Has a Home Instead® CAREGiver ever been an answer to prayer? An 89-year-old client said CAREGiver of the Month Linda Jaramillo was.
A week after Linda started working with the client, she said God had answered her prayers by sending Linda. The client said, "I would pray to the Lord to send me someone who would be full of faith and compassion. Linda, you are my angel." Ironically, at the same time the client was praying for a compassionate CAREGiver, Linda was praying for a compatible client because she had just lost one.
"For my new client and I, our communication to God was along the same lines. That is more than coincidence. The Lord knows what he is doing. We gave thanks to God, and I praise the Lord every day whether things are going well or not," Linda said.
"The client will talk to herself and sometimes pray by herself, so I make sure I give her that 'alone time.' She will tell me what depresses her and sometimes cries. I try to cheer her up and pray with her and pray over her. Once, she mention her arm hurt. I said, 'Let's anoint your sore arm.' It is an attempt to heal."
Linda added: "As far as my client's health goes, the doctor says there's nothing wrong with her in a major sense. The client told me, 'Don't ever leave me. I love you so much.' I don't have any reason to leave her. My children have asked, 'Why do you work at senior care?' I tell them: 'I am the arms, legs and eyes for my seniors.' I love doing what I do. I would not work in a nursing home, although I've had the opportunity to do so. One-on-one care is more meaningful."
Linda is in her second tenure with Home Instead® of Victoria, an award-winning Home Instead franchise owned by Pietro Jordao and Dillon Rice. Linda first started with Home Instead on Sept. 23, 2016, and she returned Aug. 28, 2018. In October 2020, she was honored as the franchise's CAREGiver of the Month.
Recruitment and Retention Coordinator Maegan Coldewey said: "Here's what I have witnessed: I see a CAREGiver who truly only thinks of her clients first. Linda is someone who takes care of everyone who enters her clients' homes regardless of the tasks that need to be done. Linda has excelled with her client in more ways than anyone could ask for."
Maegan added: "Linda's heart is one of the biggest I've ever seen. She has a strong faith in God, and Linda will tell you God carries her through everything. She is and has been such a hard worker both in her work atmosphere and her home. Linda continues to raise her own children and is helping with grandkids."
Linda is an experienced hand at helping people with a reservoir of compassion that never seems to run out. "I have always been a caretaker of the young and the old. Before senior care, I was taking care of nieces and nephews. I've been taking care of people for a long time, since I was 12. Back then, I was cooking round steaks for my dad, and I did everything my dad asked," Linda said.
"When I was in high school, I helped my grandfather, who was living with us. So, I was caregiving for a senior for the first time at age 16. At that age, I also had other private-duty caregiving jobs for about two years. I helped a neighbor, an elderly man who lived by himself. In addition, I helped a neighborhood couple by taking care of the husband's 78-year-old dad."
Referring to her immediate family, Linda said: "Grandpa died at age 91 a while back. He was blessed to live that long. Sometimes I help my parents, and I have siblings who look in on them. My parents are OK. It's just the aging process, thank God. I also am a family caregiver for my daughter and three grandchildren. Do I have an instinct or knack for caregiving? I don't know if it was something I learned. It is something I enjoyed doing."
Linda said she's happy to be back with Home Instead. She said: "I want to stay with Home Instead because I really love the company. They know my family comes first, and I appreciate that consideration. Maegan and Emily Sanchez, our staffing coordinator, are the best. I am glad to be working for them because they are so excellent. Pietro and Dillon also are excellent. They were happy to get to meet me personally and get to know who I am. I've worked with a lot of agencies, but none like Home Instead."
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (361) 433-0330 or apply online at https://www.homeinstead.com/781/home-care-jobs. For further information, visit our website at https://www.homeinstead.com/781/home-instead-senior-care. Our Home Instead office in Victoria serves these other cities: Bay City, Blessing, Bloomington, Boling, Damon, Danevang, Eagle Lake, East Bernard, Edna, El Campo, El Maton, Ganado, Garwood, Goliad, Guy, Hallettsville, Inez, Lolita, Louise, Markham, Matagorda, Meyersville, Midfield, Needville, Palacios, Pledger, Van Vleck, Wadsworth, Wallis, Weimar and Wharton. Our office address is 104 Kelly Drive Suite B, Victoria, Texas 77904.
Rewarding Care Careers in Victoria, TX
