Many caregivers come and go, but the dedicated ones stick around for the long haul. Most caregivers are family members, friends, next-door neighbors, spouses, nurses, medical personnel, and passing strangers. They worry without compensation; no pay, no fringe benefits, no retirement plan, no vacation or sick leave rewards. Imagine, if you wanted, what is a caretaker? Bed maker. rear rubber. Drug giver. Listen. Driver. Housewife. Cook. Delivery courier. Hand holder. Sometimes a peacemaker. So what makes caregiving rewarding?

Is it the nights when your newborn or elderly mother cries herself to sleep? Or why she cried. Maybe because of a broken heart or lost dreams! Loss of loved ones or severe physical pain. Instead of feeling fulfilled, you felt powerless. Because you tried to calm her down with warm blankets, music, noise, warm milk, a calm voice, and even alcohol. Not for her, but for you!! You tried position changes, pillow fluff under your head, and a warm bath, but it all seemed useless. Then ride in the caretaker. You know the one that comes once a month. You see the look of fulfillment in her eyes, and the call of wanting to serve. You know, because the room lights up, the warmth is in the air, and your mother seems to relax. Remember when she saw monsters, had a nightmare, and when you just need to be held. Also, your mom just touched your hand and said, “I’m here, just go to sleep.” Wow, and it worked. Right? That is the vocation of a caregiver. She just touches the hand and your heart melts.

Certainly, the caregiver’s vocation involves these traits. The look of passion, the sweetness of the voice, the sound of feet, the smell of milk chocolate and the touch of caring hands. The hands are soft, tender and invite a peace that will last a season. Oh how the caretaker loves art and he always projects that confident feeling on me!

What would happen if that caregiver, that nurse, could be close to their patients and attend to their every need? Do nursing rounds, listening to the heart, breathing and abdominal sounds. Passage of scheduled oral and intravenous medications. Monitoring of 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 soulful look. The nurse’s voice is reassuring, relaxed, and she manages to convey “You are in good hands.”

However, nursing skills are refined, precise, artistic, yet sensitive. The nurse performs a blood sugar check, offers orange juice as needed, notifies the doctor, and continues her rounds. They remember to hang an IV bag, complete the admission, administer pain medication, and discharge the anxious patient in room 312. Still, they take the time to sit down with the dying patient in room 308.

However, they forget to take care of themselves. No lunch breaks. No bathroom breaks. No vacation time. No sick call. Insufficient staff. Rotating shifts. Over time. exhaustion Sound familiar? But wait. What about the reward of providing care? What about the rewards of touching patients’ lives, when the nurse comes in on her days off to see patients who never get visitors?

In addition, nurses who attend the funerals of patients to care for the family. Just because the nurse held the hand while the patients took their last breaths. She hugged the family members and cried with them until she had no tears left. What do you say to that mother who lost her son in the prime of her life? Or to a family member when her loved one is being transferred to hospice and you know it’s the last time she’ll see him? Only sixteen years old!

The heartfelt emotions of the caregiver receiving a phone call in the middle of the night, a thank you note, or a dozen red roses. What if a call that says, “I’m cancer free” could mean so much? Though they see different patients come and go, true caregivers will touch hearts for eternity. Caregivers never enter life without making a difference. Whether caring for newborns, patients, friends, family, or strangers, touch those lives with lots of love. Because caregivers believe that one touch will transform and impact the world for years to come. The reward of caregiving is touching lives wherever they go; patients, their families or strangers.