Family Caregiving Honed Heather’s Senior Care Skills
One tried-and-true testing ground for many Home Instead® CAREGivers is family caregiving, which can be more challenging physically and emotionally than professional senior care. CAREGiver of the Month Heather Bring “has been there and done that.”
Heather helped her mother take care of her grandparents. Her grandfather had emphysema. Toward the end of his life, the disease left him cranky many times. “He wasn’t doing anything my grandma or my mom wanted him to do. Grandpa started to get nasty with both of them when he was in the hospice center. One day, I said, ‘ “Billy Boy” – that’s what we always called him – ‘what is it I can get to make you more comfortable?’ ” Heather recalled asking.
“He said, ‘All I want is two donuts,’ so I went to Dunkin’ Donuts. He ate them, but my grandma wasn’t happy because she wanted him to eat something more nutritious. That’s all he wanted. The next day, he had passed away a happy man because he got to eat those donuts.”
Heather also helped with her grandmother, who had leukemia. “That was tough. We were constantly going back and forth, with blood transfusions the biggest thing. She wouldn’t listen to me or Mom but finally listened to my sister and let us take her to the hospice center,” Heather recounted. “I took the kids to see her. She wasn’t communicating, but when I told her it was time to take the kids home, she gave an unhappy look and kicked her legs. I said, ‘Grandma, do you want me to keep the kids here a little longer?’ She smiled and squeezed my hand. A few days later, she passed away. It’s very hard to take care of family members just before they pass away. It also is hard to watch as a Home Instead client’s health declines. I am family with them; death is tough.”
Heather joined Home Instead of Lorain County, Ohio, in June 2018. She had needed another job because her employer, Easter Seals, had moved. While seeking another in-home health company, Home Instead caught her eye when Heather was looking at employee reviews. “Home Instead seemed like a really great place, and I love helping and taking care of people,” Heather said.
Over the years, Heather has taken care of young and old. She was a daycare teacher after high school before she worked at the Our Lady of the Wayside in the Guadalupe home. Heather also worked at the Murray Ridge Center for people with developmental disabilities for about eight years. Then she decided it was time for a change. “I really wanted to be a State Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA) or an LPN, so I took my STNA classes,” Heather said.
She was disappointed when she found that her first STNA job was at a nursing home “wasn’t really my cup of tea.” She explained: “I felt as if all I was doing was getting the clients out of bed, feeding them, doing the personal care and putting them back to bed. I never got a chance to get to know them. I really hated it.”
By contrast, Heather said, “I love my Home Instead job. The office staff members treat you like family. They understand family dynamics because they are parents themselves, so they know how important it is to be at your kids’ activities, and they work with you around your schedule.
About six months ago, Heather needed to take an early maternity leave. She was afraid she was not going have a job when she came back, but Home Instead assured her that she’d have a job. “I kept them aware of what was going on. Sure enough, in September, when I was ready to come back to work, I received an assignment for one of my same clients. He was waiting ‘forever’ for me to return, and that made me feel great,” she said. “I love the fact you basically are in control of how many hours you work. They are so willing to work with you.”
Heather could tell many heartwarming client stories.
“You never know what your day is going to be until you get there. One of the funniest stories was with a husband and wife in Avon Lake. They had a bunch of trees, and a lot of deer came into their yard. The wife used to feed the deer. Her husband would get mad. He wanted to dispatch those deer because that was the game animal he formerly hunted,” Heather said.
“One morning, the deer were really close to where I parked. When I left the car, they jumped up as if they were going to attack me. But I think they were hungry and must have thought I was going to feed them. I never ran so fast in my life to get inside. I told the wife that her deer needed to be fed because they were following me,” Heather said with a laugh.
In late April, Human Resources Manager Janelle Ortiz announced that Heather had been honored as CAREGiver of the Month for owner Karin Kollar’s award-winning franchise. Heather said: “I can’t say enough good things about Home Instead. I’ve been working so hard, and I try to fill in when I can. I try to go above and beyond. I was super excited when they called and told me I was CAREGiver of the Month.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (440) 353-3080 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
