Anna’s story
From Necessity to a Lifelong Purpose
Welcome! My name is Anna. I have been a caregiver for special needs children, adults and elderly people for over 20 years. I am a mother of a neuro-divergent adult with multiple different abilities (a.k.a. disabilities). I learned from the ground up when to ask for help, who can provide answers, what services we can be eligible for, how to get them, when to move on to the new step, and more. I learned to let go of some things, when needed, and to encourage my son to try new things, when I feel that he is ready for them. I learned to be his advocate. My son’s life journey fueled my own growth. It had been a source of my joy and an every day adventure for both of us and, ultimately, my purpose.
Over time, while taking care of my son and other vulnerable adults and children, I learned many things. But almost all of them sum up to the one main barrier to humane caregiving where hearts are meant to lead the way: how to reconcile emotions and professionalism in this work that we do?
A client oftentimes suffers because their caregiver does not know a value of connecting with them, not to mention advocating for them. Even when they do everything that’s listed on the client’s care plan, there is no communication, no human contact. A caregiver is acting as a light housekeeper, a cook, but not as an emotional support worker, a care GIVER. Just as there is a tendency to go into another extreme: a caregiver cares and gives so much of themselves that they get exhausted fast and reach a point of compassion fatigue. We know that happy vulnerable adult has a happy caregiver. There are people out there who really do want to make a difference and help their clients the best they can.
At Ignis Rose Care we teach about emotional health, recognition of our clients’ struggles and our own struggles, mutual appreciation, and more.
We know from personal experience what it takes to support people with physical, emotional, and mental pain, with a loss of physical functions, with cognitive decline. So we’ve developed a detailed training for new employees that teaches caregivers to do their job in a way that helps our clients and caregivers to connect with each other. And as a result, we build working relationships that feel nurturing.
Part of the training is to deliver a message to our caregivers that pain, visible or invisible, often debilitates a person and they lose connection to life. This starts with a loss of who a person used to be, little by little, and results in a loss of their autonomy, control, their choice. People find themselves not knowing how to adjust to this loss, they battle with feelings such as embarrassment, guilt, sadness, hopelessness, anger, fear, which add more suffering to already unbearable situation.
I made it my life’s purpose to bring bits of joy and comfort back to people, whatever “joy” means to them. I think that caregivers have this ability to help clients to find their voice again, by serving them as their advocates. They are able to reconnect elderly people and people with different abilities (a.k.a. disabilities) to life, through listening, acceptance and by providing a safe space for them to be themselves. It was always evident to me that a kind, peaceful, attentive caregiver most likely would have a happy client.
My own professional success is BEING the missing link between vulnerable adults and the rest of the world. A link that tells you, my client: “Everything is OK, you are in charge of your life, and I’m here to help.”