This is one of those stories that reminds us why we do what we do.
We had a client, Julianna, who had just moved into memory care, and on the first night she had no idea why she was there. Her fight or flight kicked in, and she ended up outside the building, refusing to go back in. She was terrified of her care team, terrified of where she was, terrified of everything happening around her. It was 2am. It was raining. The police got called, and her daughter had to be woken up in the middle of the night. It was a scary situation for everyone involved, especially Julianna.
Our care manager, Brittani, rushed over and sat outside with her, because she was not going back inside like that, not as scared as she was. Through all of it, not one person lost their patience or their tone with her. Not the family, not us, nobody.
After that night, we became 24/7 with her, and that’s when Elizabeth stepped in. A lot of caregivers didn’t want to take this client on. It was hard, and she didn’t trust anyone. But Elizabeth was different. She took the time to actually get to know her, not just care for her. She found out little things, like how Julianna used to work in a spaghetti factory and that she loved to knit. Elizabeth used those little pieces to slowly build something real with her.
It took months. Just showing up, being patient, being consistent, and letting trust build on her timeline instead of ours. But because of Elizabeth, that client now lets us help her. She trusts us now. Without caregivers like Elizabeth who are willing to stick with the hard moments, this never would have happened.
Caring isn’t always easy, but people like Elizabeth show up anyway. That is what GreatCare looks like.