February 2018 Outstanding Caregiver of the Month, Christine

Christine has been a caregiver with us for over 4 years, caring for her first client in Franklinton NC. For over 3 years, she cared for a wonderful man suffering from Alzheimer’s. He was forgetful and dependent on others for most things, but his smile never waned. There was a death in their family, and Christine accompanied the man to the funeral service. When I arrived at the funeral, Christine was holding his hand, giving him calm and assurance in this new and potentially scary environment. As the funeral ended, he turned to her and asked with his eyes, what now? 

He was completely dependent on her, and she did not disappoint. It’s an art to serve another like Christine does, anticipating his needs while acquiescing to the family’s desires as well. The warm, friendly man slowly moved less, was capable of less, and slept most of the time until eventually the family and Christine couldn’t do what he needed anymore. The painful decision was made to place him in a memory care center, and Christine was heartbroken for the family. That’s the challenge of being a professional caregiver. You know that day will come. You will give all of who you are, knowing that you’ll get emotionally connected and experience heartache later as they decline.

Christine has been extremely dependable and has become “one of the family” wherever she goes. Currently, she cares for a lovely woman with vascular dementia who lives with her warm and friendly husband in Creedmoor, NC. Her husband said to me last week about Christine, “Christine is amazing with my wife. I can’t imagine this without Christine. Thank you Mark for sending her.”  I watched Christine play Chinese checkers with the care recipient–now Christine’s good friend. Christine always lifted up her friend and deflected all compliments, commenting how good her friend was in Chinese checkers. I don’t believe you can teach that. That comes from Christine’s heart and soul. Thank you Christine for all that you do. You’re a constant reminder of the care and compassion that brought each of us to this challenging and rewarding career.

She truly cares about others, and that’s one of the many reasons why she is our Outstanding Caregiver of the Month for February 2018!