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Caregiver Spotlight
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Professional Live-in Caregiver Spotlight on Sandra B.
Written by Amy Hughes 11/30/2023
“Living the American Dream” often means different things to different people. For one Nigerian immigrant, Sandra, it meant making sacrifices for others in order to provide the best life possible for her three sons.
Born in a small town, at 18, Sandra moved to the city of Onitsha and earned a Bachelors in Physical Therapy. She immediately began helping people heal at a nearby hospital, but when a good friend hit a rough patch in life, she asked for Sandra’s support which involved the two traveling nearly 5,000 miles together to the United States.
Once in the US, Sandra began volunteering as a physical therapist at a hospital and helping a friend with elder care. It didn’t take long for this amazing woman to find love. She married and had three sons, but life wasn’t always perfect. When her third son was just two months old, Sandra and her husband filed for divorce. As a single mother, she was scared but determined to give her sons everything she knew they deserved. So, she drew on her strength and passion and began a career as a live-in caregiver.
While live-in caregivers have the opportunity to earn the kind of money Sandra needed to provide for her sons, the work is not for the faint of heart. Sandra spent many sleepless nights staying up with restless patients. She also had to deal with not seeing her sons for long stretches of time. Sandra explains, “You must be patient and do it because you love it.” Being a live-in caregiver is emotionally demanding and Sandra endured the loss of multiple patients over her career, but she persevered for her sons.
Like most American Dream stories, Sandra’s hard work, sacrifice, and determination provided a happy ending. With her earnings from being a live-in caregiver she was single-handedly able to pay for two college educations and two law school degrees, one being from the prestigious Georgetown School of Law. This accomplishment set her sons and future generations on track to achieve their American Dreams. Now semi-retired, Sandra spends her free time in an RV traveling the country she has come to love and call home.