Guest Blog: Kinga’s Story

What I love most about my job is hearing peoples stories. Why they got into care, what has been their best experience, what has been their worst experience, what has been their toughest experience and what have they learnt about themselve working in care.

Sometimes people tell me they were born to care and others say they fell into it. The great thing is that everyone’s story is so different.

Which is why we have invited one of our team members to be a guest blogger today and to share her story of how and why she got into care.

Meet Kinga, she has worked for Ocala Healthcare for 9 months and has aspirations of being a nurse.

“I’ve always wanted to do something that involved helping people, but I’ve never had enough confidence to actually do anything about it. As a child, I dreamed of being a doctor of any kind! Cardiologist, surgeon, GP, work at the A&E… But I worried so much that I wouldn’t manage the amount of studying that this would require, that I abandoned it. Then, when I grew up a bit more and it came to choosing my path and university, some of my friends suggested that I should consider nursing. I laughed at them and said that there’s absolutely no way I’d be able to do that! At the time, my idea of nursing was so wrong. I believed that nurses have the worst job, as they are the ones that have to deal with the most unpleasant parts of caring for and treating the patient. I simply didn’t think that I could handle it. I decided to go with a degree in psychology and become a therapist. However, after two years of university I realized that, as fascinating as it all is, psychology for me is more of an interest than a good career choice. I felt lost, I dropped out and started to work in hospitality as a waitress. I’m an easy-going, open person, so I loved the social side of the job, but I also love a challenge, so quickly I became bored of the same scene and repeating same phrases over and over again… I started looking for a new job, new field.

I looked into office jobs, but without a degree or experience, it was hard to find anything. Besides, sitting behind the desk never appealed to me much anyway… I came across quite a few vacancies in care, but most of them required either experience or a car and I didn’t have any of those. I stayed put. New opportunity fell into my lap within hospitality industry and I became a Front of House Manager. It was exciting, but again after few months I felt unhappy and stuck. Then I found this life changing job offer…

I applied to be a Personal Care Assistant for people with spinal cord injuries. No experience or car required, as it would be a Live In position, so I’d get to travel across the UK as well! I was so nervous, a lot of people (especially those that have known me for a long time) told me that I shouldn’t do this, that this is such a hard work, that I said before that I couldn’t do nursing, so what makes me think I can do this? All those comments caused a lot of doubt and anxiety, but I felt like this was what I needed to do. After all those years of procrastination and not knowing what I want to do with my life, I needed purpose and meaning and I believed there was no better way to get it than simply by giving. I went for it and in serving others I have found myself.

Unfortunately I had to leave this particular job only after few months due to all the travelling having bad effect on my health, but now I mainly work with elderly and adults with learning disabilities and that’s also a fantastic experience, that humbles and teaches respect. I get to meet amazing people! Some fought wars, some travelled the world, some showed me that no matter the disability, it’s still possible to live a very full and happy life. By becoming a carer I learned how patient I can be. How much love and compassion I have for others. It helped me find out so much about human body and brain and it made me aware more than anything in this world that I won’t be forever young and nothing about me is indestructible. It motivates me to look after my health, it helped me give up smoking, minimalize sugar and alcohol intake in my diet. Everyday is challenging, but also so rewarding as I get to make a difference in people’s lives. I’m determined to keep on moving forward and soon will be applying for a nursing degree (yes, the one I laughed off five years ago…)!

So I guess there are two morals to this story. First one is that you shouldn’t worry if you haven’t got a perfect plan for your life. Give yourself time and whatever is in your heart will find a way to come through anyway. The second one would be that being a carer or a nurse is about so much more than what most people think it is. Maybe you should give it a chance too?”

If you would like the opportunity to tell your story, contact Adam at Ocala Healthcare on adam@ocalahealthcare.co.uk.

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