My name is Anton Jr. Lucañas Magallanes. I am 30 years old. I am a male and single. I am from the Philippines, and currently in Norway. I spent 28 years of my life in the Philippines with my family and most of all with my grandparents. I grew up with my grandparents ever since I was a child in a small island called Camotes Island because my mother needs to travel to the city to provide for my needs. My Mother is a single mother. My grandfather is a fisherman while my grandmother is a vendor selling the fishes that my father catches. Many times, I go with them selling fish and catching fish in the sea.

My relationship with my grandparents is something I will always cherish the most. They provided me with great love that cannot be measured. As I get older, my mother decided that I must pursue studies in the city and to become a professional in the future. My grandparents followed me to the city and continually take good care of me. By the time I graduated high school, I decided to take up Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in a university. It is one of the best universities in the Philippines and I am thankful that I was accepted. After four years of dedication and hard work, I was able to graduate. After I graduated, I then took the nursing licensure board examination to become a registered nurse. I passed the examination only once and I became a registered nurse. My grandparents are enormously proud of me because of my success.

As a nurse, I have provided care not only in my workplace, but also in my family. When my auntie got pregnant and about to deliver her newborn child. Due to the absence of the father, I became a father by guiding her towards safe delivery and taking good care of her newborn. She had cesarian delivery and cannot manage to take good care her newborn baby. As a result, I took good care of the newborn child and the baby was healthy under my care. When my uncle had a bad medical condition in gastrointestinal tract, I continually took good care of him and made sure that all his medications are taken religiously. He is still alive until today, and I am happy.

All the sudden, my grandfather got stroke and suffered cardiovascular accident affecting the left side of his body. I was so afraid that time that I taught that he might die. I took care of him with the help of my family. I needed to help him in mobilization and guided him in taking his medications because of the paralysis of his body extremities especially on the left side and he cannot swallow food and medications properly. I needed to assist him in changing adult diapers, in urination, in changing body positions every two hours to prevent bed sores and making sure that his vital signs are in normal range. It was not an easy time for me, but I decided to make sure that he is in a good state of health. After few months of being admitted in the hospital, he was finally discharged, but still, he cannot move his extremities properly. At home, I needed to persistently make sure to mobilize his extremities and move him around to have fast recovery. It takes so much patience before you can be able to see results. I believe that it is how a nurse should be, is to be patient always. I have learned so much when I took good care of my grandfather. By the time I am already working in the hospital, my grandmother suffered with dementia and it affected her daily life. She constantly forgets her medications, and always lost her attention to do important daily task. The doctor advised me to constantly guide her in everyday activities and making sure that she takes her medications regularly. I always need to plan on how I can be able to help my grandmother who was starting to suffer with dementia. It was not easy at first because I needed to constantly remind her about taking the right medication and taking it at the right time. As being the one responsible for taking good care of both my grandparents, it gave me the confidence on how I can be as a good caregiver in the future.

After few years of working in the hospital in all areas specifically on elderly care, I became a senior nurse in the hospital, and I trained new staff nurses about nursing procedures and proper preparation of medications. I was trained for first aid. I was trained, and I then passed the Basic Life Support (BLS) Program under American Heart Association, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Program under American Heart Association, Pediatric Advance Life Support (PALS) Program under American Heart Association and trained to do intravenous therapy. I was assigned to the intensive care unit many times because of my hard work and neatness in handling my patients. As time goes by, I became a charge nurse in the medical, surgical, pediatric, and obstetric unit. My experiences shaped me to become a good care provider. These experiences can lead me to become an outstanding caregiver.

To my future employer, please do not hesitate to hire me as your caregiver. I know that it may cost a big amount of money, but I promise to do my best to take good care of your elderly with all my heart. Caregiving is always my passion. I am very thankful to God that you came into my life and I pray that God will continually shower you with so many blessings in life. I would love to be part of your family and to be able to be the best caregiver you can have. I have good personality, and I am a very polite person. As a caregiver, I will always make sure that my tasks are done properly and taking note for any changes that happen throughout the day. I am a very cheerful person and loves to sing. My mother is a singer that is why I love music. I cook many kinds of food. I also studied commercial cooking, bread and pastry production and barista in a university to pursue some passions. I can speak English fluently, and I can speak other languages like Norwegian, Tagalog, and Visayan. I am good with housekeeping because I worked in a hotel and in a school. I can wash clothes both by handwashing and by washing machine. I am computer literate and can use Microsoft office very well. I can drive a car both manual and automatic. I can drive on snow or slippery roads. I am very patient and friendly towards others. I am reliable and trustworthy. I have strong faith in God. I have so much good qualities to say, but most of all I am a good caregiver with so much experience. I am a caregiver you can always trust and that is always true with all my heart. Canada, to be honest, was my dream destination ever since I was a child. I only looked at it in the map, but I was hoping that one day I would live in that beautiful country. I am happy that you get to read my letter and hopefully one day, in God’s time, I will be there with you and become your caregiver in Canada.

God Bless You Always.

Sincerely yours,

Anton Jr. Lucañas Magallanes
Caregiver