Harlie C.

When I was younger, I did jobs that are non-traditional for women. I drove heavy equipment in warehouses, pulling orders, or shelving pallets. I kept getting laid off, due to the closing of each company. I decided to go into a field of work which would always need dedicated employees. I am not the type of person to change from one company to another on a whim, so I wanted to find a career which would allow me to establish a long term employment. I have a compassionate heart, and have always enjoyed caring for those who cannot care for themselves. I developed a repore with a woman from church. She is a mentally ill woman with Crit du chat. Her mother saw that we had a good relationship with one another. She asked me to consider being her personal assistant. I decided that I would make a commitment to helping her become more independent. Her mother wanted to get her daughter an assistant to enable her to learn things, and help her to not be so dependent on her. She also knew that she was getting older, and would not be able to be around to care for her daughter forever. She has since moved into a duplex with another mentally challenged woman. I cared for the two of them twelve hours a day, three days a week, in their home. I worked for that company for 13 years. I am passionate about helping the disabled learn that they can learn, and recognize their capabilites as grown adults, while providing quality care for them, as well. I accomplished two main achievements while working with those two women. I taught one of the women, and learned with her over 120 sign language terms. We were able to communicate quite well. The second achievement was being able to encourage the second woman to modify her diet, and help her to lose over 25 lbs, over an extended period of time. I am very proud to know that I accomplished those two feats. I now work with mostly elderly people needing some of assistance.

I love to make people feel comfortable and ease anxiety. I believe in building trust and repore . We all need respect and can learn so much from one another . I look forward to listening to the stories of their pasts and experiences of often forgotten days. I have been a dental hygienist for 13 years and the older patients have been some of my favorite for these reasons.