February 5, 2025 • 25 mins
What happens when a personal experience turns into a lifelong calling? Janelle Bird shares her journey from caring for her brother with Down syndrome to becoming a dedicated in-home caregiver for seniors. She highlights the deep connections she forms with clients, where trust, empathy, and small yet meaningful gestures make a lasting impact.
In this episode, we explore the universal experiences of seniors and individuals with disabilities, the power of presence in caregiving, and how small acts of kindness can transform lives. Janelle also offers insights on preventing burnout and sustaining passion in the caregiving profession. Join us for an inspiring conversation on the true power of genuine care.
Key Takeaways:
- Caregiving is a two-way street – Supporting others also brings personal fulfillment.
- Small gestures matter – Simple actions, like handing a client an item instead of making them search for it, can make a huge difference.
- Building trust takes genuine interest – Engaging in conversations about a client’s life helps form deep connections.
- Self-care is crucial – Taking time to recharge ensures caregivers can continue to give their best.
- Dignity is key – Finding ways to help clients while preserving their independence makes caregiving more effective and meaningful.
Timestamps to Navigate the Episode:
0:00 – Introduction and Janelle’s background in caregiving
1:32 – Why connection is at the heart of caregiving
2:53 – The most rewarding aspects of working with seniors
5:23 – Small actions that create big impacts for clients
9:56 – Adapting to different clients and their unique needs
11:54 – Building trust with clients and their families
15:51 – How caregivers can prioritize their own mental well-being
17:45 – Lessons Janelle has learned from her clients
19:57 – What people should know about caregiving as a profession
21:34 – Advice for new caregivers entering the field
23:34 – Final thoughts: The power of a simple smile
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to another episode of Senior Care Academy,
a HelpRelease podcast.
I'm your host, caleb, and todaywe're diving into the heart of
caregiving with a very specialguest, janelle Burt.
Janelle is one of HelpRelease'sin-home caregivers and she's a
rock star.
Janelle has been a caregiverfor a short time, but she's
loved by every single one of herclients, and so today we're
exploring her journey in thecaregiving space, her favorite
(00:20):
moments with seniors and herthoughts on what makes this work
so rewarding.
So let's jump right in First.
Janelle, thanks for coming allthe way down from Logan.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Sure welcome.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
So tell us about your journey.
What led you initially toworking in the senior care
industry?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well, I worked and cared for my brother that lived
with me for eight years.
He had Down syndrome, oh, andso he just passed away, and I
really wanted to continue tohelp people, because that's, I
think, what I'm best at.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I really like to do that.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
That's awesome.
That's cool to have kind oflike a personal connection to
caregiving.
And what do you think?
Why do you think thatcaregiving is such a big role?
Are you?
Was it just really the onlyoption to helping your brother?
You were the one that raisedyour hand and said he can live
with me.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Um, we were kind of best friends from the very
beginning, so it was kind of um,it just naturally happened that
way.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yeah, um, that's so interesting, and so this is, I
guess, pretty early for a goldenspur question.
But why do you think that youare such a care?
What makes you so care, caringand caregiving, where naturally
you guys just became bestfriends and you're just thrive
on helping other people?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Um.
I think it all has to do withum connection.
I think we are as humans.
We like to connect and we needto feel important, and when we
can make others feel important,it also helps us to feel
important.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
If we can have friendship, whether it's family
or whether it's in workfriendships I think that really
goes a long way, and especiallywith the people that need our
help the most they need thatkind of friendship, that
one-on-one that can get themthrough the hard parts or get
them up in the morning or helpthem through the hard times in
(02:06):
life.
So it's a blessing to be ableto help other people because
really they're helping me rightback.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yeah, I believe I agree totally like by helping
other people and giving yourenergy and effort to them and
seeing them thrive.
It really is.
It's like this weird, justsymbiotic thing where you give
to them and then your thrive.
It really is.
It's like this weird, um, justsymbiotic thing where you give
to them and then your cup getsfilled more.
That's why I love like serviceand and the space that we're in.
(02:34):
I am curious, can you um, or Iguess, what do you find most
rewarding about working withseniors?
So you originally started withyour brother that had a, a
mental, um, mental challenge,disability, and now there's, you
know, seniors and then peoplewith physical disabilities.
What's different and what's themost rewarding aspect of it?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I think the things that are different is, you know,
I'm not quite young, but I'mnot quite old yet.
But if I were to put it in myperspective, if I was that
person, if I went through mylife and I had this ailment, how
would I feel?
What would I want?
So I kind of want to mirror youknow, kind of like I want to
(03:17):
say, Bambi, If you have nothingto say, don't say anything.
And I said, oh, but, it's kindof like it's a mirror of how I
want to be treated.
I want to treat them too.
I think it's so important forthem to know that they're not
forgotten, that they're nothelpless, that they're not
worthless.
They need to know that peoplelove them and care about them,
even in their struggles thatthey have.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah, I think that that's a very interesting like
it's an altruisticcharacteristic that a lot of
people struggle with.
You know, like it's so easy tosay put yourself in their shoes,
what do you think, or treatothers as you want to be treated
all like these isms things thatpeople say, but to actually
(04:00):
live, it is something that'stotally different.
Actually live, it is somethingthat's totally different, and I
think that that's cool, thatyou've been able to put in to
practice a thing like puttingtheir shoes on and being like
it's the.
The reality is that we aregoing to wear those shoes
someday in our life.
So, like being able to bringthat to today and being like 30
(04:21):
years from now, I might be thisperson or I will be, like we're
all going to get old.
I want to do the things that Iwant the person that's in my
shoes 30 years from now to do tome, so that's very cool.
Do you have any as you've beenworking with seniors?
Do you have any like favoritestories or moments with clients,
whether it's a funny one or hasto do with what you just said
(04:46):
of like really caring for themwhen they need it most?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
I think I have a couple moments that I really
feel overjoyed with Um yeah,with their improvements, but I
think to feeling their gratitudefor certain things, like I have
this one client who is blindand instead of allowing her to
(05:12):
reach in the sky, like where amI going?
I grab her hand and I putcertain items in her hand.
Where does this go?
Oh, here's your drink, orhere's your bib, or something
like that.
So she's not reaching, she's notguessing yeah, so I'm bringing
my hand where I can see to hers,like, and so filling that
gratitude for um, me doing thatlittle tiny thing for her, like,
(05:35):
fills me up, like all right,I've got it, you know, um.
Another thing um is one of myclients, she, she uses a cane
and I feel so proud when shegets out and she is using the
cane.
She's not she's very new at it,but she's really trying and you
know, I just let her know I'mright behind her.
So in case she loses herbalance, you know I'm right
(05:56):
there.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Or I give her voice instructions yeah, to the right
just a little bit.
Oh yeah, good job.
Voice instructions yeah, to theright just a little bit.
Good job, that's great.
Hey, now step up.
Oh, you did it, good job.
Those little encouraging thingsor those little moments where
she's doing so good makes mefeel so good, and I know it
makes her feel good becauseshe's like yes, I got it, you
know yeah um, I think too.
(06:18):
Uh, one of my other clients.
She says I'm really positive,yeah, um I.
She is paralyzed on one sideand she's always talking bad
about one side of her body andI'm like no, your body is so
amazing, it's still here.
Like you can make it work.
Like you know, love yourself.
You know it's okay that yourhand is the way.
You can't do anything bad.
We're just going to put itright here.
(06:39):
We love this hand.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You know, love this hand.
You know like, yeah, so it'slike helping them to love their
self while encouraging them toum, have a great day.
Yes, I'm like obsessed witheverything you just said.
That's so sweet, like everysingle aspect.
There's so many things that um,maybe feel right, like they're
common sense, but they'recounterintuitive.
Like it's common sense ifsomebody can't see to try to put
something in their hand, butit's counterintuitive because I
think people might think like oh, that might feel condescending
or whatever.
Or like the thing of like howyou're coaching a little bit to
(07:13):
the left, good job.
Like some people feelembarrassed to do stuff like
that, but I think more oftenthan not I don't know why it's
like these weird norms that makeus feel like that's wrong, or
it's like condescending, but,like you said, your clients
thrive in that as well.
Like people want to be praised,people want support, people want
(07:33):
camaraderie and teamship.
Team what am I trying to say?
Teammates in their life atevery age.
And just because they're olderdoesn't mean that it's not okay
to coach them and then celebratewith them rather than just like
watching.
So that's really cool.
You did mention like a handfulof clients.
So what is it like to visit andcare for multiple different
(07:55):
clients at once?
And then do you find that likechallenging or more rewarding to
have such a variety of care?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Honestly, I think it's rewarding because it
teaches me so many differentfields, teaches me while I'm
helping them, they're teachingme, and so I'm learning so much
more on the daily.
You know, like, how I can helpother people, or you know they
go through this struggle.
How can I make that better?
I think one thing specific Idid want to mention is, you know
(08:27):
, I think when you have a healthissue and you need someone to
take care of you, even taking ashower or something, it's like
kind of losing some of thatdignity, right, right, yeah, um,
and so for me, um, being ableto, like help them bathe but
(08:48):
then turning away, or allowingthe water to go on them but
turning away while they cleanthemselves or they do whatever
they have to do personally givesthat some of that dignity back.
So it's like, um, knowing thatand knowing that my um, my
friend I like to call themfriends because they kind of are
you know.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yeah, and that's the goal is to end up being friends
with them rather than they're.
It's just a, rather than beingsimply an, exchange of time,
it's, you know, an exchange of,of feelings of happiness and and
good feelings and sharing inthe good and the bad and all
that.
So that's the goal is to befriends, so I love that.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yeah, so I just just taking that from one client and
knowing that how she muchappreciates that, then I can go
to the next client.
You know, do you shower, whatis your shower like?
It kind of gets me, it kind ofteaches me how to act for
another person.
Or see, maybe this person likesspecific things.
Do you use specific things withthe next client?
(09:46):
Do you use specific thingswhile you shower?
So everybody is so different,but it's like taking the same
technique to the next person andthen molding it however that
person needs it.
I like that a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Have you ever encountered a client that is
kind of resistant at first, likeyou said, with things that
might feel like takingindependence or dignity or some
of the other things that you'vementioned?
Has there been any sort ofapprehension to care they've had
experience with?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Maybe once or twice.
I think it has to do with howthat person feels for the day,
is my experience.
If they're having a bad day,they're going to be a little bit
apprehensive or avoidance ofcertain things because they're
having a bad day.
I mean, if we have a bad dayand we don't want to get out of
bed, we're like, leave me alone.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
You know right.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Everybody has that, so you just have to be positive
and try and work through it.
How was your day today?
Oh, you know, it's like helpinga loved one or helping a child
that you love, or except you'rehelping your, the person that
you're taking care of you know,so it's kind of helping them
(10:54):
walk through that that heavy day, because nobody likes to be in
that heavy cloud.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Yeah, you've said it a few times and I'd really
appreciate it.
Where you're you?
You're comparing seniors, olderadults or people with
disabilities to everybody else,and it's so true.
I think so many people drawthis line of like oh, they're
old, but it's like if they'rebored, or if you would have been
bored doing the same thing,they're probably bored.
If you would have a bad daybecause you had a terrible
night's rest, they probablywould have a bad day because
they had terrible night's rest.
And so making it like we're all, we all have brains, we all
(11:26):
have human experience, and solike really taking away kind of
the stigma that they're likepeople with disabilities or
seniors are different, it's likeno, they're just like us.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I would say probably getting them to open up to say
it's not you.
I just had a really hard dayand you're saying you know, okay
, great, how can I help?
It takes a lot of trust.
How would you?
How do you build trust withclients and then their families
or other people that areinvolved in their care?
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I think one way for me.
I like to, whenever I go in andto see a client good morning,
hi, how are you doing?
You know, how was your week?
How was your family Like getinterested in their life, their
family.
Oh, your husband's sick.
Oh man, I hope he gets better.
You know prayers for him.
Or your daughter's going to goon a trip Wow, how exciting.
(12:17):
The more you interact with themand their family or the things
that are important to them, themore they're going to appreciate
it, the more they're going totrust you, and I really feel
like that's kind of it's kind oflike meeting a friend for the
first time.
You have to get to know eachother and talk back and forth
and be interested, and I thinkthe more interested that you are
(12:40):
, the more concerned that youput oh wow, you're going to go
see your mom.
Wow, I'm so excited for it.
You know concern that you um put.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Oh wow, you're gonna go see your mom.
Wow that I'm so excited for it.
You know, like, the more theyfeel excited about that, the
more they want to be your friend, the more they can trust you.
Yeah, yeah, focus on them.
Um, this it's totally like arandom thing, but there was a
study that showed it was thisdifference between men and women
.
It's super tangential.
We might not even put it in thepodcast, but basically women
find men attractive that arefunny, that make them laugh, and
(13:11):
men find women funny that laughat their jokes.
I think it's that's kind of thething trust those who put a lot
of focus back on them or likefind them interesting or find
them reliable if they'reconstantly asking about the
other person, because the otherperson can talk about themselves
(13:33):
and yeah and the favorite wordin every language is their own
name, like um.
So I love that kind of basic.
It's again super common sense.
But so many people try to doall these like fancy little
tricks to gain trust and it'sjust like ask about their date.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, it's the simple things.
Be excited to see them.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Yeah, as we've been talking, itsounds a lot like basically
like caring for others is almostpart of your life mission, like
it's just so ingrained in whoyou are.
I think a lot of people seecaregiving as an entry level,
like job, but it feels like yousee it differently.
(14:10):
How do you feel caregiving andwhat do you think sets
caregiving aside from all of theother options as far as like
employment and and the lifecalling goes?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Um, I think, you know , all those years working with
my brother was, um, you know,kind of helped mold me a little
bit.
But, um, you know, I think that, um, for each client, um, you
know, if they have some kind ofailment or they're older, I
think a lot of times peopleforget about them or they feel
(14:43):
like they're forgotten, and soeach time you're with that
person it's like you're devotingyour time to them, you know, so
you're giving them thatattention that they need.
You know, they probably getattention with their family, but
family but it's kind of likebeing in a family you get a
little bit of attention from momor dad and then they're off
doing their own thing.
(15:05):
And so for me, working with theclients is really important to
give them that attention, thatlove, that strength, that
support, that encouragement,whatever all those things take
to help with that person.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
That's a good answer.
I think caregiving as a careeris very unique in that you are
able to dedicate so muchattention to the physical,
mental and emotional well-beingof another human being.
There's not a ton of industriesor positions or careers where
that's your whole life is justlike being able to give that
(15:40):
attention to somebody else, andI think it has so many.
We talked about the positives,where filling other people's cup
in return fills yours, butsometimes it can be kind of
tough.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, it can be.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So how do you prioritize, like your own mental
health and well-being, whilealso being able to show up?
Hey, how are you doing everysingle day for those people that
you're trying to to fill theircup?
Speaker 2 (16:03):
um, to be honest, after I get done working, I'm
pretty tired.
Yeah, um, but I just take, youknow, a few hours, or you know,
if you don't have a few hours,just taking maybe a half an hour
for yourself, listening to somesongs, or you could write down
the things of the day or go outwith your friends, like, take
that special time for you togive yourself a pat on the back
(16:27):
for having a good day or forbeing there for someone else
that really needed you.
Rest is important so that whenyou go to see your client client
, you can do the things thatthey need, like whatever,
whatever that entails yeah, Ilike that.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
I think a lot of the best caregivers, like you do,
pour so much themselves into itand then they never reserve that
special time for themselvesyeah to be able to rejuvenate.
Rejuvenate that's a great word,and so obviously you have all
the other maybe subpar kind ofcaregivers that aren't as all in
(17:05):
on the well-being of theirclients or their friends, but
people like you taking thatmoment.
I think that's a great call out, because there's a lot of
people that work so hard everysingle day, trying their best to
help others, and then theyforget and then they end up
burning out a few months later.
And it's like it wasn't the the,it wasn't the career, it was
(17:25):
the lack of any sort of focus onyourself.
So, um, we're getting.
This has been a fast 20 minutes, getting pretty close to time.
What?
Um, I guess what's one thingthat you've learned from
visiting your clients that maybehas switched your perspective
on life a little bit, maybe likea lesson they taught or a piece
of wisdom from them?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Boy helping to get emotional with this one Um.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
There are tissues, tissues on standby.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Thanks, um, to be honest, sorry to be honest, my
clients are so, um, they give mea lot of strength because they
get up, like one of my clients,she's paralyzed on one side and
she gets up every single day.
She takes a shower and does herhair and does her makeup and
(18:13):
she wants to look good and shewants to tell, show her kids
that she hasn't given up.
And for me that's so.
I'm not sure what the word isempowering, maybe Because I
myself deal with depression andso it's when you have depression
it's hard to get up and hard to, you know, keep on going and to
(18:39):
watch my clients and themstruggle every day but make it
through the day and do it on ahappy note is so empowering for
me.
And, um, so I guess I don'tknow I, I guess I'm just
thankful for them.
You know, it's kind of thatwhole 180.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Yeah, that's, that's beautiful.
Um, I have, similarly, likepeople in my life, right that
I'm very fortunate to not havedepression or anything like that
.
But people in show up Um, it's,I could see and feel how
empowering that is to see likesomebody that physically, their
(19:24):
life will never be quote,unquote, 100% compared to a
regular standard.
But they show up every singleday and they're doing their best
and they're they know that thenext 20 or however many years of
their life they have left thisis their reality, but they don't
let it stop them.
That's awesome.
Yeah, that's a really goodanswer.
What is or what do you wishmore people knew about?
(19:47):
The caregiving profession?
I feel like we've talked a lotabout it as far as like how
rewarding it is, but is thereanything else that you think you
wish people knew about?
Helping others?
Speaker 2 (19:57):
I wish people knew that it's hard work.
It's not just an easy quick getmoney, here we go, kind of
thing.
I know when my neighbor'sfriend was talking to me about
like oh, that might be somethingI can do and it's not a lot of
work, but really it is a lot ofwork.
But it depends on how the lotof work is categorized.
The lot of work is like, youknow, keeping on task.
(20:20):
Is there something that needsto be done?
Is there?
Do they need specific things?
Or is it more encouragement?
Is it more?
You know?
Those kinds of things.
I think it's kind of liketaking on a child, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
You know you encourage your child, you help
your child, you guide your child, but also give your client the
dignity and the power that theyneed to keep, to keep on going.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Yeah, that was a really good answer.
It's not like I said, it's adifferent kind of heart.
I think it's not it's notroofing where you're carrying 40
pound shingles up.
But it is hard to balance allthe other things, especially
people that take it seriously,take the responsibility of
another person's well-being intotheir own hands, because it can
(21:10):
be quote unquote easy.
If you're a bad caregiver, likeif you show up and you don't
care, yeah, it's an easy job.
But if you actually want tohelp other people, it's a lot of
work but rewarding.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
It is.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
What advice would you give for someone that's new to
the senior care space, justgetting into it, whether they're
fresh out of high school orcollege or later in life, I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
I guess the advice I would give is to love.
Don't love the um disability,but love the person Um.
The other thing is, if you seesomething that needs to be done,
do it like it's such a simplething but it means so much to
that person, like if they can'tclean their toilet, it's super
easy clean their toilet.
(21:54):
If they drink out of the samewater bottle every day, wash the
water bottle before you fill itLike, um, it's, it's the little
things that matter so much tothem.
It's not this great, giant bigpicture that everybody thinks it
is, it's the tiny things thatmatter the most.
Um and so, uh, if you feelinspired to do something, I'm
sure there's a reason behind theinspiration and I'm sure the
(22:16):
client will appreciate it.
Also, I wanted to real quicksay I think it's helpful too.
If you ask clients, most timesthey'll tell you what happened
to them.
Oh, I had this happen to me.
Or 10 years ago I had a strokeand this You're like wow, so you
had all this life and then youhad this ailment that happened.
(22:38):
This moment, yeah, Most peoplewill tell you what happened.
If they're not ready to tellyou, they won't.
But if you can have a deeperunderstanding of how they got to
where they were, then you havea higher understanding of how to
help them.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Yeah, I love that advice.
Janelle, you're like theepitome of an incredible not
even caregiver as like a titlefor a job, but caregiver as like
a of what it means, somebodythat actually cares and gives
the care that's inside of themto other people to help them
(23:11):
lift up.
It's been all of your answershave never once talked about you
know, like you said, thisgrandiose, huge thing that I do,
that I, I I it's all about,like, how much the clients are
filling your cup, and I thinkthat you're just incredible, um,
is there any other things you'dlike to share with our
(23:31):
listeners before we go?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Um, I think the important thing to know is
sometimes someone just needs ahigh or a smile to make their
day a little bit better, and Ithink that's the same train of
thought or the same feelingsthat we need to give our elders
or those that have gone throughharder hardships or that need
(23:57):
our love and care.
Like it's just the simplestthings.
You never know what someone isgoing through until you ask.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Yeah, love that, just harping on what you just said.
And then last was you know if,if you feel inspired to smile,
or way inspired, whatever youwant to call it inspired and
inkling a gut feeling to spotway inspired, whatever you want
to call it inspired, an inkling,a gut feeling to spot to smile,
wave, take out the trash, youknow, pick up.
Whatever the tiny littlegesture is, there's something,
(24:27):
it'll fill somebody else's cupand in turn, it's going to make
you feel so much better.
So always take action on thoselittle things that seem small
and it'll pay in massivedividends and rewards in your
own life, so I like that a lot.
Janelle, again, thank you somuch for coming in.
Thank you for everything thatyou do.
We're excited that you're atHelperly and, yeah, your clients
(24:50):
just love you.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
So we appreciate you a lot, appreciate you yeah.
Welcome to another episode of Senior Care Academy,
a HelpRelease podcast.
I'm your host, caleb, and todaywe're diving into the heart of
caregiving with a very specialguest, janelle Burt.
Janelle is one of HelpRelease'sin-home caregivers and she's a
rock star.
Janelle has been a caregiverfor a short time, but she's
loved by every single one of herclients, and so today we're
exploring her journey in thecaregiving space, her favorite
(00:20):
moments with seniors and herthoughts on what makes this work
so rewarding.
So let's jump right in First.
Janelle, thanks for coming allthe way down from Logan.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Sure welcome.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
So tell us about your journey.
What led you initially toworking in the senior care
industry?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well, I worked and cared for my brother that lived
with me for eight years.
He had Down syndrome, oh, andso he just passed away, and I
really wanted to continue tohelp people, because that's, I
think, what I'm best at.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I really like to do that.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
That's awesome.
That's cool to have kind oflike a personal connection to
caregiving.
And what do you think?
Why do you think thatcaregiving is such a big role?
Are you?
Was it just really the onlyoption to helping your brother?
You were the one that raisedyour hand and said he can live
with me.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Um, we were kind of best friends from the very
beginning, so it was kind of um,it just naturally happened that
way.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yeah, um, that's so interesting, and so this is, I
guess, pretty early for a goldenspur question.
But why do you think that youare such a care?
What makes you so care, caringand caregiving, where naturally
you guys just became bestfriends and you're just thrive
on helping other people?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Um.
I think it all has to do withum connection.
I think we are as humans.
We like to connect and we needto feel important, and when we
can make others feel important,it also helps us to feel
important.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
If we can have friendship, whether it's family
or whether it's in workfriendships I think that really
goes a long way, and especiallywith the people that need our
help the most they need thatkind of friendship, that
one-on-one that can get themthrough the hard parts or get
them up in the morning or helpthem through the hard times in
(02:06):
life.
So it's a blessing to be ableto help other people because
really they're helping me rightback.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yeah, I believe I agree totally like by helping
other people and giving yourenergy and effort to them and
seeing them thrive.
It really is.
It's like this weird, justsymbiotic thing where you give
to them and then your thrive.
It really is.
It's like this weird, um, justsymbiotic thing where you give
to them and then your cup getsfilled more.
That's why I love like serviceand and the space that we're in.
(02:34):
I am curious, can you um, or Iguess, what do you find most
rewarding about working withseniors?
So you originally started withyour brother that had a, a
mental, um, mental challenge,disability, and now there's, you
know, seniors and then peoplewith physical disabilities.
What's different and what's themost rewarding aspect of it?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I think the things that are different is, you know,
I'm not quite young, but I'mnot quite old yet.
But if I were to put it in myperspective, if I was that
person, if I went through mylife and I had this ailment, how
would I feel?
What would I want?
So I kind of want to mirror youknow, kind of like I want to
(03:17):
say, Bambi, If you have nothingto say, don't say anything.
And I said, oh, but, it's kindof like it's a mirror of how I
want to be treated.
I want to treat them too.
I think it's so important forthem to know that they're not
forgotten, that they're nothelpless, that they're not
worthless.
They need to know that peoplelove them and care about them,
even in their struggles thatthey have.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yeah, I think that that's a very interesting like
it's an altruisticcharacteristic that a lot of
people struggle with.
You know, like it's so easy tosay put yourself in their shoes,
what do you think, or treatothers as you want to be treated
all like these isms things thatpeople say, but to actually
(04:00):
live, it is something that'stotally different.
Actually live, it is somethingthat's totally different, and I
think that that's cool, thatyou've been able to put in to
practice a thing like puttingtheir shoes on and being like
it's the.
The reality is that we aregoing to wear those shoes
someday in our life.
So, like being able to bringthat to today and being like 30
(04:21):
years from now, I might be thisperson or I will be, like we're
all going to get old.
I want to do the things that Iwant the person that's in my
shoes 30 years from now to do tome, so that's very cool.
Do you have any as you've beenworking with seniors?
Do you have any like favoritestories or moments with clients,
whether it's a funny one or hasto do with what you just said
(04:46):
of like really caring for themwhen they need it most?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
I think I have a couple moments that I really
feel overjoyed with Um yeah,with their improvements, but I
think to feeling their gratitudefor certain things, like I have
this one client who is blindand instead of allowing her to
(05:12):
reach in the sky, like where amI going?
I grab her hand and I putcertain items in her hand.
Where does this go?
Oh, here's your drink, orhere's your bib, or something
like that.
So she's not reaching, she's notguessing yeah, so I'm bringing
my hand where I can see to hers,like, and so filling that
gratitude for um, me doing thatlittle tiny thing for her, like,
(05:35):
fills me up, like all right,I've got it, you know, um.
Another thing um is one of myclients, she, she uses a cane
and I feel so proud when shegets out and she is using the
cane.
She's not she's very new at it,but she's really trying and you
know, I just let her know I'mright behind her.
So in case she loses herbalance, you know I'm right
(05:56):
there.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Or I give her voice instructions yeah, to the right
just a little bit.
Oh yeah, good job.
Voice instructions yeah, to theright just a little bit.
Good job, that's great.
Hey, now step up.
Oh, you did it, good job.
Those little encouraging thingsor those little moments where
she's doing so good makes mefeel so good, and I know it
makes her feel good becauseshe's like yes, I got it, you
know yeah um, I think too.
(06:18):
Uh, one of my other clients.
She says I'm really positive,yeah, um I.
She is paralyzed on one sideand she's always talking bad
about one side of her body andI'm like no, your body is so
amazing, it's still here.
Like you can make it work.
Like you know, love yourself.
You know it's okay that yourhand is the way.
You can't do anything bad.
We're just going to put itright here.
(06:39):
We love this hand.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You know, love this hand.
You know like, yeah, so it'slike helping them to love their
self while encouraging them toum, have a great day.
Yes, I'm like obsessed witheverything you just said.
That's so sweet, like everysingle aspect.
There's so many things that um,maybe feel right, like they're
common sense, but they'recounterintuitive.
Like it's common sense ifsomebody can't see to try to put
something in their hand, butit's counterintuitive because I
think people might think like oh, that might feel condescending
or whatever.
Or like the thing of like howyou're coaching a little bit to
(07:13):
the left, good job.
Like some people feelembarrassed to do stuff like
that, but I think more oftenthan not I don't know why it's
like these weird norms that makeus feel like that's wrong, or
it's like condescending, but,like you said, your clients
thrive in that as well.
Like people want to be praised,people want support, people want
(07:33):
camaraderie and teamship.
Team what am I trying to say?
Teammates in their life atevery age.
And just because they're olderdoesn't mean that it's not okay
to coach them and then celebratewith them rather than just like
watching.
So that's really cool.
You did mention like a handfulof clients.
So what is it like to visit andcare for multiple different
(07:55):
clients at once?
And then do you find that likechallenging or more rewarding to
have such a variety of care?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Honestly, I think it's rewarding because it
teaches me so many differentfields, teaches me while I'm
helping them, they're teachingme, and so I'm learning so much
more on the daily.
You know, like, how I can helpother people, or you know they
go through this struggle.
How can I make that better?
I think one thing specific Idid want to mention is, you know
(08:27):
, I think when you have a healthissue and you need someone to
take care of you, even taking ashower or something, it's like
kind of losing some of thatdignity, right, right, yeah, um,
and so for me, um, being ableto, like help them bathe but
(08:48):
then turning away, or allowingthe water to go on them but
turning away while they cleanthemselves or they do whatever
they have to do personally givesthat some of that dignity back.
So it's like, um, knowing thatand knowing that my um, my
friend I like to call themfriends because they kind of are
you know.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yeah, and that's the goal is to end up being friends
with them rather than they're.
It's just a, rather than beingsimply an, exchange of time,
it's, you know, an exchange of,of feelings of happiness and and
good feelings and sharing inthe good and the bad and all
that.
So that's the goal is to befriends, so I love that.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yeah, so I just just taking that from one client and
knowing that how she muchappreciates that, then I can go
to the next client.
You know, do you shower, whatis your shower like?
It kind of gets me, it kind ofteaches me how to act for
another person.
Or see, maybe this person likesspecific things.
Do you use specific things withthe next client?
(09:46):
Do you use specific thingswhile you shower?
So everybody is so different,but it's like taking the same
technique to the next person andthen molding it however that
person needs it.
I like that a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Have you ever encountered a client that is
kind of resistant at first, likeyou said, with things that
might feel like takingindependence or dignity or some
of the other things that you'vementioned?
Has there been any sort ofapprehension to care they've had
experience with?
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Maybe once or twice.
I think it has to do with howthat person feels for the day,
is my experience.
If they're having a bad day,they're going to be a little bit
apprehensive or avoidance ofcertain things because they're
having a bad day.
I mean, if we have a bad dayand we don't want to get out of
bed, we're like, leave me alone.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
You know right.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Everybody has that, so you just have to be positive
and try and work through it.
How was your day today?
Oh, you know, it's like helpinga loved one or helping a child
that you love, or except you'rehelping your, the person that
you're taking care of you know,so it's kind of helping them
(10:54):
walk through that that heavy day, because nobody likes to be in
that heavy cloud.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Yeah, you've said it a few times and I'd really
appreciate it.
Where you're you?
You're comparing seniors, olderadults or people with
disabilities to everybody else,and it's so true.
I think so many people drawthis line of like oh, they're
old, but it's like if they'rebored, or if you would have been
bored doing the same thing,they're probably bored.
If you would have a bad daybecause you had a terrible
night's rest, they probablywould have a bad day because
they had terrible night's rest.
And so making it like we're all, we all have brains, we all
(11:26):
have human experience, and solike really taking away kind of
the stigma that they're likepeople with disabilities or
seniors are different, it's likeno, they're just like us.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I would say probably getting them to open up to say
it's not you.
I just had a really hard dayand you're saying you know, okay
, great, how can I help?
It takes a lot of trust.
How would you?
How do you build trust withclients and then their families
or other people that areinvolved in their care?
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I think one way for me.
I like to, whenever I go in andto see a client good morning,
hi, how are you doing?
You know, how was your week?
How was your family Like getinterested in their life, their
family.
Oh, your husband's sick.
Oh man, I hope he gets better.
You know prayers for him.
Or your daughter's going to goon a trip Wow, how exciting.
(12:17):
The more you interact with themand their family or the things
that are important to them, themore they're going to appreciate
it, the more they're going totrust you, and I really feel
like that's kind of it's kind oflike meeting a friend for the
first time.
You have to get to know eachother and talk back and forth
and be interested, and I thinkthe more interested that you are
(12:40):
, the more concerned that youput oh wow, you're going to go
see your mom.
Wow, I'm so excited for it.
You know concern that you um put.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Oh wow, you're gonna go see your mom.
Wow that I'm so excited for it.
You know, like, the more theyfeel excited about that, the
more they want to be your friend, the more they can trust you.
Yeah, yeah, focus on them.
Um, this it's totally like arandom thing, but there was a
study that showed it was thisdifference between men and women
.
It's super tangential.
We might not even put it in thepodcast, but basically women
find men attractive that arefunny, that make them laugh, and
(13:11):
men find women funny that laughat their jokes.
I think it's that's kind of thething trust those who put a lot
of focus back on them or likefind them interesting or find
them reliable if they'reconstantly asking about the
other person, because the otherperson can talk about themselves
(13:33):
and yeah and the favorite wordin every language is their own
name, like um.
So I love that kind of basic.
It's again super common sense.
But so many people try to doall these like fancy little
tricks to gain trust and it'sjust like ask about their date.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, it's the simple things.
Be excited to see them.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Yeah, as we've been talking, itsounds a lot like basically
like caring for others is almostpart of your life mission, like
it's just so ingrained in whoyou are.
I think a lot of people seecaregiving as an entry level,
like job, but it feels like yousee it differently.
(14:10):
How do you feel caregiving andwhat do you think sets
caregiving aside from all of theother options as far as like
employment and and the lifecalling goes?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Um, I think, you know , all those years working with
my brother was, um, you know,kind of helped mold me a little
bit.
But, um, you know, I think that, um, for each client, um, you
know, if they have some kind ofailment or they're older, I
think a lot of times peopleforget about them or they feel
(14:43):
like they're forgotten, and soeach time you're with that
person it's like you're devotingyour time to them, you know, so
you're giving them thatattention that they need.
You know, they probably getattention with their family, but
family but it's kind of likebeing in a family you get a
little bit of attention from momor dad and then they're off
doing their own thing.
(15:05):
And so for me, working with theclients is really important to
give them that attention, thatlove, that strength, that
support, that encouragement,whatever all those things take
to help with that person.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
That's a good answer.
I think caregiving as a careeris very unique in that you are
able to dedicate so muchattention to the physical,
mental and emotional well-beingof another human being.
There's not a ton of industriesor positions or careers where
that's your whole life is justlike being able to give that
(15:40):
attention to somebody else, andI think it has so many.
We talked about the positives,where filling other people's cup
in return fills yours, butsometimes it can be kind of
tough.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, it can be.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
So how do you prioritize, like your own mental
health and well-being, whilealso being able to show up?
Hey, how are you doing everysingle day for those people that
you're trying to to fill theircup?
Speaker 2 (16:03):
um, to be honest, after I get done working, I'm
pretty tired.
Yeah, um, but I just take, youknow, a few hours, or you know,
if you don't have a few hours,just taking maybe a half an hour
for yourself, listening to somesongs, or you could write down
the things of the day or go outwith your friends, like, take
that special time for you togive yourself a pat on the back
(16:27):
for having a good day or forbeing there for someone else
that really needed you.
Rest is important so that whenyou go to see your client client
, you can do the things thatthey need, like whatever,
whatever that entails yeah, Ilike that.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
I think a lot of the best caregivers, like you do,
pour so much themselves into itand then they never reserve that
special time for themselvesyeah to be able to rejuvenate.
Rejuvenate that's a great word,and so obviously you have all
the other maybe subpar kind ofcaregivers that aren't as all in
(17:05):
on the well-being of theirclients or their friends, but
people like you taking thatmoment.
I think that's a great call out, because there's a lot of
people that work so hard everysingle day, trying their best to
help others, and then theyforget and then they end up
burning out a few months later.
And it's like it wasn't the the,it wasn't the career, it was
(17:25):
the lack of any sort of focus onyourself.
So, um, we're getting.
This has been a fast 20 minutes, getting pretty close to time.
What?
Um, I guess what's one thingthat you've learned from
visiting your clients that maybehas switched your perspective
on life a little bit, maybe likea lesson they taught or a piece
of wisdom from them?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Boy helping to get emotional with this one Um.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
There are tissues, tissues on standby.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Thanks, um, to be honest, sorry to be honest, my
clients are so, um, they give mea lot of strength because they
get up, like one of my clients,she's paralyzed on one side and
she gets up every single day.
She takes a shower and does herhair and does her makeup and
(18:13):
she wants to look good and shewants to tell, show her kids
that she hasn't given up.
And for me that's so.
I'm not sure what the word isempowering, maybe Because I
myself deal with depression andso it's when you have depression
it's hard to get up and hard to, you know, keep on going and to
(18:39):
watch my clients and themstruggle every day but make it
through the day and do it on ahappy note is so empowering for
me.
And, um, so I guess I don'tknow I, I guess I'm just
thankful for them.
You know, it's kind of thatwhole 180.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Yeah, that's, that's beautiful.
Um, I have, similarly, likepeople in my life, right that
I'm very fortunate to not havedepression or anything like that
.
But people in show up Um, it's,I could see and feel how
empowering that is to see likesomebody that physically, their
(19:24):
life will never be quote,unquote, 100% compared to a
regular standard.
But they show up every singleday and they're doing their best
and they're they know that thenext 20 or however many years of
their life they have left thisis their reality, but they don't
let it stop them.
That's awesome.
Yeah, that's a really goodanswer.
What is or what do you wishmore people knew about?
(19:47):
The caregiving profession?
I feel like we've talked a lotabout it as far as like how
rewarding it is, but is thereanything else that you think you
wish people knew about?
Helping others?
Speaker 2 (19:57):
I wish people knew that it's hard work.
It's not just an easy quick getmoney, here we go, kind of
thing.
I know when my neighbor'sfriend was talking to me about
like oh, that might be somethingI can do and it's not a lot of
work, but really it is a lot ofwork.
But it depends on how the lotof work is categorized.
The lot of work is like, youknow, keeping on task.
(20:20):
Is there something that needsto be done?
Is there?
Do they need specific things?
Or is it more encouragement?
Is it more?
You know?
Those kinds of things.
I think it's kind of liketaking on a child, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
You know you encourage your child, you help
your child, you guide your child, but also give your client the
dignity and the power that theyneed to keep, to keep on going.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Yeah, that was a really good answer.
It's not like I said, it's adifferent kind of heart.
I think it's not it's notroofing where you're carrying 40
pound shingles up.
But it is hard to balance allthe other things, especially
people that take it seriously,take the responsibility of
another person's well-being intotheir own hands, because it can
(21:10):
be quote unquote easy.
If you're a bad caregiver, likeif you show up and you don't
care, yeah, it's an easy job.
But if you actually want tohelp other people, it's a lot of
work but rewarding.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
It is.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
What advice would you give for someone that's new to
the senior care space, justgetting into it, whether they're
fresh out of high school orcollege or later in life, I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
I guess the advice I would give is to love.
Don't love the um disability,but love the person Um.
The other thing is, if you seesomething that needs to be done,
do it like it's such a simplething but it means so much to
that person, like if they can'tclean their toilet, it's super
easy clean their toilet.
(21:54):
If they drink out of the samewater bottle every day, wash the
water bottle before you fill itLike, um, it's, it's the little
things that matter so much tothem.
It's not this great, giant bigpicture that everybody thinks it
is, it's the tiny things thatmatter the most.
Um and so, uh, if you feelinspired to do something, I'm
sure there's a reason behind theinspiration and I'm sure the
(22:16):
client will appreciate it.
Also, I wanted to real quicksay I think it's helpful too.
If you ask clients, most timesthey'll tell you what happened
to them.
Oh, I had this happen to me.
Or 10 years ago I had a strokeand this You're like wow, so you
had all this life and then youhad this ailment that happened.
(22:38):
This moment, yeah, Most peoplewill tell you what happened.
If they're not ready to tellyou, they won't.
But if you can have a deeperunderstanding of how they got to
where they were, then you havea higher understanding of how to
help them.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Yeah, I love that advice.
Janelle, you're like theepitome of an incredible not
even caregiver as like a titlefor a job, but caregiver as like
a of what it means, somebodythat actually cares and gives
the care that's inside of themto other people to help them
(23:11):
lift up.
It's been all of your answershave never once talked about you
know, like you said, thisgrandiose, huge thing that I do,
that I, I I it's all about,like, how much the clients are
filling your cup, and I thinkthat you're just incredible, um,
is there any other things you'dlike to share with our
(23:31):
listeners before we go?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Um, I think the important thing to know is
sometimes someone just needs ahigh or a smile to make their
day a little bit better, and Ithink that's the same train of
thought or the same feelingsthat we need to give our elders
or those that have gone throughharder hardships or that need
(23:57):
our love and care.
Like it's just the simplestthings.
You never know what someone isgoing through until you ask.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Yeah, love that, just harping on what you just said.
And then last was you know if,if you feel inspired to smile,
or way inspired, whatever youwant to call it inspired and
inkling a gut feeling to spotway inspired, whatever you want
to call it inspired, an inkling,a gut feeling to spot to smile,
wave, take out the trash, youknow, pick up.
Whatever the tiny littlegesture is, there's something,
(24:27):
it'll fill somebody else's cupand in turn, it's going to make
you feel so much better.
So always take action on thoselittle things that seem small
and it'll pay in massivedividends and rewards in your
own life, so I like that a lot.
Janelle, again, thank you somuch for coming in.
Thank you for everything thatyou do.
We're excited that you're atHelperly and, yeah, your clients
(24:50):
just love you.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
So we appreciate you a lot, appreciate you yeah.
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