Cindy's Part of a Client's Success Story: Eventually No More Care Will Be Needed
CAREGiver of the Month Cindy is expecting to lose a client, but she's wearing a smile because the client's health is trending up so he soon won't need help. "It's exciting.
Normally you are taking care of someone who is in a downward trajectory in terms of health. This is a case where the client keeps improving. I will lose him someday because he is taking slow-but-steady steps to better health. I've been with him two to three months. Maybe in another month, he won't need us CAREGivers," Cindy explained.
Cindy is part of an unusual client success story for owner Glenna Yaroch's Home Instead Senior Care® franchise that serves North Oakland County, including Waterford, Clarkston, West Bloomfield and 15 other communities. The award-winning franchise has honored Cindy as its July CAREGiver of the Month.
The client is in his 60s, suffered a work-related fall, was hospitalized and came home after a rehabilitation stint. "He's totally 'with it' mentally and is optimistic emotionally. He and his wife are a nice, wonderful couple. I hope they get back to what they'd been doing before this episode. They are positive people who are working hard for him to improve his condition. His wife helps with his care, but she may eventually return to work. He already does a lot for himself. It is exciting to be on this end of things, where a client sees a good outcome ahead," Cindy said.
Cindy, who joined Home Instead Senior Care in December 2019, has spent 30 years in senior care. She explained her move to Home Instead: "I had been working for another agency and lost a client, which is what eventually happens. They just didn't have any other clients, so that eliminated my work possibilities. A relative recommended Home Instead Senior Care, and she's still working as a CAREGiver."
Cindy was in a high school program where she learned the nursing duties of what today is a CNA. At that time, there was no certification through the program, but for the practical experience, Cindy spent time on each floor of a hospital and observed or helped as needed. "I did work later in a nursing home and became a CNA," Cindy said.
Life took an interesting twist away from senior care for Cindy when she went to college. "I like helping people. I decided to go to Arizona to be a missionary, and I went to a Bible college and earned a Bachelor of Arts in missions and a minor in English. While the Bible college was based in Arizona, I taught English in first and second grade in a Mexico Christian school," said Cindy, whose life took another turn when her mother needed help.
"I sold my home in Arizona and moved back to Michigan to take care of my mother. I didn't want my mother to go to a nursing home. She died about 10 years ago, and my father died about five years later," Cindy said. "I've worked for several senior-care agencies."
When queried about Home Instead, Cindy said: "My experience has been very positive, encouraging and uplifting. They try hard to get hours for me, which I appreciate, so Home Instead is a good company. It's nice to keep busy. It gets to be like a family. I am one of those people who prefers night shifts. I've worked nights for years, and my body is geared to it. This almost always means I am on a 24/7 caregiving team."
Cindy said she and a 24/7 team recently mourned the loss of a client who died of cancer. "We CAREGivers were his extended family. We were with him on some holidays because he would have been alone if a CAREGiver wasn't with him. I would be with him on a holiday if it was my day to work. I brought him some nice, warm footies around Christmas," Cindy said.
"I admired the way in which he had battled the cancer. He'd had multiple surgeries and had kept bouncing back. He went to the hospital in late spring, and we were looking forward to him coming back. Sadly, he did not. I was just glad to get the chance to know him and help him. I believe we CAREGivers meant a lot to him. While it's sad, it is fulfilling to help those in need. That's why I do it."
