Charlene B.

About Charlene

I have always been a very caring and compassionate person. I especially feel a lot of empathy for seniors, children, and shelter animals . When I was younger, we moved my maternal grandmother into our house when she started forgetting things and started to show signs of dementia. Eventually her condition worsened, to the point where she was incontinent. It was my responsibility to help her to the bathroom and to clean and bathe her if necessary. The very worst part for me was when she stopped recognizing me. My mom and I both vowed we would not put her in a home unless a doctor dictated that we had to. She became so thin, we had to call an ambulance. She was not in the hospital long before she succombed to renal failure, which was heartbreaking. Besides being a family caregiver, I volunteered at Marklund, an organization that helped those with developmental disabilities. I worked at a group home in Wheaton. We had eight residents, each with varyng degrees of disability. I was assigned to a young girl in her twenties who had nearly drowned on a family outing and had suffered significant brain damage. For some reason, her mother would never see her. Every day she would drop off special foods but she never stayed to see her daughter. I found that profoundly sad. The best part was going on our outings, I only stayed at Marklund for 4 months, while I was in nursing school for two years at NIU. As for my personality traits, I am very empathetic, hard working and diligent. Caretaking involves very hard work. My number one job in this position is to make my client feel cared for, safe, and not alone. The thing that attracts me to being a home care giver is the client and his/her family. I will happily supply companionship to the client, whether by playing cards, talking, or reading books. I drive, can be relied upon to do the shopping or even take the client for a ride when the weather is nice.

Caregiving Services & Expertise

Experience & Education

Illinois College

Jan 1987 - Present

Jacksonville, IL

Jan 1987 - Present

Northern Illinois University Dietetic Intership

Jan 1993 - Present

DeKalb, IL

Jan 1993 - Present

Controller

May 2016 - Present

GiGi's Playhouse

As Controller at Gigi's Playhouse I was responsible for preparing the financial statements to report to the Board of Directors. I was responsible for tracking expenses and explaining those variances where expenses were overbudget, and likewise focus in where the Company was experiencing great growth. This charitable organization is fully funded by private donations so some of my time was spent working on promotions or marketing . In addition, my most important job was determining which software the company would use on an onging basis. The Board of Directors approved my selection and I managed the implementation. I supervised three accountants below me. Unfortunately, I had an ugly incident occur at a clinic where the nurse stuck needle full of medicine into my sciatic nerve. The result was almost complete nerve damage in my left leg, tremendous pain and painkillers and muscle relaxants to help decrease the pain. This went on for a long while and I finally had to resign my position at Gigi's because they needed a hands-on Controller in that role. I like to think I would still be there had this unfortunate incident not happened.

May 2016 - Present

Accounting Manager

Apr 2006 - Sep 2013

Delta Dental of Illinois

Apr 2006 - Sep 2013

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