She’s surrounded by a family of caregivers
“Everyone in my immediate family, except for me and one of my older brothers, is in health care. My mother has been a nurse for the elderly for 50-plus years. My two older sisters are nurses. I have a niece who just graduated from Prairie View A&M with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. My sister-in-law is a nurse. And I have a brother in health care on the business side. So I’m surrounded by people who have a passion for taking care of others.
“My mom is 70 years old, and she’s still at it. She’s a live-in nurse right now, Monday through Friday, for an 85-year-old diabetic who has Alzheimer’s. I asked her why she does it. She said it’s mainly for two reasons. One, her birthday is 9-11. Because of the 911 emergency thing, she feels that she was born to do something in the medical field. Two, she just loves people. She loves taking care of people when they can’t help themselves. She has always felt like this is her calling and her blessing to others, and she is an amazing person to do it.
“In my younger days, I didn’t quite acknowledge all she was doing as a single parent. Now that I’m a mother of two, I realize what a commitment that was to not only take care of us, but to also take care of so many others as a nurse.
“My mom never complains. If she has an issue, you would never have a clue. When she is with her patients, it’s all about them. It’s all about what they need and how she can help them. She’s just a big inspiration to me.”
— Maureen St. louis Nelson
Maureen’s mother and her husband, who was a caregiver for his grandparents, inspired her to write a book. It will highlight stories of people in the health care profession and others who are caregivers. If you are in one of those roles and would like to share your experiences for the book, email Maureen at bluemsnelson@gmail.com.
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