We caught up with the brilliant and insightful TAWANDA STORY a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

TAWANDA, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’re complete cheeseballs and so we love asking folks to share the most heartwarming moment from their career – do you have a touching moment you can share with us?

Many of the clients I serve, have been diagnosed with Dementia. One client in particular is now 94 years old, and a skilled musician. She played the piano and organ in her church, and also taught piano lessons to youth in her community. When I arrived to assess her for the first time, her daughter informed me of her musical background, and I was immediately drawn to her. My mother pushed me to sing at the age of six, and not much after I was too attending piano lessons every Saturday morning.

The client’s home still displays the organ and piano that she taught so many on, When she began to become confused or if she got agitated, I would ask her to sing hymns or gospel songs with me. “Start it off,” is what she would instruct me to do. I would begin singing, and her soft, sweet voice would soon be heard. I was fortunate enough to have the daughter’s permission to record these moments, and this became our new activity every time we’d meet.

Recently, her health has declined and confusion has increased, and she’s now on hospice. During our visit last week, she was very agitated, and I began to sing “Yes Jesus Loves Me”, and she slowly calmed down and joined me. When I looked over to her daughter, she had tears in her eyes. As her mom’s primary caregiver, she’s often the receiver of her mother’s unintended frustrations related to Dementia. It was in that moment, I could see that she could see her mother in a way she had not seen in a quite some time.

These moments are priceless. The remind me of my why, and they fuel me to keep going.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

At the age of 12, my aunt was diagnosed with cancer. My mother (her sister), believed that family should take care of family, so I was drafted onto the team to care for her. A year after my aunt lost her battle to cancer, my mother was diagnosed. I lost her at the age of 15. Losing her was the most difficult thing I’ve ever experienced, but it also gave me the greatest gift of closeness with my father. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer, while I was attending nursing school. I remember having to withdraw from classes during that time. My father’s surgery was successful, and he recovered without any issues.

Several years later, my father suffered a massive stroke, rendering him physically and mentally unable to care for himself. I made a very hard decision to bring him home with me, and not allow him to go into a nursing home. Having worked in long-term care for several years, I knew in my heart that he would not receive the care he deserved. I cared for my father in my home for the next five years, until he succumbed.

While I’ve always advocated for the geriatric population, my journey with my father, showed me just how much support and resources caregivers need. This experience ignited the vision for The Faith House Respite Home.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When my father became ill, I was operating my Home Health Care business, and had been in business three years. I eventually had to close my business, because I didn’t have a support system to manage caring for my father and maintain operations. After struggling so hard to finally get to that point, it broke me to have to make that decision. I didn’t know how hard the caregiver journey would be, but I knew that my father needed me and deserved nothing but the best.

Having the courage to start all over and rebuild would not have been possible without faith and the realization of my purpose.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I wouldn’t change a thing. Caring for seniors is one of the most rewarding careers in the world. Knowing that I’m able to make a difference and ensure their last years are full of love and compassion, is priceless.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.elderlycareconcepts.com
• Instagram: elderly_care_concepts
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/tawanda-s-9a7a173a
• Other: Tiktok: Elderly Care Concepts

Image Credits
Lekardo Pitts Photography