Dee Freeman has been a nurse from an early age. In high school, she helped care for her nephew, who was diagnosed with leukemia when he was just seven months old.
“I looked up to the people who took care of him and taught us what we needed to know to care for him ourselves,” she said. “During his many hospital stays and procedures, nurses were so kind and compassionate — not only to him but to our entire family.”
Inspired by this experience with her nephew, Dee thrust herself into the field of nursing and became a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) at the tender age of 17. She went on to gain a wealth of knowledge and rise through the ranks. While she’s a seasoned veteran at this point, Dee is new to the CarDon & Associates family. When she started as the director of nursing for the senior living management company’s community, Morristown Manor, in March of this year, she had to hit the ground running, as COVID-19 had just taken hold.
Within her first two weeks at the community, Dee had to deal with cases of COVID and keeping residents safe through quarantine protocols. It was a sudden and unexpected challenge, but the team spirit that CarDon instills helped her persevere through this taxing time.
“Being part of a team that pulls together and does what needs to be done during the toughest times is an amazing feeling,” she said.
Overcoming Challenges with Team Spirit
Dee fondly recalls releasing the residents from quarantine in May and celebrating everyone for all the hurdles they overcame.
“When we took them out of quarantine, we brought them down a little red runway and let them ring a bell, and we played music to celebrate,” she said. “The residents loved this. Some of them cried tears of joy because they were so happy. It was such an awesome feeling to know that we got through this tough time together as a team.”
Outside of CarDon, Dee is a member of two other teams. She serves as a firefighter and EMT for the Everton Volunteer Fire Department. She is also the mother to six children and grandmother to one grandson, with two more grandchildren on the way. She is always striving to care for others. Therefore, Dee carries the CarDon team spirit with her every day.
