Shirley O. Care Companion in Mystic, CT 06355

Hi I’m Shirley! My experience started back in 2002 when I had just graduated high school, that summer I was employed with Utopia Home care & Companions where I was given 3/4 client schedules each day four days a week. Each day I would travel to my clients home & preform whatever tasks were needed. So my experience ranges from cooking & cleaning, laundry, running errands such as grocery shopping, picking up medication from the pharmacy, grabbing their items from the dry cleaners, taking them to & from appointments as well as basic companionship. I would take clients out for walks on nice days, play games of their choice & handle phone calls that were too stressful for them to complete. In 2009 my own Nana was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer & I volunteered to become her full time live in caregiver because no one else would take good care of her like would. I’m a mother of 3 & I can honestly say that I took care of my Nana as if she were my new born. At that point in my life though I’d already had a career in Cosmetology which helped a lot with personal grooming & pampering that elderly have trouble continuing to do themselves. Towards the end of my Nana’s battle she was 83 & hospice was called, but only for initial equipment setup, everything else I did self taught. Things someone might learn from working in a nursing home is what I did regularly to make life comfortable for her, which included changing the bed while she stayed in it, bathing, using the toilet, changing diapers, feedings, sponge baths & body rubs with lotion, to address dry skin, personal contact & avoid bed soars. My Nana passed in November & after that following new year I enrolled into school for Medical Assistance. I’ve also volunteered my time in the past to spending a few hours every couple of months to give haircuts for residents who live in state owned group homes, they’re both mentally & physically handicapped, most of the residents I’ve had the pleasure of working on are unfortunately non verbal & had been abandoned. They’d originally been placed into the old Norwich State Hospital as children & became ward of the state. I know so sad. Well I hope I’ve explained enough about myself for somebody to understand that I’m willing & able to take care of them or their loved one because I do have experience + this is really what I feel I’m best at. If for any reason I wasn’t comfortable preforming a certain task to the best of my ability or am not able to I’d speak up immediately.