Client Stories

Client Confidentiality & Privacy
Trust is the foundation of our work. Out of deep respect for our clients' privacy, some identifying details in the stories below—including names, specific industries, and locations—have been altered.

While these details are fictionalized for protection, the results, challenges, and solutions remain completely authentic. Every story reflects the real, unvarnished experience of the people we have had the privilege to work with.

Katies’ Story

When I first met Katie in October 2025, she greeted me with a smile but struggled to find the words she wanted to say. Eleven months earlier, an unexpected stroke had changed her life forever. Although she had regained her physical independence, the stroke left her with aphasia, a cognitive communication disorder that made it difficult for her to find the correct words when speaking. Despite this challenge, Katie remained determined, independent, and full of personality.

As a caregiver with Amada Senior Care, I was brought in to assist with cognitive activities, light housekeeping, meal preparation, and companionship. What began as a routine caregiving assignment quickly became something much more meaningful. Over the following months, I witnessed firsthand the importance of having a knowledgeable care team to support a family through medical crises, major life transitions, grief, and recovery.

Healthcare systems can be complex and overwhelming for families, especially during a crisis. A knowledgeable care team serves as a guide, advocate, communicator, and safety net, helping ensure that a client's needs are recognized and addressed throughout every stage of care.

One of the most critical roles of a caregiver is advocacy. Caregivers often spend more time with a client than anyone else and are uniquely positioned to notice changes in physical health, behavior, cognition, appetite, mobility, or emotional well-being. These observations can provide valuable information to medical professionals and help identify problems before they become serious. Caregivers also serve as an extra set of eyes and ears during hospital stays, helping communicate concerns, ask questions, and ensure that treatment plans are clearly understood. My client, Katie Tompson and her family got to see firsthand how true this is.

Katie was doing well, and her vocabulary was improving. She was getting used to having me there three days a week to help with her therapies, and also cook dinner for her and her husband, Kevin. Before her stroke Katie often went to the clubhouse in her community for dance class, walking class, and to swim. Sometimes Kevin would even join her, but for the days that he didn’t want to accompany her the family hired another caregiver to help encourage her to go to classes.

In the middle of November, the Tompson family was hit with another health crisis. Kevin was experiencing a lot of nausea and couldn’t hold anything down, so he decided to go to the E.R. This is when the family found out that he had stage four pancreatic cancer, and there really wasn’t anything they could do to help him recover.

As you can imagine, the family was devastated. They had just gone through almost losing their mom, and now they had to deal with their husband, and father being sick. I empathized with the family as I had just recently lost my father as well. I made sure they knew that I was there to support them in any way possible with whatever they needed, even if it went out of the scope of my normal caregiving duties.

 I tried to keep Katie engaged with activities, or going for walks, but she was too worried about Keven to have an interest in much of anything other than being by his side. Instead of doing cognitive activities or going to the clubhouse I started bringing different crafts for us to do as it was Christmas time and we could hang them around the house to make it look festive.

The Tompsons had two daughters, Anna and Cathy, which were both married and with children of their own. Anna lived out of state with her family, but her and her daughter Jessica were able to spend Christmas with them. Knowing how precious life was, and how fast it can be taken from you made them want to get in as much time as possible. Unfortunately on New Year's Kevin lost his fight with cancer, but at least he did it on his terms, and with all his family by his side.

It was already setup for Katie to move into an assisted living facility after Kevin had passed, she just had to wait until a unit became available. In the meantime Katie did well living on her own. She started going to walking class again, doing cognitive activities, she even started trying new things. I noticed that day by day more of her own personality started coming out. She was a lot more talkative, we got to know a lot more about each other, and she even started teasing, and joking with me.

In May of 2026 Katies family got the call that there was an apartment available in the assisted living community, she was moving into her own place. After everything that Katie had been through in the last eighteen months she really deserved this new beginning.

I stayed with Katie during her transition into assisted living so I could help support her through learning a new environment, new rules, and the staff that she would be interacting with during her days there. Katie is a very strong willed, independent woman who does not trust easily so the family and I knew having me there as a familiar face to help her familiarize herself with the staff would be a huge help. Because of the aphasia it was sometimes very hard to understand what she was trying to say because she wouldn’t use the correct words (she once told me that she wanted more characters in her soup, when she meant vegetables).

The second day Katie was in her new place I noticed the cough she had previously was getting a little bit worse. At the time, the weather was being very weird and even my allergies were wreaking havoc on my body so that’s what I thought it was. I did bring it to the attention of her daughters, so we were all informed and kept each other accountable of keeping track of it.

Katie and I went to the group exercise class in the activities room to enjoy some chair yoga, daily chronicles (facilities daily news) and a nice walk around the grounds. Katie was excited to walk around and get some fresh air but about ten minutes into our walk I noticed that she was having a bit of an issue keeping up (she usually walked faster than I did) and then she asked if she could hold onto my arm. She had never done that before, so since I had another worker with me I asked if she was okay to continue and let her know it was ok to say she had enough and wanted to go back. She assured me she was okay to continue so we finished the rest of our walk then went back to her room. I noticed on the way up she was wheezing a little bit and seemed to be out of breath. Again this was out of the ordinary, she usually did a lot more walking than that. It was a little warmer that day than the previous ones, so I made a mental note, informed the family of the change and carried on. That was until she started holding her chest when she coughed, and her face changed as if she were in pain. I notified the staff, but there wasn’t anything they could do other than send her to the hospital, so I called Cathy and asked her to come over. I knew between Anna, Cathy, and myself we could come to an agreement on treatment and next steps.

For the next two days she continued to get a little worse. Getting winded faster, not being able to catch her breath, and the final straw that broke the camel’s back for me was when she asked for a wheelchair. I knew without a doubt that if Katie were herself there was no way she would have even let me help her walk, let alone push her in a wheelchair. Of course I followed the same steps over again, reporting it to her daughters, then her care home. Talking with the med tech letting her know what was going on, and how uncommon it was for Katie to be this way and that she really needed an eye to be kept on her. The only reason I felt safe leaving that day was because I knew there would be people there around the clock checking on her.

Two days later I was getting ready to walk out the door and go to Katies when I got a text message from Anna explaining that her mom had been taken to Davenport Hospital after being found struggling to breath, and blue lips.

I made sure the family knew that they could call me at any time and that I would be there for them and Katie. It was discovered that Katie had a bunch of fluid in her lungs that needed to be drained so she was going to be given a chest tube and put in ICU for a few days to see if rest and medication, along with draining those lungs, would help her improve. The family kept me informed on her well-being and next steps throughout the journey, and finally, it was time for Katie to be released! We were all so happy, it was scary as most people know at eighty-one, pneumonia can take a lot out of you and even be deadly. I was so happy that my friend was going to be on the mend!

For the next three to four weeks, Katie had ups and downs. She ended up back in the hospital because she was refusing meds, food, and was in a comatose type state. I believe we were all afraid that she was just giving up on life with the loss of her husband and everything that had happened in the last eighteen months. The family thought that having me go to the hospital to spend some time with her would get her to perk up a little bit and participate in some of her medical care the doctors were requesting.

I had known what Katie had been through the last few weeks, but I was not prepared for what I saw that Tuesday when I saw her for the first time since she had been hospitalized. She looked so much older, not like my Katie, the one that calls me Eric, (We have no clue where she got Eric from, as my name is Jennifer, but that’s aphasia for you), and started mocking me when I would say “I forgot” (something I do a lot apparently) and even once playfully spanked me for teasing her.

She was kneading her side with her knuckles, and the look on her face made it seem as if she were in pain. I couldn’t get her to talk to me or open her eyes. I held her hand to let her know that I was there and she squeezed it.

Through trial and error the doctor and I finally realized she was scratching. We wiped her down with a warm cloth and applied lotion and Katie finally relaxed and went to sleep. She looked so much better, just with her face at rest instead of scrunched in pain/irritation. She slept for a few hours as I sat by her bedside praying that being there would help her do the things she needed for the doctors to agree to release her.

Katies eyes fluttered open and I could see the moment when she realized where she was and I think it made her sad, that’s when I noticed she was looking around for something, so I started telling her I was there, that I didn’t leave as I walked into view.

“Ahhh, it is you, you are here!” she said softly as her face relaxed, and she laid back on the pillows.

That day I was able to get her out of the room by taking a stroll around the 4th floor to get a change of scenery, she really wanted to go outside, but unfortunately we were not permitted to leave the floor. We walked everywhere we could and then went back to her room when the nurse arrived with her meds. The nurse informed me that she had refused her morning pills and asked if I could get her to take them. The nurse looked amazed when Katie just grabbed the cup and chugged them down. “Wow, the family was right, she really does well for you”.

Throughout the day I was able to get her to walk on her own to the bathroom, eat lunch, drink two glasses of hot water (her favorite) and let them test her blood sugar. Despite its start, it was a very successful day.

As I was saying my goodbye’s she asked me not to go. This shocked me, as she never told me (or any of the caregivers) that I couldn’t leave. She was usually telling us that she didn’t need us anymore and that we could go home after only finishing half of our shift. She was trying to tell me something, but because of her not being able to find the right words, I couldn’t figure out what she was trying to say, other than asking her daughter something. Finally I figured out she wanted to know what time Cathy would be there. As she was getting off the phone with Cathy, I heard Cathy say “Mom, Jennifer can’t stay until I’m there, I’ll only be 2hours, you’ll be fine, she has to go”.

Of course I stayed. How could I leave when she obviously had a good reason to want me to stay. Even if I never figured out why, she needed me and I would never leave her when she needed me. She thanked me for staying, told me that she really appreciated everything that I did for her, and for sticking by her side through everything the family had been through, and then she said, “Thank you, I love you”. It took everything I did not have to cry happy tears, but I knew if I did, Katie would get embarrassed, and she would stop opening up. So I held it in as I told her that I loved her too.

The care team at Davenport hospital, where Katie was, was great. They took very good care of her, but they were only a hospital, and she needed more care than what the nurses there could provide. They also didn’t know her as a person, only as a patient. They kept telling her that if she took her meds and ate her food that she could go home. They had no clue that she knew home as the house that she shared with Kevin, that she didn’t live there anymore, and the most important of all, that she would take them as literally as when I am done eating and taking my meds I can go home. So when she didn’t get released that Tuesday, she lost her trust in the care team.

 When I figured that out I worked with Anna, Cathy, and the care team to keep everyone informed, and moving in the direction that would allow Katie to be released. Everyone assumed that Katie would be going back to the rehabilitation center, but at least there she could get out of bed and start getting stronger, and it was one step closer to being back to her assisted living.

Again, the place where they had Katie for rehabilitation was great. The staff was friendly, attentive, and very cooperative with me as far as Katies care was concerned. As caregivers we often struggle with getting information so we can advocate for our clients. During Katies stay this was never an issue, and it was such a breath of fresh air.

The assisted living facility……that was another story. When released from the hospital Katie was able to perform her ADLs such as dressing herself, brushing teeth and hair, feeding herself, and could walk on her own. She only needed assistance with showering and walking long distances. The facility was telling the family that in order to return, Katie needed full level assistance, which was transferring, showering, dressing, hair and teeth brushing, and even toileting. Of course, that level of care comes at a much steeper price, and with the fact that Katie did not need that level of care, the care team didn’t believe the family should be forced into choosing it.

In the end the family settled with two weeks at the heightened level of care with an assessment after the first week to see if she still needs it. I know she won’t need it, because she doesn’t need it now. Also why assist an elderly person with things that they can do on their own when it is best for them to do the things they can, for as long as they can.

Regardless of the outcome, I am proud that I stood by my client and advocated for what I believed was best for her. Katie's journey reminded me why I became a caregiver in the first place. It is not because the work is easy, and it certainly is not for recognition. I do it because every day I have the opportunity to make someone's life a little brighter during what may be one of the most difficult seasons of their life.

People often describe caregiving as a thankless job, but I have never believed that. The greatest thank you is not spoken. It is the smile on a client's face when you walk into the room. It is the comfort they feel knowing they are not alone. It is the trust they place in you when they are scared, vulnerable, and uncertain about what comes next.

Katie taught me that showing up matters. Advocacy matters. Compassion matters. Sometimes the most important thing we can give another person is the reassurance that someone is willing to walk beside them through their hardest days. For me, that is the true reward of caregiving, and it is why I continue to love what I do.

What Families Can Learn from Katie's Story

Katie's journey emphasizes the importance of a strong support system and knowledgeable advocates throughout the aging and healthcare process. Although every situation is unique, her experience offers several lessons families can take away.

Trust Your Observations

Family members and caregivers often notice subtle changes long before a medical crisis occurs. Changes in appetite, mobility, breathing, mood, cognition, or daily behaviors can be early indicators that something is wrong. Have confidence in your instincts and do not dismiss concerns simply because they seem small. In Katie's case, noticing that she was becoming short of breath, walking more slowly, and requesting a wheelchair when she normally valued her independence helped identify a serious medical issue that required immediate attention.

Speak Up When Something Doesn't Feel Right

No one knows your loved one better than the people who spend time with them every day. If something seems unusual, ask questions, seek clarification, and advocate for further evaluation when necessary. Healthcare professionals are highly trained, but they may see a patient only briefly. Families and caregivers provide important context that helps ensure the best possible care.

Preserve Open Communication

Successful care depends on teamwork. Families, caregivers, physicians, nurses, therapists, rehabilitation staff, and assisted living personnel all play important roles in a person's well-being. Sharing information openly and consistently helps everyone work toward the same goals. Throughout Katie's journey, communication between family members, caregivers, and healthcare providers helped ensure that important concerns were addressed and decisions were made with her best interests in mind.

Remember That Recovery Is About More Than Medical Treatment

Healing involves more than medications, therapies, and medical procedures. Emotional support, companionship, encouragement, and familiar faces can have a significant impact on a person's recovery and quality of life. Sometimes the most meaningful thing we can offer is simply our presence. Knowing that someone cares, listens, and understands can make even the most difficult circumstances feel less overwhelming.

Find Advocates Who See the Person, Not Just the Patient

Every individual has a unique history, personality, preferences, and way of communicating. The most effective care teams take time to understand who a person is beyond their diagnosis. Katie was more than a patient recovering from illness; she was a wife, mother, friend, and fiercely independent woman with her own goals and wishes. When caregivers and healthcare providers understand the whole person, they can make decisions that better support dignity, independence, and general well-being.

The Power of the Right Care Team

Perhaps the greatest lesson from Katie's story is that no family should have to face life's challenges alone. A knowledgeable and compassionate care team can provide guidance, advocacy, support, and encouragement during some of life's most difficult moments. When families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals work together, they create a system of care that helps older adults receive better support and maintain the dignity, independence, and quality of life they deserve.