Indera: Independence and Access for All
The theme of the podcast is independent living and advocacy for people with disabilities.
Indera: Independence and Access for All
Beyond Care: A 21-Year Bond Built on Trust
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
For 21 years, Chad Norton and Marissa Hussein have shared a relationship rooted in trust, respect, compassion, and plenty of humor. In this heartfelt episode, Indera CEO Bruce Drake talks with Chad and Marissa about how they met, the vital role personal care support plays in independence, and how their working relationship grew into a lasting friendship that feels more like family. Together, they reflect on navigating life’s joys and challenges, finding the right support, and the meaningful connection that makes long-term care truly successful.
Welcome And Meet The Guests
Speaker 1Welcome to the Endira Podcast with your host, CEO Bruce Drake.
Speaker 2Hi everyone, I'm Bruce Drake, the CEO at Indera, and I am your host for today's exceptional talk on disabilities. We have a really special show for you today, and I am joined by two special guests, Chad Norton and Marissa Hussein. Before we tell our audience why we have two guests today, Chad, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?
SpeakerI have been involved with the agency when it started as a ARISE. I started there with Community Help. I started on the board there and when I was on the board for seven years, and then I recently took over the loan closet coordinator position. And I love the agency. It's absolutely wonderful. And I love to help the community.
Speaker 2Thank you for that. And we'll we'll have to have you back another time to talk all about the loan closets and the great work that you're doing there. But today we have you here for
Honoring 21 Years Of Care
Speaker 2a different reason. Why don't you introduce Marissa and why she's here today?
SpeakerI am here today to honor Marissa and myself. And I thank Andrew for having us for her 21 years of service. She has been my personal care attendant for 21 years. Um we have been through thick and thin together. She has been through family deaths. She's helped me when I'm sick. She's helped me with my first job, which is with Indera. She helps me every day on a day-to-day basis. Function that I don't know where I would be without her.
Speaker 2Excellent. So Marissa, why don't you tell tell the audience a little bit about yourself?
Speaker 3Well, I've been uh in the healthcare uh since 1999. I worked with multiple agencies. I worked in a nursing home, and then in 2005 I had a phone call from Chad Norton's father and asked me if I would like to come in for an interview.
Speaker 2Did you know the Nortons by then? Did you know the Nortons already?
Speaker 3No.
Speaker 2Okay.
Speaker 3So I came in for the interview and was hired, and here I am. I'm still here in 2026.
Speaker 2So do you remember the first time you two met? I do.
SpeakerI remember like it was yesterday, and I just knew from her demeanor and her caring for people with disabilities. She was the one that I just could tell.
Speaker 2And Marissa, it sounds like love at first sight, is what it sounds like. Marissa, what do you remember from the first time that you met?
Speaker 3Well, we met at Webster Pond. Okay. Dad and his stepmom were there, and you know, Chad was nervous looking at me like I don't know who this woman is, but you know, after a while he started talking to me and he hired me and been here ever since.
SpeakerWell, I was very reluctant because I had lost my mom um a few years before that, and she was my primary caregiver.
Speaker 2Okay.
SpeakerSo it was one of them things where I knew there had to be a major change in order to succeed. But you don't want to make that change.
Speaker 2Right, right. We've all been there.
SpeakerSo I just had to jump in with my wheels wet, if you will, and uh go for it. Boy, I'm glad I did.
Speaker 2That's great. And I'm glad that it's worked out so well. So let me back up a little bit just so that the audience can get an image of you and your needs. What services or what service do you receive from Marissa that she's your personal carate? Right now I receive self-direction. Self-direction from OPWDD?
SpeakerOPWDD Resource Center for Independent Living out of Utica.
Speaker 2Okay, we won't hold that against you.
SpeakerBut I have something here that I will announce here first today.
Speaker 2Okay.
SpeakerI will be switching over to Indera in the coming weeks.
Speaker 2That's fantastic. Welcome aboard. We're thrilled
Daily Life With Self-Direction Support
Speaker 2to have you.
SpeakerI'm thrilled to be part of the family.
Speaker 2Now you use a power uh wheelchair, is that right?
SpeakerThat is correct. I use a power wheelchair, and I've been using one for mobility since the age of three.
Speaker 2Okay. Excellent. All right, so now that we've given a little bit of a visual so that people know who we're talking about and what we're talking about, what does a typical day look like for the two of you?
SpeakerWell, a typical day for me starts personal care in the morning. So we'll come to the house at 6:30. Uh get me.
Speaker 2How many days a week do you think? Monday through Friday. Monday through Friday.
SpeakerI wish I could have her seven days, but labor laws. I know. Uh, but she comes, gets me ready, helps me with personal care. Um, then we usually figure out okay, what do I need to do for the day? And some days let's go down to Indera to help people get items ready to be picked up or file papers or whatever it may be. Other days it might be shopping or going to uh Webster Pond where I volunteer. And other days we just stay at home, she'll help me with uh cleaning, tasks, and reorganizing my room and household chores.
Speaker 2Okay. So that's it really depends on the day, but really she she spends a lot of time helping you with all the the skills of daily living and the activities of daily living that you have to achieve.
SpeakerCorrect. And we're out in the community more than we're in the home.
Speaker 2And do you like that?
SpeakerI do.
Speaker 2Who drives?
SpeakerMarissa does.
Speaker 2How is she as a driver?
SpeakerShe's wonderful. I often want to drive.
Speaker 2Yeah.
SpeakerBut I'm kind of afraid to.
Speaker 2Yeah.
SpeakerBecause if I have like a spasm or something, I wouldn't want to hurt someone.
Trust Through Grief And Change
Speaker 2So your relationship together 21 years, I I haven't checked the numbers, but I would imagine it's longer than most marriages last. So from your perspectives, and I'd like to hear from each of you on this, maybe Marissa first, wh why do you think it's worked out so well?
Speaker 3It's just a connection. You have to have like a connection with someone and respect and compassion and get along with certain people. And I think that this whole time of twenty-one years, like Chad was saying, like there's rough times, there's good times. It's just it's like a brother-sister relationship at this point. Like he's family to me now.
Speaker 2So so when you say rough times, are you talking about one or the other of you as going through something difficult in your personal lives? Or is it rough times in the relationship between the two of you?
Speaker 3No, more of like uh like for instance, one of his staff just passed away two weeks ago. Okay. So I'm here, you know, we were both grieving over that. You know, that was a long time staff member for Chad. That was like how long was he with you? It was in mid-10 years. So like ten years. So that's like the rough time like trying to get through that with Chad because it's very it's I can't explain it. He just gets very uh what's the word?
SpeakerLike he uh the person that passed away used to cook for me all the time.
Speaker 2Okay.
SpeakerSo now every time I eat, I think I'm not gonna get this dish anymore.
Speaker 2Right. Right. Well it's very personal, right? It's much more than a business relationship, right? If you're with someone with for 10 years or 21 years, right, it it has to be there has to be some love and respect there at some point.
SpeakerYeah. Absolutely is, and I've never liked the people that say and especially in the healthcare field like this, don't get connected to your people. That's not possible. No, I mean you don't want them to get romantically connected.
Speaker 2Right.
SpeakerI'm not saying that. I'm just saying you have to be connected with the individuals. Otherwise, you're not gonna succeed.
Speaker 2And is and is that why you feel that the relationship has lasted 21 years? Because of you've been able to create that connection?
SpeakerI do. I think it's a great, like she said, sister-brother relationship.
Speaker 2Okay. So how has your relationship changed over the years?
SpeakerYou know, I I gotta be honest with you, we don't disagree much. Once in a while, she'll tell me, Chad, that's not the best decision. Or let's not do it this way, let's do it that way. And then I I do get frustrated from time to time because nobody likes, you know, to be told that their way isn't a good way, maybe, but then I sit back and I think about it like, oh, this is my she said, okay.
Speaker 2So Marissa, how do you how do you navigate that line, right? 21 years, I think of my relationships. You talked about brother-sister relationship, that's how it feels. I could think about my sisters can say pretty much anything to me, but I can also respond to them not the greatest sometimes. So, how do you navigate that line?
Speaker 3Uh, I just suggest things, uh, you know, see what he wants to do. It's pretty easygoing.
SpeakerI mean, nothing really She's very good at helping me like redirect myself if I get stuck on something because I do get stuck on things.
Speaker 2So, Chad, uh, I'm just trying to put myself in your shoes, right? You're you really depend on your staff for a lot of things.
SpeakerYou know, Bruce, without my staff, I would not be able to do probably 95% of the things I do.
Speaker 2Right. And they have probably seen you at your most vulnerable.
SpeakerYes. Um Marisa wasn't with me at this time, but when my mom passed away, yeah. That was probably the very roughest time ever.
Speaker 2Sure.
SpeakerUm, but I managed to get through it. Um I just thought to myself, my mom wouldn't want it any other way. So I just powered through it, and now my dad, as you know, is not doing the greatest.
Speaker 2Right.
SpeakerSo Morris has been helping me try to make, you know, those arrangements that nobody wants to make to see what my life's gonna look like, God forbid, when uh things have to change.
Speaker 2So it sounds like you're right, we talked earlier about the rough times. It sounds like you're in a little bit of the rough times now. How how long did it take you to to build up the trust, do you think, to get to the point where you could really be free to really discuss things and trust each other that you're that this relationship is gonna work?
SpeakerYou know, I I don't really have a number answer for you. It was just kind of uh she's gonna work.
Speaker 2Okay.
SpeakerI could just feel it like this is the one, and I don't know exactly when that point was. Like I don't know if it was day 90 or Right, sure.
Speaker 2Just at some point you knew.
SpeakerI just knew, oh, she's not gonna say anything about this, that, or this, and I ask her not to.
Speaker 2Okay. And Marissa, did you do you remember a point or how far into it about you were when you were just like, oh, I I can see this working out long term?
Speaker 3Right away.
Speaker 2Right away?
Speaker 3Right away, yeah.
Speaker 2What was it about Chad that you're like, oh, this is gonna be okay?
Speaker 3He's got a good heart. He's got a big heart, you know. He's he's a good guy. And I just knew that. He's alright. I mean, let's not get crazy. But he's a good guy.
Speaker 2Are there are there any moments over the past 21 years that stand out to the two of you?
A Wheelchair Mishap And Hard-Won Lessons
SpeakerUm yes, there's one funny moment I have to tell you. I a few years ago got a new chair. Okay, and it was my first chair that had the tilt switch that wasn't built into the joystick. The tilt switch was by my left arm, and I said to the wheelchair tech when I got in the new wheelchair, I said, Oh, that's a bad spot for that, because I'm gonna hit it and not even realize that I'm hitting it until I'm up in the air. Well, somehow, on the way home, we got on a highway where it's a hit of bump. My hand hit the tilt switch and my feet were in her face. I said, What's going on? Oh boy.
Speaker 3I was like, oh, sorry.
SpeakerSo she had to pull over under the medium of the highway, put the flashers on, get out, put the chair down. It was the whole thing. But I asked her if my feet smelled, and she said no. So that was a good thing.
Speaker 2That's too funny. So so let me hear from the both of you how has this this 21-year relationship, how has this experienced changed you?
SpeakerYou know, it just makes me realize I have eight staff altogether. Okay, and it makes me realize how good my staff is because I've interviewed many people per t part-time, you know, openings.
Speaker 2Yeah.
SpeakerAnd I just say to myself, how do you even function on a daily basis? I mean, some people just have no they'll get up and go, get up and win.
Speaker 2Right, right.
SpeakerBefore they got here.
Speaker 2So um so you have staff how many hours each day about?
SpeakerI have them from seven in the morning.
Speaker 2Okay.
SpeakerWell six thirty, six thirty in the morning until about eleven o'clock at night.
Speaker 2Okay, and you had Marissa who's 21 years, and you had unfortunately the gentleman who just passed away for 10 years. Do you have anyone else who has a long tenure with you?
SpeakerI have another girl that's been here with me uh 14 years.
Speaker 2Wow.
SpeakerMy next one down uh actually works for Indera.
Speaker 2Okay.
SpeakerSusan Stalker.
Speaker 2Oh, we love Sue Stalker.
SpeakerI believe you did a uh podcast with her.
Speaker 2Sue Stalker has been on the podcast, yes.
SpeakerShe uh she's with me through the other agency who will be transferring with me when I come over.
Speaker 2Okay. So, Marissa, how has the experience changed you?
Speaker 3I feel more of like I have a purpose in life now, like helping. I always loved to help people when I was younger. So when I met Chad, it was a different feeling like helping someone in need that uh, you know, uh made me feel like I have a purpose for 21 years. Like I help him with ever whatever he needs, take him to where he needs to go. Like he feels like it's a it's a a a whole that's we're a whole now. We're not like a separate there's no Yeah, we're a whole now.
SpeakerSo it's like this does sound like a marriage.
Speaker 3Oh geez. But I just feel like I have a purpose now over all these years of helping him, of everything, like everything that he's ever needed. Like it makes me feel good and it makes him feel good.
Speaker 2That's great.
SpeakerIt's a work marriage.
Speaker 2So when when you look back on the past 21 years, what do you hope people take away from your story?
SpeakerI just want people to make sure that they don't hire the first thing they see because I've done that several times, and it ain't pretty. Okay. I've had people steal from me, I've had people leave me in lock rooms that I can get out of. Um, so it's just very important that you find someone with Marissa, like mirth, and find somebody that you're compatible with.
Speaker 2I think that's a great way to end our podcast
Final Takeaways And Where To Learn More
Speaker 2today. Thank you, Chad and Marissa, for spending some time with us this morning. Ladies and gentlemen, that was Chad Norton and Marissa Hussein sharing their experiences working together for 21 years. Thank you all for joining us, and we hope you join us next time as we continue to explore the vast array of services provided by Indera.
Speaker 1Thank you for listening to the Indera Podcast. For more information, visit our website at Indera.org.