I am a divorced mother of three girls and a grandmother of two. I turn 52 in January. Some of you may find that too young to be a grandmother, but I am lucky I can actually run with my grandchildren. I have a few gray hair in my head. I haven’t decided if I will dye my hair when I have more then 10 or leave it alone. I love how mixed gray looks on other people so I can’t wait to see myself like this one day. I am the face of direct-care workers.
In 2003, I lost my job with HUD. I always had been gainfully employed so healthcare was never a question. Cobra was offered to me but the cost once unemployed was out of the question. Around the time I lost my job, I started helping my youngest daughter and her friends when they needed care for their children, and before long I was running a day care center from my home. I loved working at home because I could now help my own mother, who is physically disabled.
Then taking care of my mother became my full time job. I am paid to give complete care for my mother through the Delaware County Services for the Aging.
I love caring for and helping people. I honestly think I am great at it. But I have recently begun to think maybe, for my own welfare, I should go out and seek other employment because I need health care. I can’t go to the doctor when I need to, and I am worried if I get sick or hurt that no one will be there to take care of my mother and my children.
Health insurance would cost me $450 dollars a month. I am not making enough money to afford anything even close to that. I am torn between getting a job outside of my house to get health insurance and staying home to take care of my mother, who needs me. I do not want to put my mother into a nursing home. She wants to stay at home where she is comfortable; where she has lived for so many years.
I never thought I would have to choose between my own health and the health of my loved ones.
Melva Williams
Home Care Aide
Media, PA
