Tracy Has a Divine Appointment to Help Others
While experiencing nearly seven years of good times, challenges, laughter and tears, twice-honored Care Professional of the Month Tracy Parker believes she’s in the right place. “I’m where God wants me. The experiences are sweet and special. I am happy I’ve been doing it,” said Tracy, who joined Home Instead® of Lubbock in December 2015.
“My clients are very important to me. It would be hard to leave them. I don’t miss a day at work. I don’t want them to need someone else to help them. Seeing new people is unsettling to some clients and might be confusing,” said Tracy, who also is a family caregiver who picks up her two “grandbabies,” ages 15 and 11, after school. She truly is a caregiver for young and old.
Selected as Care Pro of the Month in December 2016, Tracy was honored again in April 2022. While she’s glad to be honored, the soft-spoken Tracy doesn’t make a big deal of it. Recruitment and Engagement Coordinator Juanita Camacho said: “While Tracy is awesome, she’s also humble. She’s still the same terrific Care Pro she was in 2016. She does what she does and thinks it’s no big deal. Tracy doesn’t realize the difference she makes in someone’s life because to her, it’s what we as senior-care professionals are supposed to do.”
Juanita added: “Tracy is able to assist any client we assign her and does it with such a graceful and joyful heart.” When Juanita says “any,” she includes challenging clients. Juanita added: “Tracy’s natural talent to care for others brings success under difficult circumstances. Tracy treats everyone with dignity and respect, and she always makes sure that all of our clients’ needs and requests are fulfilled.”
Tracy worked with a challenging client for five months, one whom Tracy won over with the help of the client’s sister. “The turning point came when her sister recognized me. I had taken care of her sister’s husband, who was a hospice client. She told my client, ‘Tracy took good care of my husband.’ After that, I could have hung the moon. The client sometimes had been resistant to taking her medications and agreeing to other needed care. But we bonded and visited well,” Tracy said.
In an extreme way, the slightly built client also loved the way Tracy prepared her breakfasts. “She had 24/7 care and did not like a breakfast that another Care Pro had made for her. I was just coming on shift. The client demanded I make her breakfast even though there was one already made for her,” Tracy recalled. “During other parts of the day, I’d asked her if she was hungry, and she’d say no, but I’d go ahead and make a snack tray and put it near her, and the food would be gone in 10 minutes. She probably was all of 98 pounds.”
The client embraced her faith and at times was vocal about it. Tracy said, “I enjoy having a client like that. I am not afraid to pray or talk about the Bible with a client if he or she wants to do that. I’d go home and pray for her, and I told her that. She went to a care community; I hope and pray she is doing well.”
While it feels great to win over clients and please them with her assistance, Tracy also has experienced poignant moments. “I had a dementia client who could sense his condition was getting worse, and it scared him. He told me one day, ‘I am getting worse. What will I do?’ I said, ‘All we can do is put it in God’s hands,’ ” Tracy recalled.
A few years ago, Tracy experienced the loss of three hospice clients in close succession. “It was hard, and I asked the office to give me a break from hospice assignments. The office understood. With hospice clients, they know their time is short, and so do I. It is sad, but there is a realization of sorts. However, seeing the families go through the decline and loss of their loved ones probably hurts me the worst,” Tracy said.
No matter what a client faces, Juanita said, Tracy always brings her best to a client’s home. “Tracy always has a beautiful smile and a kind word for everyone she meets. Tracy encourages our aging adults to continue to do the things they love. She often starts an activity, and then the client joins. Tracy wants to give them the best possible quality of life. Tracy takes great pride in the care she provides. Tracy is extremely punctual and makes sure our clients’ routines are not disrupted,” Juanita said.
Tracy smiles brightly when her older daughter is mentioned. But Alyssa Valdes, Home Instead’s client care manager, doesn’t want her mother bragging on her when she’s around Home Instead personnel and clients. Tracy said, “I am proud of her and very blessed to have a daughter who works for Home Instead. She is an awesome person who works so well with the elderly. But she always says, ‘Mom, don’t tell anyone I am your daughter.’ It is hard to keep my mouth shut. I tell her she is my boss, and I strive to keep it professional.”
Unsolicited comments are precious and indicate how good Tracy and Alyssa are at their jobs. One unaware Care Pro told Tracy, “That Alyssa is so sweet.” One client’s family told Alyssa, “Care Pro Tracy is great.”
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