For one mother and home health nurse, caregiving has always been more than a job. It is a calling that took on an even deeper meaning when her eldest son became paralyzed.
Today, her 24-year-old son requires long-term, direct care. Alongside caring for him, she is raising three younger children, ages 17, 15 and 13, while continuing her career as a home health nurse. After many years in healthcare, she knows what it means to care for others. But through the Center for Caregiver Advancement (CCA), she learned an important lesson that she had sometimes overlooked: self-care is an essential part of caring for others.
Full Circle: A Caregiver’s Role That Begins and Ends at Home
Professionally, Cyndria Williams has spent years working as a home health nurse. But when her oldest son became paralyzed, caregiving became personal.
Her son is an In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) member and Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) member, and she provides the long-term care he needs at home. Her family has embraced this responsibility together. Her three younger children help care for their older brother, creating a family-centered circle of support.
And there is something else that makes their family dynamic special: despite his circumstances, her oldest son maintains a high-spirited outlook and even helps his mother with his younger siblings.
For Cyndria, caregiving is not simply a responsibility. It is part of the way she has chosen to live her life.
“I’ve been in healthcare for 25 years. This is my calling from God, to help others. And caregiving teaches me to be a better person overall.”
A Chance to Learn Something New
Although she was already an experienced healthcare professional and caregiver, she welcomed the opportunity to strengthen her skills through CCA’s IHSS Caregiving Essentials training course. She first heard about the course through her son’s therapist. Then came a call from IHSS and an email inviting her to participate in a Randomized Controlled Trial studying the impact of caregiver training at CCA.
Cyndria was randomly selected for the training group—and she considers herself fortunate that she was.
“I feel so lucky that I was randomly selected to be in the training group and attend the classes,” she says.
What she discovered through the training was that even experienced caregivers can learn new ways to approach this essential work— and it starts with taking better care of themselves.
Self-Care: The Lesson She Didn’t Know She Needed
Of all the topics covered in the course, one lesson stood out above the rest: self-care. Like many caregivers, Cyndria had developed a habit of putting everyone else first. Between caring for her son, raising three younger children and working as a professional nurse, taking time for herself could easily fall to the bottom of the list.
The training at CCA helped her recognize that self-care isn’t selfish. It is necessary.
“The biggest help for me was learning to practice self-care because, like a lot of caregivers, I often forget to take care of myself,” she says.
The self-care module in CCA’s course gave her practical tools she could put into action immediately. Today, she makes a point of doing something for herself every day—even if it is as simple as taking a walk or going jogging. Those small moments have made a big difference. Whatever form it takes, that “me” time helps her “re-energize and recharge.”
“If I cannot do that, then I cannot provide quality care to my son and others. I have learned that self-care is another caregiving skill.”
The lesson has become part of the way she approaches caregiving—not only for her son, but for the people she serves through her work as a home health nurse.
After all, providing quality care requires energy, vigilance, patience and compassion. And those qualities are easier to sustain when caregivers remember that their own well-being matters, too.
Sometimes, the Most Important Lessons Come From Being Heard
The course offered more than practical caregiving knowledge. It also gave her a community where caregivers could share their experiences openly.
She credits her CCA instructor, Marlene Lopez, with creating that environment.
“She was always patient with me and the other students,” Cyndria says. “She listens well, without judgement, and she gives good feedback.”
With Marlene’s thoughtful and empathetic approach, students felt comfortable sharing their own caregiving experiences—even in a class of 30 to 40 people. That sense of openness became one of the most valuable parts of the experience.
“Marlene is so easygoing and accessible that the entire class of 30-40 students felt comfortable sharing their caregiving experiences,” she recalls. “That was a very important and valuable aspect of the class, and our learning experience as caregivers.”
For her, it was a reminder that caregivers need support, too. Learning happens not only through instruction, but also through listening, sharing and realizing that others understand the challenges of caregiving.
A Calling for a Lifetime
Cyndria plans to remain in caregiving for the long term. Her son will need direct care for the rest of his life, and she remains deeply committed to providing him with the quality care he deserves. But her commitment extends beyond her own family.
After 25 years in healthcare, she continues to see caring for others as her calling. She has passed that spirit of service on to her children, too.
“I’ve raised my four kids this way, too,” she says. “They are amazing kids and they all help me with my older son, too.”
Her family has learned that caregiving is something they can give to one another—and that helping others can be both challenging and deeply rewarding.
Treat Others the Way You Would Want to Be Treated
Cyndria’s advice to other caregivers is grounded in compassion, respect and safety.
“Treat others the way you would want to be treated,” she says.
For her, that means providing person-centered care. It means respecting her consumer’s decisions and wishes, and always putting their safety first.
“First and foremost, make sure they are safe. The consumer’s safety is the most important thing.”
This is advice shaped by decades in healthcare and years of personal caregiving—but also by something more fundamental: empathy. Cyndria believes that caregivers have an important role in helping others understand what caregiving truly means.
“People need to understand that giving your time to another through caregiving is so important and so rewarding!” she says.
An Investment That Helps Caregivers and the People They Serve
The training did not stay in the classroom. Cyndria brought what she learned home, and shared the new knowledge with her family. She brought her training into her professional work, and is already seeing the positive impact.
Cyndria says if someone is considering taking a CCA caregiving training course, she has a simple message: do it.
“This class will benefit you in the long run because it will help you through life,” she says.
The training gave her practical knowledge about nutrition and caregiving, but its most lasting lesson may have been one that reaches beyond caregiving itself: taking care of yourself enables you to keep taking care of others.
For a mother caring for her son, a nurse caring for her patients and a family caring for one another, that lesson has become part of her everyday life.
Because sometimes, becoming a better caregiver starts with recognizing that the caregiver deserves care, too.
