March is National Women’s History Month. Have you ever stopped to think about the women who made lasting contributions to caregiving through the ages? Here are four women who paved the way for today’s caregivers.

Anne Sullivan

Anne Sullivan developed a bacterial eye infection when she was five and lose her eyesight. Eventually, she attended the Perkins School for the Blind. After graduation, she was hired to teach Helen Keller, a blind and deaf girl in Alabama.

After seeing that Helen did not learn effectively with traditional methods, Anne focused her lessons on things that interested her. Within half a year, Anne had learned hundreds of words, Braille, and some math skills.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt didn’t have the best of childhoods. Her mother and brother died of diphtheria when she was eight and her father, an alcoholic, died two years later. She and her other brother were taken in by their grandmother.

At 20, she married her father’s fifth cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, even though his mother was against the relationship. It’s her marriage that further cemented her role as a caregiver. He became paralyzed and she cared for him and made many of his public appearances on his behalf. She also started a yearly picnic for troubled youths and founded a business to provide work opportunities for farmers and their families.

Florence Nightingale

While her parents wanted her to marry well and raise children, Florence Nightingale ignored their wishes and left home. Her goal was to study medicine and become a nurse.

During the Crimean War, she was appalled by the conditions of the medical setting soldiers were being treated in. She pushed for better hygiene and a cleaner environment. When her changes were implemented, the number of deaths declined.

Mother Teresa

Teresa Bojaxhiu left home at 18 with the goal of becoming a missionary. She joined the Sisters of Loreto in Ireland where she learned English. A few years later, she was teaching in Calcutta and was unhappy with the poverty she continued to witness.

Mother Teresa’s goal became to serve the impoverished by living with them. That led to her first foundation “Missionaries of Charity.” She would spend her life helping others in need of love and care.

Those caregivers shaped the way for the millions of unpaid and paid caregivers helping all ages today. If your parents are in need of elder care services, talk to an agency. You can arrange services based on their needs and adjust them as your parents’ needs change. Call an elder care agency to get started.

If You Or An Aging Loved One Are Considering Hiring Elder Care in Redington Beach, FL, Please Contact The Caring Staff At Assisting Hands Home Care Today! 727-748-4211.