- Joined
- Sep 20, 2003
Well, folks, I was inspired by my mom today to write to NBC and share with them a story for their Making A Difference segment in their Nightly News. I don't know if it will get any attention, but here's what I said to them:
I see a lot of stories about people from big cities, but very few of them about people from small towns. This is a story about one of the sweetest, most patient, compassionate and thoughtful people I know.
My mother, stepfather and I live in the small town of Perryopolis, PA. I am 26 years old, and from a young age I was diagnosed with retinatitis pigmentosa. My mother is going to be 60 years old, and theoretically should be getting disability income like my bipolar sister and I do, but is content to care for the elderly who live independently but still need help to care for themselves. My mother, JoAnn Steiner, a diabetic, underwent open heart surgery in 2004, currently has a bad back problem that no one has been able to identify. She also has what is called a "trigger finger" in which her finger locks and cannot move. Another unfortunate ailment is that she has failing eyesight due to her diabetes. But through all these hardships, she loves her job and finds it rewarding to spend time with people who don't get company and attention that they did when they were younger and healthier. My mother has been doing this kind of work for many years, and in these hard times, she says that being a caregiver is perhaps the only job that is guaranteed, because the clients are always in need of care. The companies nationwide are bound to be hiring. I know the ones here in southwestern PA are always hiring and looking for kind people like my mother who want to make things easier for the elderly and the disabled who are so often overlooked in these tough economic times. In many cases, my mother is the only companionship that these people have. Sometimes, she provides transportation to the grocery store or doctor's visits, cooks, cleans, and does laundry for her clients, but other times, she provides companionship and conversation. My mother has had several clients recently, and all of them have begged for her to come more often because she is, according to them, the best caregiver they've ever had. In some cases, she is even better than the clients' own children.
Now working for a company called Comfort Keepers through Uniontown, PA, she used to work in nursing homes, but was fed up with all the abuse she saw there, and gave up the job. A few years ago, when she was unable to get disability, she decided to become a caregiver again, this time traveling independently, because it is the only job she can physically do, and finds great fulfillment in this kind of work. Some caregivers go to a client's home and do as they are told, others smart off or abuse their clients, steal from them, etc., but my mother actually goes above and beyond the call of duty for her clients. Last year she even spent a good deal of money on Christmas gifts for them.
I hope you see fit to use this story, because I personally feel it deserves to be told.
Angela Rabatin
I see a lot of stories about people from big cities, but very few of them about people from small towns. This is a story about one of the sweetest, most patient, compassionate and thoughtful people I know.
My mother, stepfather and I live in the small town of Perryopolis, PA. I am 26 years old, and from a young age I was diagnosed with retinatitis pigmentosa. My mother is going to be 60 years old, and theoretically should be getting disability income like my bipolar sister and I do, but is content to care for the elderly who live independently but still need help to care for themselves. My mother, JoAnn Steiner, a diabetic, underwent open heart surgery in 2004, currently has a bad back problem that no one has been able to identify. She also has what is called a "trigger finger" in which her finger locks and cannot move. Another unfortunate ailment is that she has failing eyesight due to her diabetes. But through all these hardships, she loves her job and finds it rewarding to spend time with people who don't get company and attention that they did when they were younger and healthier. My mother has been doing this kind of work for many years, and in these hard times, she says that being a caregiver is perhaps the only job that is guaranteed, because the clients are always in need of care. The companies nationwide are bound to be hiring. I know the ones here in southwestern PA are always hiring and looking for kind people like my mother who want to make things easier for the elderly and the disabled who are so often overlooked in these tough economic times. In many cases, my mother is the only companionship that these people have. Sometimes, she provides transportation to the grocery store or doctor's visits, cooks, cleans, and does laundry for her clients, but other times, she provides companionship and conversation. My mother has had several clients recently, and all of them have begged for her to come more often because she is, according to them, the best caregiver they've ever had. In some cases, she is even better than the clients' own children.
Now working for a company called Comfort Keepers through Uniontown, PA, she used to work in nursing homes, but was fed up with all the abuse she saw there, and gave up the job. A few years ago, when she was unable to get disability, she decided to become a caregiver again, this time traveling independently, because it is the only job she can physically do, and finds great fulfillment in this kind of work. Some caregivers go to a client's home and do as they are told, others smart off or abuse their clients, steal from them, etc., but my mother actually goes above and beyond the call of duty for her clients. Last year she even spent a good deal of money on Christmas gifts for them.
I hope you see fit to use this story, because I personally feel it deserves to be told.
Angela Rabatin
