My role was to organise care attendants to provide personal care for housebound folk who we were too old, frail, vulnerable or sick to look after themselves. Our clients ranged from a disabled young woman with two children under five to a 102-year old and everything in between. Plans carefully crafted for the following week had to be quickly revised as the local hospitals frequently called with news of patients being discharged. Several of them would be sent home to die and we had to care for them. I dealt with doctors, nurses, social workers, families and friends to make sure we provided the necessary care.
I had to manage tight budgets with limited resources and take care of the details. To miss someone off my schedules could mean a double amputee being left in her wheelchair all night. I learned to take personal responsibility and to be fair and firm in my decision making. This emotional roller-coaster experience of human needs shaped me. I truly believe that you should treat people as you would want to be treated yourself and should always strive do the right thing.
