Michelle Follows God’s Leading as a Care Pro
Home Instead® Care Professional of the Month Michelle Ryan has known her path in life for a long time, and there never has been any career confusion.
“The most important thing is,” Michelle said, “God led me to this work. I was doing it even as a teen, when I was a private-duty caregiver. God prepared me for this work with the various challenges along the way. God has been with me as I have traveled this road. With God’s will, there are no accidents. Maybe we don’t have God’s plan for us all figured out to the smallest detail, but that’s OK. I am fine with the unknown because I know the final destination.”
Michelle added: “Every client teaches me something that God wants me to learn. It’s a 50-50 situation with the clients. They give back to me as much as I give to them.” When she joined the award-winning Home Instead franchise owned by franchise owners Van and Ann Lankford, it was in keeping with her preference in senior-care work. “I am a person who likes to do one-on-one caregiving. Working in a facility can be a little like working on an assembly line. You might be hurrying around and not getting to know the seniors very well,” she said.
Michelle was honored less than two years after joining Home Instead of Mount Airy when Staff Coordinator Sharon Bledsoe made the announcement and said: “Michelle is a great go-above-and-beyond person. She is a delight and a great blessing to our company.”
Humble as she always is, Michelle provided her perspective of the Care Pro award: “It’s important to give God the glory and praise. My faith is everything to me.” She also gives thanks to God for allowing her to continue to work over the years before reaching Home Instead despite a breast cancer diagnosis and the subsequent treatments: “I was told I’d need help at home because of the cancer, and I would need to slow down. I was never sick, but I was tired. My favorite verse is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” I have those words in a prominent place at home where I can see them every day.”
Michelle works six days a week with a 24/7 care client who is bedfast as the result of a stroke four years ago. “I am able to go to church and then go to work later on Sundays. I have a support system within my church, which is Blues Grove Baptist Church,” Michelle said.
Michelle, who became a CNA three years ago, is among three professionals who make up the care team for an 86-year-old client. “She needs specialized care from people who are qualified to do the job. I am the only Home Instead Care Pro, and the others are private-duty caregivers. If one of us gets sick, we’re in a pickle, and fortunately that’s not been the case. In this specific situation, you have got to want to dedicate your life to this because your life is not your own. That is fine with me,” Michelle said. “I switched clients in February 2022 so I could work with her. My client’s daughter and I go to the same church. Before I was with Home Instead, I actually cleaned house for her. Then, her physical challenges set in.”
The client is not out of bed often, but Michelle and the two other caregivers have a Hoyer lift that aids in placing the client in a chair. “She is still pretty sharp. She talks with me and is interactive. She reads the newspaper and has a tablet that holds 4,000 photos. She looks at that all day. Her husband, who had Addison’s disease, died a few months ago. His death was not a surprise. She’s aware that he’s gone, and we talk about him occasionally,” Michelle said.
There is a spiritual aspect to Michelle’s relationship with her client. “I pray with her. We talk about our faith on occasion. I am at peace with her feelings because my client is at peace with her situation. She knows her life is very challenging now, but it is not permanent. She knows where she’ll ultimately go and she’s not afraid to go. I’ve been blessed with clients like her.”
Michelle, a Pennsylvania native who moved to Mount Airy in 2010, is at peace with her future and sees God’s leading as the key. She said, “I guess I’d have to say I don’t know exactly what might be next, where I’ll go and such things. I don’t normally leave a client, so I am secure with a feeling that I want to stay with this client. With my job, I see people to the end.”
All Home Instead Care Professionals are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (336) 789-4472 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
