“You saved my life!” Caregiver steps up during a medical emergency

At-home caregivers are not medical professionals. Instead, they help clients by providing non-medical services that are needed for the person to continue living at home – preparing meals, cleaning, doing laundry, helping with errands.

But because clients needing these services often have several health issues, caregivers also need to be prepared to react in an emergency.

That’s what happened recently for Thomas, a caregiver in Illinois, who works with a client who has Still’s Disease, a rare condition that can mean dangerous heart problems.

Thomas and the client were on an ordinary trip to Sam’s Club, when the client started not feeling well. They decided to go home, but within moments of getting home, the client had passed out.

“I just called 911 and told them hey, you guys need to hurry,” he said.

“This one was really scary because he actually passed out and didn’t remember passing out or how we got into his house. I knew it was a serious situation, that’s why I called.”

Paramedics arrived quickly and the client got the care he needed at the hospital. When he was able to get back home, he was thrilled to be able to thank Thomas in person. “He basically gave me a high five and said “you saved my life. And I said, ‘hey, if I wasn’t here,’ – he has a service dog named Phantom –  ‘either I would have done it or Phantom would have found a way to do it for you.’”

Caregiving career started with Thomas’s grandmother

Thomas first began caregiving in June when he discovered that his 90-year-old grandmother was needing a caregiver. In Illinois and some other states, some clients can designate a family caregiver. The client gets help from someone they already know and trust – and the caregiver is able to earn a paycheck, while providing care for a loved one.

At the time, Thomas was working as a warehouse supervisor but was wanting a change. Being a caregiver for his grandmother sounded appealing.

“I’ve always liked helping people,” he said. “Even like when I’m in grocery stores, if I see an older person struggling to get something off the shelf or reaching something, I always like helping people… It’s always nice knowing that you’re there to help somebody that can’t help themselves.”

Thomas had already been helping his grandmother as much as he could – making sure she had food or helping her clean some when he visited.

Not long after he started working for her two days a week, Help at Home asked him if he would like to take on other clients. Soon, he was working five days a week. Most of his clients either need help with cleaning or meals, or help getting out of the house running errands.

Caregiving can be a satisfying, flexible career

Thomas said he enjoys caregiving because it makes a difference in people’s lives and is also flexible. He has been pleased he can set his own availability for work. (For example, he doesn’t take clients on weekends.)

He said the work of caregiving comes pretty naturally. “I didn’t really have too much experience, but… to me, it’s not that hard to just follow somebody’s directions and clean up. Because we don’t really do anything that you wouldn’t do at your own home.”

Thomas said caregiving is pretty simple. “It just takes patience and understanding,” he said.  “I didn’t know anything about caregiving until I started and now, I don’t know what else I would do at this point.”