Vivid, warm and loving images of Emma Hill’s grandmother often come to mind when the CAREGiver of the Month is helping some of her Home Instead® clients and their families. “I was close to my grandmother because she helped my mother raise me, and I lived with Grandma sometimes,” Emma recalled, explaining she was in debt to her grandmother and felt she could have never fully repaid her for the kindness and love she felt.
When Emma’s grandmother passed away Dec. 27, 2019, at age 92, Emma said, “It took a whole world away from me. She brightened every day I was with her. I called Grandma ‘Momma.’ She loved her home, but when the aging process got the best of her, we said, ‘Come live with us!’ She was loved and had all kinds of help.”
Emma added: “Grandma had 11 sons and four daughters, including two sets of twins. My mother was a twin. When Grandma came to visit, we made sure her feet were up and spoiled her. She had a bad knee and arthritis in a hip. I told her, ‘I want to do for you what you did for me.’ Grandmother was a wonderful lady and highly esteemed.”
Emma had a long history of successful professional senior care before she joined Home Instead of Victoria on Nov. 18, 2020. “I went to CNA classes in 2006 and worked in a nursing home as a housekeeper,” said Emma, who then began working for an in-home care company in 2007 and worked off and on for the business before leaving it for good in 2017.
Emma also worked as a private-duty caregiver. “I wanted to work with my own clients. For one summer, I had five clients, and I brought a friend into it. Then I lost my primary lady and lost a lot of hours. I let my friend take over, and all of the clients eventually died. I went to another in-home company for a year and then went to Home Instead,” she said.
“One of my friends told me about Home Instead. I applied and Maegan called,” said Emma, referring to Recruiting and Retention Coordinator Maegan Coldewey. “Ironically, after Maegan hired me, I was reunited with a client from those days with my former employer.”
Explaining her job fulfillment, Emma said: “When I go to a client, oftentimes the fun starts and it brightens my day as much or more than I brighten their day. CAREGivers are not supposed to get too close to their clients, but it is hard not to do that. You get to know the clients and become close friends, maybe just like family. I cry when I lose a client.”
Emma also said, “I have awesome clients, and some of them have good and bad days just as anyone else does. You’ve got to be patient. People who do not have patience should not do this kind of work. It can be a hard job in general for any of us CAREGivers. I am easygoing. Over the years, I have observed that a few of the dementia clients’ children have no patience. I have helped family members with the care of their spouses.”
In one situation, Emma took care of a husband to assist his wife, a retired art teacher. “In retirement, she was active and still taught at the civic center. I helped her get her art ready. Then she was diagnosed with colon cancer during an October and shockingly died three months later,” Emma said.
“I remained with her husband, and he died a year later. He had Alzheimer’s, but I think he died of a broken heart. When he went to the hospital, they tried to have him go through physical therapy, but he wouldn’t do it unless I was with him. That also was the case with meals. It was hard when he died. To me, it was like he was another grandfather.”
Referring to the award-winning Home Instead franchise owned by Pietro Jordao and Dillon Rice, Emma said: “I am happy with Home Instead. Dillon, Pietro, Maegan and Rebecca are always giving out compliments. I am not going anywhere soon, but I have to eventually consider my options down the road. I still want to go to school at some point. As far as other activities go, my sister has a hair shop and boutique where I help, but my heart is in senior care for now.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (361) 433-0330 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
