Dana Helps Her Client Return to Painting
“What I do is a blessing to me,” CAREGiver℠ of the Month Dana Jones said.
Meanwhile, Home Instead® Engagement Coordinator Darla Corah praises Dana for blessing her clients by building trust, taking the lead and sharing her heart – qualities that also happen to be Home Instead’s guiding principles. A 96-year-old client, who has suffered two strokes, was a watercolor artist and many of her paintings are displayed in her home. Dana has helped the client regain her beautiful memories by initiating a hands-on activity.
Darla explained: “Dana took the lead. She had craft paint and flower pots in her shed, and Dana took them to her client’s house. They painted the pots together and made ‘mushrooms’ out of them. The client has again been able to use her clinched ‘painting hand.’ To the delight of the client’s family and Dana, the client painted the pots. As a result, Dana said, the client’s disposition changed. She was sweet, and the family was appreciative. Dana left the art supplies at the client’s home and plans to paint more with the client on her weekend shifts. It was personal for Dana, and it brought her great joy to bring that joy to her client and her family.”
The only regret? Dana said, “I don’t know why it took me so long to think of this.” Dana added: “Our entire team of CAREGivers is instrumental in making her days go smoothly. I really want the entire team to be recognized.”
For the client, her clinched hand isn’t the only challenge. She has macular degeneration, and one eye is completely blind. With some precise maneuvering, she can see. Dana said: “She can focus if she’s looking in the right place. For painting, I angle her materials off to just the correct side so she can more easily see them. It is a very small window from which she can see.”
Dana joined the client a week or two after she went to work in October 2020 for the award-winning Home Instead franchise that serves Mooresville, Statesville and Taylorsville and the surrounding areas. Dana heard about CAREGiver openings at South River Baptist Church, where Home Instead co-owners Tracey and Creighton Gibson are also members. Dana said: “A pastor was instrumental in pointing me toward the Gibsons.”
Home Instead has assisted the client for longer than a year, providing 24/7 care that includes a team of about six to eight CAREGivers. “At first,” Dana explained, “I did fill-ins and then added more nights. It has been a learning experience, and her routine must be kept the same all the time because familiarity and caregiving chemistry are so important. Her son, who lives nearby, is a retired church pastor. He is fantastic, someone who comes to his mother’s house to thank the CAREGivers on each shift change.”
In fact, Dana said: “The family is a blessing, and they treat us like family. The client has the support of a wonderful family that consists of 43 living members when children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are counted. A couple of years back, she and the entire family went to Disneyworld for her birthday. She loves just about anything that is Disney. She has a Mickey Mouse blanket and wears a Mickey Mouse hat outside some of the time. ‘One Hundred and One Dalmatians’ is her favorite movie. We’ve seen it many times. There are four sons altogether, and I have met all four. On Sundays, she has a one-hour FaceTime session with all four sons.”
Dana noted the client is “a pistol and a pleasure.” She said, “There are moments when things just don’t click with her, then it goes back to normal. Sometimes you can give her options, which boosts the feeling of independence when she makes the choice. We CAREGivers try to get her up to do leg exercises. For brain activity, we do flash cards that display words. She gets tickled and laughs at herself when she says something like, ‘tiddlypop.’ I try to take advantage of the good-feeling times to make them last as long as possible.”
Seniors have been near and dear to Dana’s heart since she was 2½ years old. “I was raised in my grandparents’ home. Later, when they had health challenges, I helped both of them. Grandpa had a heart issue and hip problem and died first. Grandma had Alzheimer’s, and she died in 2010. My mother died six years later. Mom was two years from retirement, and I moved in with her and quit my job,” Dana said.
In addition to family caregiving, Dana worked for years in a daycare center, specifically with babies. “After I started at Home Instead, one of the daycare parents saw me at the grocery store. When I told her what I was doing, she remarked: ‘You were helping people at the start of their lives, and now you are helping them at the end of life,’ ” Dana said.
“My life is hectic. My son graduates from high school soon, and we enjoy having his friends around. For my job, I pray every morning. I thank God for giving me this opportunity and for allowing me to be a blessing to my clients. I feel wanted – when I start as a fill-in, all of the clients want me back. My very first client, who has advanced Parkinson’s, is now in a nursing home with her husband. She has four sons. She said I am her ‘honorary daughter.’ The family sent me a beautiful note, and I asked to visit her and her husband. The former client is a super sweet lady. I will never forget her or any of my clients.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (704) 924-9909 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
