The Granddaughter’s Journey: Rachel Hiles on Love, Legacy, and Caregiving

Описание: Welcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood! In today’s heartfelt conversation, Kim sits down with Rachel Hiles, a dedicated granddaughter who became her grandmother’s primary caregiver for over seven years. Together, they explore the unique challenges and profound rewards of caring for an aging loved one, especially when family support is limited.

Rachel opens up about her “granddaughter’s journey,” sharing candid lessons on love, legacy, and the realities of balancing personal life with the demanding role of caregiver. She also discusses her motivation behind creating the website takingcareofgrandma.com, a resource born from her desire to inspire and support young caregivers like herself.

Tune in as Rachel offers practical advice on helping seniors age in place, tips for managing outside help, and reflections on finding purpose after loss. Whether you’re a caregiver or know someone who is, this conversation is filled with empathy, wisdom, and hope for anyone navigating the second half of life.

Contact Rachel:
Website: www.TakingCareofGrandma.com
Taking Care of Grandma Rap:    • Taking Care of Grandma Rap  
www.SandwichedKC.com

About Rachael:
I am in my mid-30s and like to refer to myself as an aspiring local celebrity do-gooder. I graduated with my Master's of Public Administration from UMKC. I have spent the past thirteen years building a career helping disabilities in a variety of capacities. I started out as a direct support professional (in layman’s terms: paid caregiver), supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live independently in their homes, to put myself through undergrad.

Shortly after I started doing that, I also joined the ranks of millions of Americans who have served with AmeriCorps, a national service program that supports many vital social services and community programs across the country. During my AmeriCorps service, I started a youth program for underserved Latino youth with disabilities with the goal of building social and independent living skills, increasing community integration, and volunteering at a local Latino-serving community organization. The program is still there, ten years later.

After I earned my bachelor's, I had to get a ‘real job.’ I spent a year as a QDDP, a supervisor over the DSPs who work in people’s homes. I really loved that job but only stayed there for one year, when I received an offer, I could not refuse to go to work at a department of my alma mater which is a statewide, federally supported powerhouse of research and training geared towards improving the social status, civil rights, and quality of life of people with disabilities.

My life is much different now than I would have ever dreamed before I took on this role. Now, my life revolves around staying employed while maintaining my caregiving responsibilities. Through all of these changes and experiences, I have learned a lot, and I want to share it with you. I hope you will join me as I continue on my adventures in taking care of my grandma, and we can learn something from each other along the way.
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#caregiving #estateplanning #elderlaw #caregiveradvice #healthandwellnessforseniors