Perhaps there are no better compliments in life than to be called someone’s friend. One of Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Akberet “Aki” Tela’s regular clients told Aki, ‘You are not just my Care Pro, you are my friend.’ ”
The feeling is mutual.
Referring to her 87-year-old client, Ms. Mary, who lives in her longtime home, Aki said: “She is like my grandmother. Ms. Mary is so happy to see me when I come in. She immediately recognizes me – she is sharp. I take Ms. Mary to her medical appointments and on shopping trips when she wants something. I don’t rush her when we’re shopping. We take our time. You must be patient, but that is not a difficulty for me. That’s what friends do.”
Aki added: “I love all clients as if they were my grandparents. I feel that way inside my heart. I assist sometimes as many as four or five clients in a week. Ms. Mary is the client whom I’ve helped the longest. She can walk by herself, but I am always by her side. I follow closely when Ms. Mary is using a walker. While we have necessary outings, there are no restaurant stops. She’d rather eat at home. At home, in addition to my other duties, we watch television together and talk. She shares almost everything. I know her history, and I am interested in it. Getting to know my clients more each day is meaningful to me, one of my highlights of caregiving.”
Aki joined Home Instead® of Collin County, based in Plano, Texas, in September 2024. Chase and Taylor Crenwelge own the award-winning franchise. Home Instead Care Pro Advocate Amanda Ross, who announced Aki’s honor, said: “She is a wonderful Care Pro. Her client’s comment – about considering Aki a friend – touched my heart and is indicative of the kind person Aki is.”
Discussing her work trajectory, Aki said: “I found Home Instead online. This is my first opportunity at one-on-one care, and I like it. The Home Instead staff are good. I was a CNA for four or five years at a nursing home in the Washington, D.C., area. There was lots of work to do at that facility. My family and I moved to northern Kentucky and lived there for eight years before we moved to Texas. I’ve been in the Collin County area for about five years.”
Aki found her footing as a caregiver early in her life. She was 17 or 18 years old when she began helping senior loved ones as a family caregiver. She recalled: “I helped my mother and grandmother take care of my grandfather. We arranged to work together on his care. Even more, we helped anybody who needed care. That’s just where our hearts were.”
For Aki and her fellow Care Pros, touching lives impacts their souls, whether they are providing physical help such as light housekeeping, meal preparation, medication reminders or personal care or if they are offering emotional support in a companionship role.
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (469) 916-9202 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website at HomeInstead.com/413
