Woman of the Year 2020: Jenny Irons

Our lovely Care Assistant, Jenny Irons, has been named as Woman of the Year 2020 by Slimming World after an incredible health and weight loss journey where she lost a staggering 17 stone!

Jenny joined Bluebird Care in June 2020 amidst her incredible health and weight loss journey, which has led her to being named Woman of the Year 2020 by Slimming World! Joining Bluebird Care was a complete career change for Jenny, who said “I’ve had a total career change since Covid-19 and decided to become a carer. The service that Bluebird Care provides is fantastic, not only for our customers but working for them. Caring for people that need help and support to make their days easier is so rewarding, I wished I’d done care work years ago.”

When Jenny joined our team, she received a lot of training and support to feel confident and comfortable moving from her previous corporate roles into a more practical care setting. Jenny quickly progressed from our Domiciliary team onto our Rapid Response team, which supports customers with end-of-life care within their own homes. Since joining the team, Jenny has taken everything in her stride, built fantastic relationships with her colleagues, is always smiling and has such a positive energy. We receive fantastic feedback from her colleagues, the customers and their families, regularly, including a customer who said: “it’s a relief knowing that ‘mum’ is receiving care from someone who not only carries out her duties but who goes the extra mile to be kind, thoughtful and sensitive.”

Jenny has lost a staggering 17 stone and dropped from a size 34 to a size 10, meeting her target during the first lockdown – just as she decided to change careers and began working with us. She said: “My BMI has gone from 54 to 22, I’ve swapped my size 34 clothes for trendy size 10s, and I just can’t stop smiling. I’m much more confident and I’d love to start dating after Covid. Being named Woman of the Year is like the cherry on the cake…or should I say fruit salad.”  

“Before, I only ever walked from my car to work – I was too scared to go any further, as I’d get out of breath easily and need to sit down. Now, I can walk for miles – I’m the new Forrest Gump! I’ve joined a gym to help tone up, too.

We couldn’t be prouder that Jenny has been named Woman of the Year and we think this is very well deserved! Congratulations Jenny!