PRAIRIE DOC®
  • Home
  • About
  • People
  • Television
  • Podcasts
  • Perspective
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Foundation
  • Book

Caregivers Get Back More Than They Give

10/21/2018

 

Caregivers Get Back More Than They Give

By Richard P. Holm, MD
 
It was a number of years ago and I was working in the emergency room when a severely compromised 20-year-old woman with cerebral palsy came in battling a lung infection. She was moderately mentally handicapped and had muscle spasticity of all her muscles which hampered her ability to cough and clean out her lungs. This was not her first time with pneumonia, and it wouldn’t be her last. What was most remarkable about her situation was the love and support she had from her entire family, not just mom and dad. Her three siblings were also part of this wonderful caregiving team. They joked with her, encouraged her, reassured her, and loved her. It was beautiful to see. The story turns sad as eventually, months later, the patient succumbed to an infection despite aggressive treatment. However, the compassion and joy I saw that day, like rays of light emanating out of her caregivers, left me happy inside.
 
Caregivers come in all shapes and sizes and from all walks of life: male and female, spouse, adult child, parent, grandparent, friend, or hired assistant. They can provide care at home, in assisted living centers, in nursing homes, or in some other institution. They might be doing this job out of obligation, duty, financial responsibility, love, compassion, or sometimes as a job for pay. Many people develop the need for a caregiver after trauma, illness, stroke, or after reaching advanced age. Others require help from birth. The needs of the compromised individual can also vary. Sometimes they require a lot of help with everyday activities, including bowel and bladder care or even help with feeding and hydrating. Sometimes the person only needs someone to check in on them every day or give them a kind word every once in a while.
 
After my Dad died, I found myself calling my mom for about five minutes every morning while I was on the way to work. I know she cherished these short, pleasant conversations. After several years of this, when a stroke took this pleasure away, I came to realize how much I grew from and enjoyed those daily conversations. It had been a mutual gift we were giving each other.
 
The following lessons for caregivers might be helpful:
1. Practice listening
2. Be kind, honest, and respect your patient’s choices as much as possible
3. Seek alternatives if you’re feeling burned out
4. Realize the value you receive by the giving of yourself
 
Watch On Call with the Prairie Doc® most Thursdays at 7 p.m. central on SDPTV and follow the Prairie Doc® on Facebook and YouTube for free and easy access to the entire Prairie Doc® library.
​

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

PRAIRIE DOC® MEDIA IS A PART OF HEALING WORDS FOUNDATION.

FIND SCIENCE-BASED PEDIATRIC MEDICAL INFORMATION ON OUR SISTER SITE. 
Healing Words Foundation logo
Play Eat Sleep logo
  • Home
  • About
  • People
  • Television
  • Podcasts
  • Perspective
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Foundation
  • Book