Speaker: Dorien Jaeger
How did you become a caregiver?
Dorien Jaeger: I became a caregiver because I have been best friends with Nelsie for 30 years. And I feel like I've been helping her and taking care of her for all these years, for anything that she's ever needed help with. And eventually she needed more help due to some health problems. And so we decided since I retired as a teacher that I would have time to help her more often, like more full time. So we discussed it and we thought it would be a great idea for both of us. So it could help me and I was helping her anyway and she's comfortable with me because she knows I truly care about her. So the experience has been really nice and really comfortable, I would say for both of us and it makes us both feel really happy. So I'm proud and happy to be able to do it.
What does it mean to you to be a Caregiver?
Dorien Jaeger: What it means to me to be a caregiver is, it means a lot. Um I feel happy of course, to be helping someone, especially my best friend. Um Due to the fact that I'm not teaching full time, it does make me feel like I'm giving and it's very rewarding for me and for Nelsie and I'm also showing compassion and empathy for a person who's going through a very hard time. So it makes me feel a lot of gratitude to be able to be a caregiver.
