Being a support worker can expose you to the intricacies of other people’s lives, opening you up to ideas about others and yourself that had never crossed your mind before. That’s an experience that our dementia support worker, O, can speak from. Whilst exploring her options, she stumbled upon care work and soon found her calling. For our Good Care Month series, we were fortunate enough to sit with O at her client, Michael’s, care home to hear her story.
O with Michael in his armchair
O: “I was nursing my baby when I first came into the country and getting to work wasn’t easy at all. I just wanted to leave the house. You know when you have a baby, they tell you to go out for fresh air and visit places to help you get back to normal. For me, it was just about getting back to work. I needed to go to work to get myself busy. I was doing one or two hours of volunteering, I wasn’t even paid, I just wanted to volunteer to know about care.
I did that for three months and then from there I got used to my clients and I loved how I was really making an impact. The only client I had at the time was a dementia client and I found that they always looked forward to me being around. I realised that it was me visiting that was helping them get better and I thought that I could do this full time. So after my three months was up, my employer asked if I wanted to join full time.”
How would you describe your relationship with Michael?
O:“I’d say we have a very good relationship, from his responses whenever I arrive and when I try to exchange conversation with him. He always sounds like he’s excited to see me in the morning whenever I arrive. He’s always willing to go out now. But when we first met, he’d refuse and decline. For someone who likes his space, he’s more open to me now. He gets to chat about his past with me, his family, the people that are still around and he talks about the things he used to do.”
And how do you think you’ve made in impact in his life?
O: “Since I met him, he has changed his orientation on not socialising. He socialises more now with the other residents. Before, when you try to get him to talk or engage, he’s always quiet. He would give one-word answers. But now he’s better, he gets talking. I try to encourage him to participate in games and puzzles. He’s more active and more involved now.”
Michael followed this up by saying “She turns up once a week and brings the newspaper and that’s quite useful. We go out, she pushes the wheelchair that I’m in and we go off into the park.”
He added “One of my friends has gone off to Greece and will not come back until about October, which is quite a way away. Before, she used to come and convince the management here that I could go out with her and they could rely on the fact that she would return me. So now, I’m reliant on O to come to me on a weekly basis and help out.”
What has working in care taught you about yourself?
“Naturally, I’m a very empathetic person, but this job has taught me not only to be empathetic, but to be patient with people and put myself in other’s shoes. Even though I don’t feel what they feel, I now understand that the situation and the conditions that they clients have is out of their control, so I try to be calmer and exercise patience to get results.
They say, ‘never would you think you’d be able to care for someone that way’, but since I’ve started this job, it has even made me feel good about myself. When you’re taking care of someone and you feel like you’re making an impact on someone’s life, you feel good about yourself. It’s not just about the job; it’s about the delight and satisfaction it brings you.
Of course there are challenges, every job has challenges. But when I think about the kind of relationship I have with my clients, how I get to know more about their cultures, it makes me happy. If I wasn’t doing this job, If I had a typical nine to five, I wouldn’t be as into people’s lives as I am now. I’m not sure I would know the deep aspects of their cultures, their daily lives, the kind of food they eat. It has brought me joy and delight and enlightenment.”
If you’re hungry for more Good Care Month content, check out our other blog with one of our learning disabilities support workers, Dubem. You can also watch our video interview with Adegboyega, one of our general home care support workers.