Caregiver’s a blessing to society

When I think about myself as a caregiver, I didn’t realize how this one added level of responsibility would change my entire perspective on life in general. As I have grown into my role as caregiver to my mother I now look at the world through a caregiver’s lens. I was blessed that we lived in Hawaii when my mother came to live with me. That culture embraces having seniors in the community. Everywhere we went, and I took my mother with me everywhere I could, she would get greeted warmly and establishments would make accommodations for us. I often wondered would we have received the same treatment if somewhere else??? I’ll never know. I look at our healthcare system that really makes it hard to maneuver to get to the appropriate care one needs. I look at society and how we view seniors and those who take care of them.

When I was in Hawaii I didn’t have the luxury of having a caregiver …I was the caregiver. I call it a luxury because it is. It can cost up to $25 dollars an hour to have an in home health aid. Do I think that the care and service they provide is worth $25 no I think they should get more!!!! However, our system doesn’t even allow them to get paid $25 often times the actual worker is only paid minimum wage because you are paying the the administrative cost of the agency providing the caregiver!!! This is the person who is coming into your home and caring for you loved one! I find our system ridiculous, I guess I think caregiving for my mother is worth more than that and should be recognized as a worthy profession and the pay should reflect it. I don’t know how much caregiver’s who are employed at facilities get paid but I suspect it isn’t much more!

When I think about you, the paid caregiver’s, I can’t help but wonder what you experience. I know my caregiver, Deborah, has become a part of my family. She takes excellent care of my mother and affords me the opportunity to have a life!!!! How much is that worth…PRICELESS!!!! When I see the care that she gives my mother I’m moved to tears. She cares for her as I do. I know when it is time for the Lord to call my mother home it will be hard on me but it will also be hard on Deborah. One because my mother is someone whom she loves and is now gone and two we have been her source of income for over three years! Being a caregiver is HARD no matter if you are the relative who has the role by default or the caregiver by profession. I can’t imagine all the experiences professional caregiver’s have. Often time they are the only one who is actually caring for the person whether it is because they have no family or the family doesn’t seem to want to be involved…then they become the family, or working in a facility where there are so many to care for! I can only imagine the emotional stress and physical stress you go through. But I want to THANK YOU for your service!

What I want to leave you with today is no matter which type of caregiver you are, YOU MATTER and the work you do is not only IMPORTANT to the person whom you are caring for but to our society in general…whether society recognizes it or not!