My Journey as a Carer: from helping family to helping others

Carer Sean shares his inspirational story of how his childhood instilled a desire to care for others, and how he  has finally found his calling in life.

“When I was young, I helped my grandparents with cleaning and going to the shops. My grandad had memory problems, and my grandmother had trouble moving because of arthritis. I didn’t realise it then, but doing these things made a big difference in their lives.

As I got older, I saw my grandad doing strange things because of his memory issues. He’d forget where he parked his car or leave it in the middle of the road. Due to bad arthritis, my grandmother needed help with everyday tasks like taking a shower and going up the stairs. Back then, I didn’t understand how important these little things were. I had a tough upbringing, with family members involved in bad stuff like crime and addiction. Eventually, I got help for my own problems with alcohol. I was going from job to job for years, just working for money. I never settled into any job or career. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. One day I realised that I wanted to help people like my grandparents. My childhood experience, my family background, and my own issues gave me an understanding and compassion for people.

Since then, I have changed a lot of things in my life. I decided to go back to education and become a carer. It took 20 years or more to realise what kind of job would suit me best. I have a need to care for people. I joined Private HomeCare and started training to become a carer. I got great support in the training department and a lot of encouragement. They could see I would be a great carer. I loved the practical elements of training but struggled more with the theory, needing a break every 20 minutes.

Now I want to see how much more I can achieve. I never pushed myself in life before. Since  working with Private HomeCare,  the message “you can do it!” is reinforced to me regularly. I plan to continue studying too.

It was a big day when I met my first client, I could see when I walked into the house that he was unsure about me. I shook his hand and said “I will look after you, don’t worry.” It was fine after that. We talk about everything. I  discovered he loves history, as I do.

My journey from a tough childhood to becoming a caregiver has taught me a lot about compassion and understanding. I am a professional carer now. It’s my job. I’m grateful to have found my calling in life, and I’m excited to see where this journey takes me next”.

Thank-you so much Sean for sharing your journey with us. We hope it inspires others to consider working as a home carer.