One of Arlene Knighten’s Home Instead® clients passed away April 6, 2022, but Arlene’s compassionate involvement with his family had not ended. The client’s widow and his family didn’t want to lose Arlene. The 83-year-old widow, who previously had not been a client, needed Arlene now more than ever.
Here’s what happened: One day, after Arlene had finished her shift with the husband and had left for the day, the client’s wife fell and suffered a broken femur. She went to the hospital and then to a rehabilitation facility. Her husband, Arlene’s client, had been in poor health with heart problems. Sadly, he passed away while his wife was in rehabilitation with her broken leg.
“The widow and I are best of friends. Her husband was such a sweet man. I was so upset when I lost him. The family didn’t want any other person to take care of their mother, so I stayed,” said Arlene, who recently was honored as Home Instead of Martinsburg’s Care Professional of the Month for the second time during her Home Instead career that began more than 5½ years ago. Arlene was first selected for the award in December 2017.
Arlene helps her client seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “Things are a little better. She now moves around slowly. Her friends drop in to check on her when I am not with her. I keep in touch. She is not a morning person, so I provide a combination of breakfast and lunch after I arrive. Then I help her with anything she needs,” Arlene said.
Arlene also has a second regular client, a 73-year-old wife who has a hip challenge and receives Arlene’s assistance during three-hour afternoon shifts on Mondays and Fridays. “She was in a lot of pain, but she’s doing better. It’s a long road ahead. I walk with her and help her with showering. She had been taking sponge baths. I also handle the light housekeeping,” Arlene said. “I try to keep her upbeat. Every so often, there can be a couple of days of the blues. She loves game shows and also likes conversation.”
In another caregiving situation, Arlene had assisted a 76-year-old double amputee for almost three years as his only Care Pro before he passed away about two years ago. “What a character! I helped him seven days a week,” Arlene said. “I took him for a walk every day in his wheelchair. He lived on an acreage in a wooded area and had me put out food for the deer. At lunchtime from the home, he liked to watch them eat. It was one of his pleasures.”
Toward the end, an alarmed Arlene advised the client’s wife that “something was going on” with her husband’s health. Arlene recalled: “I told her, ‘It’s not right.’ She called his doctor, and after an MRI, they found brain tumors. There was no treatment because the diagnosis was that his situation was terminal. Not long after that, the tumors took his life. With him, I stayed a little longer sometimes because the wife didn’t have any other help. She was trying very hard to handle things when I wasn’t there.”
Arlene added: “Losing a client is the hardest part of the job. You become connected to them. This is the wrong job for someone if he or she doesn’t feel that way. You cannot be detached or have a cold heart. I personally get involved with helping others. I love my clients. You get close to them, and my heart is deeply in it.”
Arlene has assisted clients in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle on behalf of owner Keith Clay’s award-winning franchise since Jan. 24, 2017. Arlene had not previously worked in professional senior care, but a sister-in-law thought Arlene would be a good fit for the job and suggested Arlene apply. That sister-in-law, Penny Malcolm, was the franchise’s Care Pro of the Month in March 2017. Penny, the sister of Arlene’s husband John, was right. Said Arlene: “This is my calling. I truly love it.”
Arlene pointed out she could not do her job without strong family support. “I have been happily married for 16 years to John, who is my best friend. Our wedding anniversary is Oct. 16. John is tickled to death that I have this job because he sees I have joy and love in my heart from taking care of seniors. I think of my parents, who are both gone, when I help my clients,” said Arlene, a 12-year cancer survivor of a lethal and aggressive form of the disease that was caught early.
“I feel because of my cancer experience, I have a purpose. That’s being right here with my family and my Home Instead clients. My husband is a huge support but, of course, without God, this would not be possible. I love my job. I don’t want to leave my clients. I’ll stick with it.”
