A Day in the Life of a Visiting Angels Caregiver

We recently caught a glimpse of one of our caregivers’ diaries, and we wanted to share it with you. Seniors can stay at home with the compassionate support of a Visiting Angel, thriving and relieving worry of their daily care from their family members. Visit our website at www.visitingangels.com/slo to find out more about our services.

Story from one of our Angels

“I woke up a bit early for my shift because I was thinking about my conversation yesterday with my client, Linda. We were talking about her love of baking and especially her ‘world-famous’ lemon bars made with Meyer lemons. I told her about the old Meyer lemon bush I had in my backyard and promised to bring her some the next time I saw her. I got ready for my shift and bagged up some lemons for baking.

I used the lock box to access the house key and quietly entered the home in case Linda was still asleep. She was awake and was excited to see me – she remembered that I told her I would bring her some of my lemons to share. I helped her out of bed, and she used her walker to get to the bathroom. I stayed with her until she was safely in the shower, then I gave her some privacy and made her bed, tidied her room, and got a load of laundry ready for the wash. After she got out of the shower, I helped her dry off and moisturized her skin with her favorite lotion and put some toothpaste on her toothbrush for her to brush her teeth.

I laid out the clothes she had chosen and helped her sit in her dressing room to get ready for the day. I handed her each item as she needed it, gently reminding her if she forgot the names of the items we were looking at. She was better today, only forgetting “sweater” and “sock”, but seemed pleased with herself once I gave her some clues.

We walked with her walker down to the kitchen to make breakfast. I turned on her favorite classical radio station low in the background while I made her oatmeal with blueberries, a piece of sourdough bread, and a protein shake mixed with half a banana. She didn’t eat all of her toast, but she said the blueberries were extra good this morning and that she loved chocolate shakes. I put in a load of laundry and washed the dishes while she practiced her word jumbles.

We started talking about what we would need to bake her lemon bars. We already had the lemons, and most of the basic pantry items, but we did need to go to the store to pick up a couple of things. Linda loved the idea of going out for a while, and I knew that a short trip to the local grocery store would be familiar and comfortable for her. I called the office to let them know we were leaving the home and that we would be taking Linda's car (with prior authorization from her family). We got her walker and purse and were on our way.

We listened to a 50’s rock-n-roll station in the car and I was amazed at her ability to remember the words and melodies to almost all of the songs! Not to mention her incredibly strong singing voice! I couldn’t wait to go home and find a radio station to rock out to while we baked the lemon bars. We got to the store and were able to find a nearby handicapped spot to make the trip into the store. We had a bit of time, and the store was pretty empty, so we walked up and down a few aisles and Linda was quite engaged and made so many funny comments.

We found all of our items and headed back out of the store. It had started lightly raining, so I grabbed the umbrella out of my bag and helped her into the car before she got wet. We made it back to the house before it really started to rain, and Linda said, ‘Well, I guess we picked a good day for baking!’ I moved the laundry from the washer to the dryer, then made her a quick lunch of a half tuna sandwich with chips and a dill pickle (her favorite thing this week).

I wanted to have all the ingredients for our baking project ready, and thankfully I had found the handwritten copy of the recipe in one of her recipe books, so I was able to measure out everything and put it in separate containers for us to add as called for. When she finished her lunch, I took her for a bathroom check. She did not need help to get to or up from the toilet and we both washed our hands to get ready to bake.

It didn’t take very long to assemble the bars and they were in the oven as we sang and danced to Elvis’ ‘Jailhouse Rock.’ The smile on her face made my day and reminded me why I do this work every day. While we waited for the bars to finish baking, I folded the dry laundry and added my notes for the office. I let them know she was running low on toilet paper so that they could notify the family. The lemon bars scented the whole home with a sweet smell, and I now know why they are world-famous. 

I had a wonderful day with Linda and went home with a smile on my face and a couple of delicious lemon bars in my bag.”

Connecting with Visiting Angels

If you think your loved one deserves to have someone care for them like this every day, contact Visiting Angels of San Luis Obispo at (805) 546-2080 to set up a free consultation today. We are also looking to add more caring and compassionate Angels to our team of caregivers. If you are interested in joining our team, please visit us online and apply!