Spotlight on IWA PAs
Share this Article
For Alexander Deziri-Amahson, having a PA that he can trust – and that he can have a laugh with – has been invaluable. Edel first started working with Alexander in November, and since then, they’ve built up a great working relationship.
Edel visits Alexander in his home in North Cork four days a week, where she helps him with his physio exercises or getting out into the community. When Spoke Out caught up with Alexander and Edel on one of her visits, it was immediately obvious that not only do they work well together, but that they have plenty of craic too.
“We clicked straight away,” Edel says from Alexander’s home. “I have several other IWA members I work with and I’m very fortunate, I click with them all. I work with a few different people, and there’s no mollycoddling with me – I’m here to do a job! But then there are times when we do have the craic, once my job is done. That comes after.”
For Alexander, he realised just how important it is to have a reliable PA when a power cut at his home meant that he was unable to get out of bed.
“Where I live in the countryside, sometimes there will be a power cut. One day, the lights went out with no notice,” Alex tells Spoke Out.
Without power, Alex was unable to adjust his bed to get to his wheelchair. To make matters even worse, he had no phone credit, so he was unable to call IWA or Edel directly to ask for help. In the end, he was left with no choice but to call the Gardaí, who called Edel on his behalf.
“They called me back and said she’s on her way already,” Alex says.
Edel went straight to Alex and was able to get his generator working so he could get out of bed. That small act of kindness solidified their relationship.
“I keep saying, it’s my job – it’s just what I do,” Edel tells Spoke Out. “I do it at home, I do it in my personal life, and I do it at work. That particular day, Alex couldn’t get out of bed. I’m 10 minutes away from Alex anyway, so if I couldn’t do it, I would have called somebody that would have made their way over for me. I know that Alex has to get out of bed, he can’t stay in it.”
“He would have been in complete darkness for the day.”
"I always look forward to seeing her"
When asked how much Edel’s support means to him, Alexander is momentarily lost for words.
“I can’t even address that – she’s like family to me now!” he says. “The weekend can’t go fast enough, I look forward to seeing her on a Monday. I always look forward to seeing her. It’s part of my day, and without it, my day is incomplete.”
Like most of us, Edel admits that she’s not the best at accepting praise – but she’s still delighted to be able to support Alexander.
“I tend to stay in the background, but I make noise if I have to – believe me, if I need something for any of my guys, I’ll start shouting and roaring.”
Edel has been a PA now for 11 years, and she’s never looked back.
“I had done the courses and everything, but in terms of going out working in the community, I had no experience. I had worked in a factory for 21 years and I kind of needed a change. Sometimes it can be challenging, but it’s so rewarding.”
Her advice to anyone considering a career as a PA is to give it a go and see what they think.
“Just try it. It was a big change for me, but I just took that step. I love it, there’s no day that’s the same. Every hour is different, and you meet fabulous people along the way.”
We are proud to be recognised as one of Ireland’s Best Employers in the Sunday Independent’s annual listing and we are currently recruiting Personal Assistants and Healthcare Assistant roles across Ireland, check out a full list here and how to apply.