The Story of a Home Based Care Worker: Tina's Story

My name is Tina, and I provide home based care for Eunice from 10 at night until 7 in the morning. Then, from 8 in the morning to 1 in the afternoon I go to my other job at a developmental disability agency in town. I'm married, with two grown daughters -- one in the Army, and one in Connecticut. I had a lot of experience caring for developmentally disabled people in agency settings, and I have taken care of family members at home, but this is the first time I've done professional home care. I just saw Eunice's ad in the paper, answered it, and we really hit it off.

Eunice is unique -- just wonderful, and a good employer. She's independent, and does a lot for herself, but there are certain things she just can't do, and I enjoy helping her. I'm glad to help her stay in her own home, and not have to go to a nursing home.

I've been interested in caring for others from a very young age. In school, when somebody was getting picked on, I would stick up for her. I guess I've always been a bit of a mother hen!

Recently, though, I've had to worry about myself, too. There's a history of diabetes in women in my family, and lately I've been having all the signs -- unquenchable thirst, frequent bathroom breaks, dizziness, and sleeplessness. My mother gave me a monitor for my sugar levels and I've tested as high as 420 -- you can go into a coma at 500.

Eunice called the diabetes clinic for me, and they told me to go to the ER. But I can't afford to do that. I took my second job because I thought I could get health insurance, but you need to work 26 hours a week to be eligible and they will only give me 25. For $400 a month I got added onto my husband's plan, but the deductible is $2,500, so I still can't afford to get the care and medications I need to take care of this. I'm between a rock and a hard place here.

I heard there may be a full time opening at the other agency that would have health insurance. I'm tired now, I can only imagine how I'm going to feel working two full time jobs. I'd like to make it work -- I don't want to give up working for Eunice, because she relies on me, and I have a conscience. But I also don't want to end up in a coma, or dead. If I don't take care of myself, I'm no good to anybody.