As family members around her were growing older, Clair Wall noticed some things she didn’t like about the way aging adults were being viewed and treated. Ignored, dismissed, disrespected. That’s what she was seeing. So, when her husband took a job as a long-distance trucker and she had extra time on her hands, Clair decided to try to change those stereotypes by becoming a Home Instead® Collin County Care Professional.
“As soon as my mom started to age, I noticed that people tended to ignore her and speak to me when we were shopping. I also observed that my husband’s grandmother, who lived to 103, spent a lot of time alone at family gatherings. She was quite hard-of-hearing, and people just found it difficult to converse. They also tended to assume a social divide because of her lack of experience with more up-to-date entertainment and modern electronics.”
But Clair knew older adults deserved better. “I felt that physically aging bodies contained the same characteristics and personalities of their younger selves,” she said.
“Why should seniors be dismissed as not able to understand or think clearly? Some folks do have dementia and other issues, but they deserve to be treated with the same respect and dignity as anyone who doesn’t.”
Since joining Todd Felker’s Plano-based Home Instead franchise in the summer of 2022, Clair has been putting her passion into action by caring for aging adults.
“I knew I would be sitting at home alone when my husband went to work as a truck driver,” said the South African-born and reared Clair, who has been in the U.S. since 1997. “So, I thought perhaps I’d enter the workforce after 25 years as a housewife and mom of a now 24-year-old daughter.” Clair didn’t know exactly what she was seeking, but a Home Instead online job listing resonated with her.
Clair now works 40-plus hours a week, currently with over-90 Korean War veterans and their spouses. “I do housework, chat, cook breakfast and occasionally go shopping with a 93-old-client. We work on puzzles, and I enjoy the fascinating stories about his life experiences. He is the sweetest man.”
Hearing loss is a challenge in caring for a couple during Clair’s afternoon shifts. “The husband is 95, very active, and still drives and works in his garden. His wife cannot see beyond shadowy outlines. Her lack of sight makes it important to maintain contact and interaction. Touch and getting close to her ear when speaking with her helps us to converse.”
Clair’s third client, who passed away April 14, was bedbound and didn’t understand who Clair was or why she was there. “But he always was courteous,” Clair noted. “I tried to enter his home smiling and talk as though we were old friends to set the mood for him being able to accept the necessary intimacy of the care he required. Usually, a cheery greeting and inquiry about how he was doing was enough to set a positive tone.”
Clair added: “He is the first client I’ve lost, and it’s hard to think I won't see him again. He was dearly loved by his family. He had a lovely smile, and he always appreciated the care he received.”
Clair often enjoys going above and beyond. She recently helped a client clean a dirty carpet. “I have hemmed frayed trousers, played Christmas music over my portable speaker to cheer up a depressed client, helped set up a garage sale, found a talking watch online, met doctors at appointments, found a calculator for tax time and watched a client enter a pool tournament for the first time.”
Clair’s special caregiving skill seems to be the ability to capture the essence of aging adults as they once were from the stories and life experiences they tell. “I see an 8-year-old shooting rabbits and selling them in town until he had saved enough money to buy his own rifle. I can picture a young man headed to the Korean war, leaving his young wife at home. And the businessman raising his family with strong faith and love. These are the people I serve,” Clair noted, proudly.
“I am someone who sees the younger person inside the older body, and who wants to do whatever I can to help aging adults feel like they are just as important and valued now as they were when fully able and independent.”
Forever humble and unassuming, when learning of her honor, Clair told Care Pro Advocate Amanda Ross: “Surely there is someone else who deserves it more than me.”
But her clients would beg to differ, Amanda said. “One of Clair’s clients has told us many times he doesn’t know what he would do without her.”
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.
