Caregiver Spotlight: Dana Flowers
Dana Flowers has always been passionate about helping others. From a young age, she says, she’s always been one to help out and offer support.
So it’s little surprise that when Dana moved to the Los Angeles area three years ago she eventually found her way to Visiting Angels and its network of caregivers. She read the company’s mission statement, met with administrators and knew she had found where she belonged.
Flowers has one client currently, who is an older gentleman. She describes their relationship like that of a grandparent and grandchild. They will laugh, joke, watch TV together and even eat ice cream.
“He needs a companion,” she says. “It’s very humbling. Sometimes you take things for granted, but when I’m around him, I don’t.”
The two enjoy discussing movies and television. “I love our conversations,” Dana says. Her client is a big fan of the Dodgers baseball team, so they will often discuss that. They occasionally go out for dinner and will be visiting the Santa Monica Pier in the near future.
“Every day is different,” she says. “We do different activities.” That includes walks outside, discussing weekend plans and watching military and sci--fi movies and television shows.
Dana takes care of her patient for 12 hours and then another caregiver takes over for the overnight session.
She says it’s important that he remain active so he does exercises such as wall sits to stay nimble. At 82, he’s still driving!
Dana says Visiting Angels is ideal for someone who needs companionship and assistance, as caregivers can help patients in a variety of ways. “Each caregiver has a different personality and each caregiver is different from the next,” she says.
Dana says she appreciates that patients and caregivers cover a wide array of nationalities and ethnicities. “It’s a one-on-one client care industry,” she says.
If you or your loved one would like to learn more about caregiving at Visiting Angels consider giving us a call today at 818-206-8121!