Later in life

Lucy Drury is a good example of how care can become a career later in life once family commitments lessen.

Lucy did Health and Social Care at college but had her first child at the age of 17 and then three more after this in fairly quick succession, and she wanted to wait until her children had all started school before finally starting her own career.

And she hasn’t looked back since!

Lucy joined Caremark Mansfield and Ashfield in 2023 and works around the school hours and every other weekend, to enable her to continue spending quality time with her family.

“It’s a great company to work for because they are so understanding and flexible and always very supportive,” says Lucy.

Lucy has several regular customers but spends a lot of time with a gentlemen called Vilnis, who is largely non-verbal but has made great progress with Caremark’s support.

This led to her recently receiving one of our GEM awards, with our Care Manager Chloe saying: “Lucy has truly transformed Vilnis’s life by understanding what motivates him and adapting his care plan to ensure he has the best quality of life.

“By listening to and involving him in decisions about his care, Lucy has made him feel heard, valued, and empowered.”

“I have the best relationship with Vilnis,” says Lucy.

“He has such a dry sense of humour, and we have a real laugh and giggle, and he can even now say a few words, which is amazing.

“When we’re not together, I miss him just as much as he misses me, but it’s lovely that we have been able to make this bond and break down the barriers for him.

“I am a firm believer that if someone can live at home, then they should and our job as carers is to make sure they remain as independent as possible.

“This doesn’t feel like a job to me, and I would recommend it to anyone.”