Yan Li Xiao is a sophomore at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, studying Biology, Health, and Society on a pre-dental track. Her goal is to become a translational scientist by pursuing both a D.D.S. and a PhD. Beyond caregiving, she works as a dental assistant, a research assistant at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, and a research intern at a startup company. She is a passionate advocate for health equity, particularly for patients with limited English proficiency, and runs an electric bike e-commerce business on the side.
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Yan Li came to CareYaya to gain clinical experience working with older patients and to grow comfortable working with people from various backgrounds. Over six to twelve months, she has cared for several individuals, most of them over the age of 80.
The person she sees every weekend is living with heart failure and significant mobility challenges following a car accident several years ago. Her condition requires a salt-restricted diet and careful daily management. On each visit, Yan Li helps transfer her in and out of bed, assists with dressing and toileting, prepares her food, takes her vital signs, and cares for her dogs. She has also recently begun offering massage therapy, going so far as to buy her a massage gun with interchangeable heads as a Christmas gift to help manage the fluid buildup and swelling in her feet and legs caused by her heart failure.
What stayed with her most, though, was not the clinical work. She remembers being quiet and reserved during their first interactions in early July. Over time, that changed. She found herself looking forward each weekend to sharing things about her week with her patient. She also took care of her two dogs, making sure they were well-fed and brushed. One of them passed away recently. She is glad to have been there to make her last moments more comfortable.
The experience has made her a better healthcare provider in training, more practiced in caring for older individuals living with disabilities, dementia, and mobility difficulties. But the deeper shift is in how she understands the role itself. Caregiving is not something you show up to and wait out. It asks you to be both mentally and physically present, to see the person in front of you not as a patient in a clinical sense but as someone whose life outside the hospital or clinic is just as worth understanding.
Her advice is straightforward: don't treat it like a regular job where you are watching the clock. Treat it as an opportunity to learn about the experiences of people outside the clinical setting, and to think seriously about what can be done to improve them.