The near-fatal car accident occurred decades before Karen Brown became a Home Instead® Care Professional. But she still remembers how her own caregiver impacted her life.
“At age 18, I was ejected from a car during a horrific accident, resulting in a traumatic brain injury and requiring 26 facial reconstruction surgeries,” Karen explained. “I don’t remember the caregiver’s name, but I remember she was so kind and gentle, with a quiet, sensitive presence. I wish I had been able to interact with her, and I think of her often. I feel her spirit as I go about my caregiving.”
Drawing on the strength of her unknown caregiver who helped in Karen’s life-changing comeback, she serves others as an award-winning Care Pro for owner Todd Felker’s Home Instead franchise that assists seniors in Collin County, Texas. Karen’s journey to Home Instead included an intense experience as a family caregiver, ironically the result of a car accident.
“For four years,” Karen recalled, “I cared for my husband throughout the aftermath of a broken neck suffered in a crash. He spent all four years at home before he passed away in 1996. He had four vertebra fusion surgeries, but ultimately died from the effects of a powerful painkiller that had been widely used in the 1990s. At the time, as I was taking care of my husband, I also was being a mom and working in accounting when possible.”
In 2024, Karen again jumped into a family caregiving role when she took care of her 87-year-old mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. “Mom is in hospice care in California. I went back for six months last year to take care of her. My brother, who lives near her, is overseeing the last stretch of her life,” Karen said.
Senior care as a family caregiver is in Karen’s blood. “I cared for my paternal grandparents on many weekends. My grandpa loved the fact that I made a big breakfast and kept them company for a bit. I wish I knew then what I know now. I could have provided better care for my grandma. I did my best. I sure miss them,” she said.
Karen found Home Instead when she moved to the Plano area from California almost two years ago. She had entered professional health care after working for several decades in technology and accounting. Karen explained: “After the dot-com bust of 2000, I went to school for an Emergency Medical Technician license to join the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team. I subsequently received my Emergency Department Technician certification from the UCLA Center for Pre-Hospital Care.”
In the mid-2010s, Karen went back to school to become a medical assistant as well as a phlebotomist. She began working as a phlebotomist for a Southern California diagnostics lab for several years, including two years as a mobile phlebotomist. “Around that time, I began work as an agency caregiver – not one of Home Instead’s offices – in Southern California. I then served as a private executive personal assistant for two clients, including involvement in their home health care, for several years before moving to Texas.”
Karen was attracted to Home Instead of Collin County for several reasons. She said: “The franchise is well-staffed and covers a large area. Home Instead has an excellent onboarding process with more-than-adequate training. New Care Pros are placed according to their experience. One of the most unusual features at our Home Instead is its Care Pro Advocate, who fields comments and questions from the Care Pros. Amanda Ross gives us great assurance. We know we can call for any reason, even if it’s simply to unload our sadness after a death.”
One-on-one care resonates with Karen, who was honored as her franchise’s Care Pro of the Month for January 2025 in an announcement made by Human Resources Coordinator Jocelyn Mejia. “What I like most about being a Home Instead Care Pro,” Karen pointed out, “is having the opportunity to become close with clients and their loved ones, and learning the actions that will lighten their loads.”
Karen added: “I realize that before I show up on Day 1, the clients and their families had given much thought to their situations and need for assistance before calling Home Instead. We as Care Pros do not take their decisions lightly, so we bring our very best each and every day. It’s also notable to point out that every day is different and has its own challenges. Care Pros live by savoring the honor of serving others, with our innate abilities to sense, listen and discern what may be needed as the assignments progress.”
When asked about memorable days with clients, Karen said: “I’m consistently awed by clients who expend energy to make me feel at home, frequently asking if I’d like sweet tea or candy. Is it the Texas way? In any event, my assigned tasks and other requirements are always completed in the same manner that one would do for a friend. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
In addition to enjoying her family-like job, Karen noted: “I love my son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons, 4 and 6 years old.”
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (972) 744-9898 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website at homeinstead.com/home-care/usa/tx/plano/413
