When I was a kid I thought my grandpa was a cowboy. He owned horses, he chewed a toothpick between his lips, and he wore a Stetson cowboy hat. While he wasn’t really a bonafide cowboy, he did wear many different hats throughout his 94 years. He first wore an apprentice cap before donning a fireman’s helmet working for LAFD until his retirement. That’s when he wore a bucket hat, while he and my grandmother would sit in their tiny rowboat, casting fishing lines into the lake that was nestled at the perimeter of their property.

Like my grandpa, I too have worn many different hats, mainly in various careers before trading them for the model called motherhood. I’m now wearing a proud hat at Exceptional Senior Placement where I help folks, just like my grandparents, who ultimately moved to an assisted living community. I cherish the days of those visits. We ate dinner in the dining hall among all their new friends before retiring to the activities room for games and a movie. When my grandpa’s dementia worsened, our family transitioned them to a Board & Care where they could be nurtured in a smaller environment. I’m eternally grateful for their caregivers, Filo and Ruth, who cared for them during those difficult years. It’s at this home where my grandfather ultimately passed away, wearing a hat that was knit by my grandmother’s hands. I still have that hat, along with his Stetson. Each serve as reminders that we all wear different hats over the years of our lives. I’m proud to wear my current hat as Client Services Manager in honor of my grandparents, Junious and Pearl Burrage.

Inspiration.Kindness.Compassion.Patience. Perseverance. These are a few of the words that come to mind when I think of my mom. She was the oldest of six girls who grew up in a small fishing village called Spencer's Cove located on Long Island in Newfoundland. She left the island at the age of 17 and by the time she was 20 she was a registered nurse. I had the privilege of growing up with this amazing woman who, as my role model, was instrumental in shaping my life. My own career path took me into hospitals and skilled nursing facilities as a Registered Dietitian. My first opportunity to work with seniors began in a Continuing Care Retirement Community when I was a twenty-something Dietitian. While I have worn many hats through my career, it is those first years of working in a retirement community that left a lasting impression. I can recall many of the residents, the stories we shared and the impact they had on my life. Part of my professional and personal journey has been learning to understand dementia and dementia care.There is nothing more informative than being thrown into the deep end of the pool while helping a loved one with dementia. That’s what it felt like after my mom was diagnosed with Azheimer’s disease. While I learned a lot through supporting my mom during this time, I also began working in a senior community that specializes in dementia care. Being in the presence of over one hundred residents who have been diagnosed with dementia reinforces the value of listening, patience and truly being in the moment.

My career choices have left me with a passion for helping people. Prior to starting with Exceptional Senior Placement (ESP), I spent several years teaching families about senior housing and supporting them as they made their decisions – either for themselves or, more often, for a loved one. It is truly an honor to work as part of the ESP team and to use my experience and knowledge to help guide families in the process of choosing senior housing. My mom passed away several years ago and she continued to teach me the value of living until her final moments. It was a gift to help care for her when she was on Hospice and to hold her hand as she said good-bye. Now, she lives in my heart. I will always be grateful for her love, her kindness and especially for her patience.

With the loss of my Father In Law thrusting my family’s life in to a spiral as they tried to navigate care options, Hospice, and even just “the new day to day” when the stable rock of the family suddenly needed help, life took a new perspective for me. My corporate career just did not seem fulfilling in the right way for me personally and my husband and I knew we wanted to do something more meaningful for us in impacting others.

We had been forced in to a personal “crash course” around aging and care and had so much to share from it that I knew could help the many people thrown in to that same position every day. I wanted to be that person I wish we had as a trusted resource to help us navigate a road that seems anything but clear.
When my own Father then took a sudden decline just a couple years later, this path of working in the care industry got that much more personal. He had been “my rock” since the day I was born always being there to help me and I wanted to be of the best help and support to him. It was empowering to know what care was needed and feel that I could make the decisions that were best for him, knowing where to turn to get the help my family and I needed all along the long and difficult journey.
I keep these personal experiences close to my heart constantly and while no two situations are ever alike there is always a part of me in the shoes of anyone I am helping navigate care choices for someone dear to their hearts. I feel so thankful to have this trust placed in me with something of utmost importance and to be fulfilled by this each day.

I didn’t realize at the time that my Dad’s journey with cancer would forever change the course of my life. You see I felt I was doing well. The company my partners and I founded had just celebrated our 15th year in business and all the hard work was coming to fruition. Then the news came that my Dad’s cancer which had been stable for multiple years had started to grow. We were back navigating the overwhelming world of appointments tests, transplant lists, clinical trials all the while my Dad couldn’t keep weight on and he ultimately decided to transition on to hospice. I had no idea what hospice was, but they ended up being my saving grace and played a huge role as to how I ended up here today. I was lucky, I got to be a caregiver for my Dad through the end of his life. I had no idea what I was doing and the world all around me seemed to be falling apart trying to navigate the world vs. my Dad’s specific wishes. But I was determined to care for my Dad and honor his wishes as I wanted him to know how much I loved him every second that I could. During the challenging times, my only guiding light was the Hospice team who educated me with compassion and patience. They explained what was happening to my Dad week to week so I knew what to expect. They taught me techniques to help properly care for him and how to make sure he was as comfortable as possible.
Fast forward and I am back at work reflecting on how grateful I am for what we had built, but to be honest with myself, I helped other companies, and what I did was never going to make a huge impact on someone’s life like the Hospice team did for me. It was time to change the course of my life and that is when my wife and I found the opportunity to take over Exceptional Senior Placement in 2016. A year and a half after my Father passed. This is my opportunity to help families like I myself needed. This is my Why.

From the time I was a child, spending time with elders has always been a part of who I am. My god-parents were Native American and I believe that is where my admiration, my understanding and my compassion truly stemmed from, as their culture defined what it is to respect your elders. I always had an unwavering desire to help those older than me with chores, companionship and anything else that makes their lives easier and more meaningful. The gift of hearing life stories being told and watching faces light up in delight that someone wanted to hear more, will always be my favorite part of spending time with clients and elder friends.

It was my relationship with my maternal grandmother that really opened my eyes to the opportunity I had to work with seniors professionally. She and I were incredibly close; we gabbed on the phone all of the time, I would visit as often as I could, and we would double date with our boyfriends up and down the State. I had decided years ago that I wanted to help families as they navigate aging. I wanted to know all angles of care and so I became a caregiver to seniors in their homes. I went on to care management where I would organize the care for families within their homes and eventually found my way to Exceptional Senior Placement. With all of the knowledge and understanding of in-home care, I wanted to be more hands on with the clients and families themselves, in this journey to find the right place for them. I have had a Grandfather with Alzheimer’s, I have lost a Grandmother to ovarian cancer on hospice and I know the emotional challenges that all of these parts of aging bring into each family. I am grateful and honored that our families allow me to be a part of their journey and allow me to share resources, guidance and compassion in helping them find the right solution for them.