Day by day. That’s how Francis Bennett has earned the love of her clients, the admiration of her beloved Grandma Robin, and the title of our August Aide of the Month. Motivated and determined, Francis knows the only way to accomplish her goals is to take it day by day.
As a child, Francis was greatly influenced by her Grandma Robin, who worked as an LPN. Inspired by her Grandma’s example, Francis became a certified nursing assistant and started working at a nursing home. She soon switched from the fast-paced atmosphere of nursing home work to the more friendly, personal atmosphere of CCOR. “I like the fact that it’s one on one, working with one person, because you get to know them. You get to really know them as a person, get to know their past, get to know them now.”
In addition to health care, Grandma Robin taught Francis other skills she enjoys, like organizing, baking, and even cleaning. “Her house was always clean,” Francis explains, “and I used to follow her around the house, so I got to learn how to do laundry at, like, 6 years old, stuff like that. She was a very big influence on everything from my nursing to my ability to clean to baking. She taught me a lot of those skills. She still to this day sends me recipes all the time,” Francis says with a smile.
Day by day, Francis applies those skills to her work as a home care aide. She helped one client bake a homemade cake with cream cheese frosting for an event at the client’s apartment building. With another client, Francis helped clean and declutter the house. Together they got rid of some items, donated others, and organized what was left.
Day by day was also the only way Francis could get through the ordeal of her son’s premature birth. Her son Kai’dyn was born three months early with severe health problems and had to spend the next eight months in the hospital. Although he still has medical needs, Francis is relieved to finally have Kai’dyn home. “It was scary, my first baby, and he tried to give me a run for my money. It was a lot, but he’s home now. After eight months, he finally came home. And he’s doing great. He’s a fighter, and so can I be,” Francis says.
Today Grandma Robin proudly encourages her granddaughter to continue her career, a goal that Francis shares. Not only does she have the experience and motivation to become a nurse, her experience with CCOR has also instilled confidence in her abilities. Francis would have started nursing school sooner, but life, sometimes, has other plans. Instead of getting ready for school, Francis spent every day for eight months visiting her son in the hospital, which turned out to be hard-earned, real life medical experience.
Francis has learned that no matter how far ahead you plan, the only way to accomplish your goals and overcome challenges is to take it day by day. “Things change every second of every day,” she says, “and you don’t want to plan too far ahead and then not be able to achieve that. You want to just, day by day, second by second, take it one day at a time.”