Billy, had two small boys when she received the devastating news that would change her life. Billy had a massive stroke and was not expected to live. Helena quit her job and took her husband home to personally care for his needs, which were many: He was paralyzed and could not speak. With Helena's help as a caregiver, her husband did live - for another 16 1/2 years.

Like many people who lose their spouses, Helena was depressed when Billy died in 1995 and unsure about what to do next. She had spent much of her life caring for family members, but caregiving was the last thing she wanted to do. "I didn't want to care for people and deal with illness anymore. I didn't think I could handle it," she said.

Then she saw and employment ad for Home Instead Senior Are and was intrigued. "It was just what I was looking for. I liked the atmosphere." In an effort to find a niche for her life and her skills, Helena began caring for a retired Air Force colonel, an 82-year-old widower with Alzheimer's disease.

Helena is a colorful and caring CAREGiver whose joking manner, twinkling eyes and mischievous ways have earned her the nickname "Trouble". Now a grandmother of four, Helena spent five days a week with the colonel. They shared several common bonds including church and military, and the deaths of their spouses within days of each other. In addition to cooking and cleaning for him, together the two shopped at a base commissary, dined out on burgers and visited military museums. "Taking care of the colonel kept me from missing my husband," Helena said. "It was something to concentrate on. And there's a feeling of fulfillment when you can help someone and they appreciate it."

The colonel's three children speak highly of the role Helena has played in their father's life. "She has shown tremendous energy," said one of the colonel's daughters. "Her competent presence in my father's home allowed me to have more time with my children and increased our peace of mind as his illness progressed."

The staff at Helena's franchise office is equally as complimentary. "Helena is one of the most caring people we've ever met. Her lilting voice and wonderful smiles brighten any room she enters." This is never truer than by the way Helena caregave for the colonel until his death in 2003.