One of my favorite memories of working in healthcare happened more than twenty years ago when I was a CNA doing home care. I think I was only nineteen when I was caring for a little old, confused Chinese man, "Mr. Chan." He laughed every time he saw me, I'd guess it was because I'm 5'10", and compared to his barely 5' stature, I must have appeared like a giant to him!
One time while I was there, Auntie Chan nearly burned down the house as she was lighting candles and incense to Buddha - at midnight! I walked into the living room to see Auntie Chan rocking and praying in front of the little shrine while giant flames shot up to the ceiling!
Luckily, I was there before the whole house went up in flames!
But the Chan's always treated me like one of the family, offering to feed me the same dishes that they ate. The very next morning after the fire incident, they fed me some sort of fowl, rice, and fish mixture. I sucked it down as fast as I could, trying desperately to keep it from coming back up, all the while smiling and saying thank you. They must have figured I was starving because I ate it so fast, and so they promptly shoved a second bowl under my chin.
I still think about that family to this day.
The need for home healthcare workers has never been greater. The bond you forge with the families in homecare is by all definitions - job satisfaction off the chart!
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