LaDonna Loves Role as Part-Time CAREGiver
Who knew a second job, a part-time one, could be so fulfilling?
LaDonna Lee could not have predicted she would be in such high demand as an evening and weekend CAREGiver with Home Instead® of Mount Airy. Every client and their family members have wanted LaDonna to return, and most of them want her to come more often and stay longer. For that reason, LaDonna was honored as the Home Instead franchise’s CAREGiver of the Month for February. “My people are like family to me. I love my people,” LaDonna said.
LaDonna already has a good fulltime job with a medical practice, an 8-to-5 position from Monday through Thursday, with an 8-to-1 shift Friday. “I work with the doctors and patients, scheduling surgeries and tests – those sorts of things – but I wanted to do something more in my spare time, something where I could help others even more,” said LaDonna, who became a CNA at age 17 and worked in a care community for a couple of years. Because of her compassionate touch, she got close to many residents and still can recall some names and their poignant stories.
Fast-forward to late spring in 2021, when LaDonna was pondering a second job. “Someone told me I should do something fun for a part-time job. When I mentioned senior care, my friend implied that caregiving seemed like a demanding job and maybe not so much fun. I asked, ‘What if you had a grandmother who needed someone?’ I feel strongly about helping people,” she recalled.
LaDonna recalled her childhood, when her mother worked as a nurse. “I received my inspiration from my mother. I always wanted to be a nurse. When I was maybe 8 or 9, I wanted a playhouse, and Dad got me one. That was my pretend doctor’s office,” she said. She also recalled when she was 19, two years after she became a CNA. “That’s when I went to nursing school. But an unexpected thing happened. I went to a hospital cancer floor for clinicals and got very depressed. No more nursing for me – I went to work in a business office and let my CNA lapse. But I also worked as a private-duty caregiver and had clients for five to six years at a time. I was with them until they were ‘no longer,’ ” LaDonna said.
So, LaDonna felt comfortable when she joined Home Instead, where her only weeknights off are Monday and Wednesday. She usually takes off only one weekend a month as a CAREGiver, but if someone really needs her, LaDonna usually is ready and willing. She said, “I like to keep myself busy. If I am at home, I do a lot of knitting and reading. Sometimes I admit that I do get tired.”
The occasional feeling of fatigue fades at the same time when LaDonna’s heart melts – such as the time she received a thank-you card and gift from the daughter of a former Home Instead client who had passed away in a nursing home. Setting the scene, LaDonna said: “I woke up one Saturday morning actually thinking about that former client. Then I found out later that day from her daughter that my former client had passed. The daughter sent a beautiful card with this message: ‘Your thoughtfulness meant so much to us. You were a blessing to us.’ ”
Clients and their stories capture LaDonna’s heart. One of her regular weeknight clients has dementia and regales LaDonna with long-ago stories. “She is terrific. She has very little short-term memory and doesn’t talk a whole lot in the present. She is repetitive and can ask the same questions 100 times during the same night. It doesn’t bother me to hear the same question. She talks about growing up, about her late husband playing basketball for the University of North Carolina before going into the Army and her wonderful marriage of more than 70 years,” LaDonna said.
“She remembers that her handsome husband died last year and that she has two grandchildren, but she forgets that her parents are gone. She wonders why they don’t visit. I gently remind her they are gone. She will say, ‘Yeah, you’re right. They’ve been gone.’ There is no sundowning, and she always knows where she is. She has 24/7 care, but not all are from Home Instead. She has two sons who rotate coming in and out. She always has someone with her. I always take my dinner because she says, ‘You need to sit down and eat with me.’ She also wants me to sit down and rest. She is just a wonderful lady.”
From the 80-year-old daughter of a 101-year-old weekend client, LaDonna has heard: “God put you in our life. You are our angel.” The father is a former school principal who is a good conversationalist with a very good mind. He lives an hour’s drive from her daughter. “I also take care of the daughter on Fridays,” LaDonna said. From yet a different client, the husband implored LaDonna: “Please stay with us every weekend.” LaDonna said, “I treat him and his wife, as well as every other client like family.”
LaDonna added: “There is a special lady, the first person for whom I cared with Home Instead. I called her ‘Ms. Dolly,’ one with whom I stayed with overnight on weekends. She was moved to an assistant living facility not too long ago, so now I no longer care for her. But we had so many wonderful back-porch conversations, watched the birds, read books, worked crossword puzzles and cooked the dinners her daughter-in-law had left us. I braided her hair at night, and I rubbed her legs and arms with lavender to help her relax before bedtime. She told me many times she felt I was as close as a sister to her. I still visit her in the assisted living facility. She has late-stage dementia, but she remembers who I am. She is one I will treasure always.”
“Family” is an important word for LaDonna. “Home Instead feels like my family. All of the staff is great. I feel so honored and blessed. I have no plans to retire. I am 61, but I don’t feel 61. I always want to remain active because I love to stay busy. If I retire, I want to work part time and maybe do private-duty caregiving. I like the beach, and maybe I’d like to move to Wilmington. For now, it’s full speed ahead here,” LaDonna said.
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (336) 789-4472 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
