Family Caregiver Hero Award: An Adoring Granddaughter with an Entrepreneurial Spirit, Sara M.
Caregiver: Sara Mason
She’s caring for: Her grandma, Delphine
Winner of: The Family Caregiver Hero Award
Providing Full-Time Memory Care for Grandma
Sara Mason has provided full-time care for her grandma, Delphine, since May of 2022. Delphine is in stage six of Alzheimer’s disease and needs help eating, bathing, and managing her medications. These responsibilities take significant time and effort, but Mason says she strives to provide the same type of care that her Grandma always gave her.
“[My grandma] is the most amazing human being I’ve ever met. She took care of everyone around her, and she took me in and raised me from the time I was 13 because I had a rocky home life. We’re like best friends.”
A Business Inspired by Necessity
Mason left her career as an emergency room technician to become a full-time caregiver. This decision had a significant impact on the family’s finances, but Mason was determined to make it work.
Five years ago, when Delphine was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Mason began laying the groundwork for the present. “I wanted a backup plan with a job that [grandma] could go on with me,” she says. “So, we deliver flowers. We put flower arrangements together and I filled her yard with flowers. I call it the flower cottage. Even though she lives with my husband and me, her house is 10 minutes away, and we made about 700 deliveries this past summer.”
Not only does the flower business provide an income, but it’s also allowed Mason and Delphine to bond. “It’s just been a wonderful thing,” Mason says. “And I know that the most rewarding thing is that I’m making memories with her. She may not remember them, but it’s there.”
Building a Legacy
The family flower business has made caregiving easier, but it’s also inspired Mason to pursue memory care advocacy. She’s currently enrolled in the American Peony Society’s Mentorship Program and hopes to use the skills she learns there to eventually plant memory gardens throughout Northwest Indiana.
Share Your Caregiving Story
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