What Makes Caregiving Rewarding
Many caregivers come and go, but the dedicated ones stay there the entire time. Most of the caregivers are family members, friends, next-door neighbors, spouses, nurses, medical personnel, and strangers who pass by. They worry without compensation; no pay, no fringe benefits, no retirement plan, no vacation, or no sick leave rewards. Imagine, if you could, what is a caregiver? Manufacturer of beds. Back rubber. Medication giver. Listener. Driver. Housewife. Chef. Delivery courier. Hand support. Sometimes a peacemaker. So what makes caregiving rewarding?
Are they the nights your newborn or elderly mother cries herself to sleep? Or why he was crying. Maybe from a broken heart or lost dreams! Loss of loved ones or severe physical pain. Instead of being satisfied, he felt powerless. Because you tried to calm her with warm blankets, music, noise, warm milk, a calm voice, and even alcohol. Not for her, but for you !! You tried to change positions, put a pillow under your head and a warm bath, but it all seemed useless. Then stroll in the caretaker. You already know the one that appears once a month. You see the look of satisfaction in his eyes and the calling he wants to serve. You know, because the room lights up, the heat feels the air, and your mother seems to relax. Remember when you saw monsters, you had a nightmare and when you just need to hold. Also, your mom just touched your hand and said, “I’m here, just go to sleep.” Wow, and it worked. Correct? That is the call of a caregiver. Just touch the hand and your heart melts.
Certainly, the vocation of the caregiver involves these traits. The look of passion, the sweetness of the voice, the sound of the feet, the smell of milk chocolate and the touch of loving hands. The hands are soft, tender and await a peace that will last a season. Oh how the caretaker loves art and always projects that feeling of trusting me!
What if that caregiver, that nurse, could be on top of their patients and attend to their every need? Doing rounds of breastfeeding, listening to heart, breathing, and abdominal sounds. Pass scheduled oral and intravenous medications. Monitor blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and body temperature. The nurse administers that personal touch by checking the patient’s forehead for fever, calming the trembling hand with a touch of the hand, a special poignant look. The nurse’s voice is reassuring, relaxed and manages to convey “You are in good hands.”
However, nursing skills are refined, precise, artistic, but sensitive. The nurse performs a blood sugar check, offers orange juice as needed, notifies the doctor, and continues with her rounds. They remember to hang up an IV bag, complete the admission, administer a pain reliever, and discharge the anxious patient to room 312. Still, they take the time to sit with the dying patient in room 308.
However, they forget to take care of themselves. There are no lunch breaks. There are no bathroom breaks. There is no vacation time. No sick call. Beneath the staff. Rotating shifts. Overtime. Burnout. Sounds familiar? But wait. What about the reward of providing care? What about the rewards of touching the lives of patients, when the nurse goes into her days off to see patients who never receive visitors?
Also, nurses who attend patient funerals to minister to the family. Just because the nurse held her hand as the patients took their last breath. He hugged the family members and cried with them until there were no tears left. What do you say to that mother who lost her son in the prime of her life? Or a family member when your loved one is being transferred to a hospice and you know this is the last time you will see him or her? Only sixteen years old!
The heartfelt emotions of the caregiver who receives a phone call in the middle of the night, a thank you note, or a dozen red roses. How about a call that says, “I am cancer free” can mean so much? Although they see different patients come and go, true caregivers will touch hearts for eternity. Caregivers never enter life without making a difference. Whether you care for newborns, patients, friends, family, or strangers, touch those lives with so much love. Because caregivers believe that one touch will transform and impact the world for years to come. The reward of caring is touching lives wherever they go; patients, their families or strangers.