There are some people that are really just born to care for others. My grandmother was one of these. She worked in a psychiatric hospital as an orderly all of her working life. Many people would have hated such a job, but my grandmother loved her work and truly cared about her patients. When she was forced to retire at age 65, she started drinking. I don't know but what she wouldn't still be alive today if she'd been able to retire on her own time. She did get clean for awhile and worked for a homecare agency but then my cousin came over one night with some beer and said "oh, come on Gram, just one won't hurt." Well, just one will hurt if you're an alcoholic. That was the beginning of the end. My grandmother died at 75. She had cirrhosis of the liver, her kidneys were failing, her digestive system was wrecked.
A true caregiver is rare. They are people like my grandmother and my brother, who really put their heart and soul in it. My brother as a paramedic is more highly skilled than my grandmother was, but both were on the front lines of caring for others. My grandmother started when she was 14, working in a sanitorium with tuberculosis patients. She wanted to be a nurse but unfortunately had received enough psychological abuse growing up that she didn't believe she was smart enough. She dropped out of school in 8th grade so she could go to work doing what she believed in.
I'm an ok caregiver but I'm the kind that inevitably gets burned out. I'm all right with doing it on a limited basis. I want to improve life for others but I prefer to do it on a different level. I philosophize and I counsel. I would love to death to somehow make enough money through my various projects that I could fund organizations that help the real caregivers. They really are a superior class of people which is why I hate when I get the "people like you are so special" schpiel. The truth is, I'm not one of them and I hate pretending that I am. We each have different gifts. And I'm glad that there are people who truly enjoy being caregivers, who in fact live to be caregivers. I think it sucks that salaries in these necessary professions are so crappy. These are the most necessary professions on earth, and the most low paid. A paramedic makes reasonable money, but an entry level EMT starts at $8.50 per hour where I live. An entry level CNA or psychiatric technician may start as low as $7 per hour.
How about instead of padding the politicians' pockets and spending money on thousand dollar toilet seats the government funds care facilities to make accommodations better for the residents/patients and working conditions better for the caregivers? How about if we encourage the people who really want to be in these professions?
I know, who am I kidding? But that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it.
Here's to two great people--my grandmother and my brother. Two people who really did/do care.
A true caregiver is rare. They are people like my grandmother and my brother, who really put their heart and soul in it. My brother as a paramedic is more highly skilled than my grandmother was, but both were on the front lines of caring for others. My grandmother started when she was 14, working in a sanitorium with tuberculosis patients. She wanted to be a nurse but unfortunately had received enough psychological abuse growing up that she didn't believe she was smart enough. She dropped out of school in 8th grade so she could go to work doing what she believed in.
I'm an ok caregiver but I'm the kind that inevitably gets burned out. I'm all right with doing it on a limited basis. I want to improve life for others but I prefer to do it on a different level. I philosophize and I counsel. I would love to death to somehow make enough money through my various projects that I could fund organizations that help the real caregivers. They really are a superior class of people which is why I hate when I get the "people like you are so special" schpiel. The truth is, I'm not one of them and I hate pretending that I am. We each have different gifts. And I'm glad that there are people who truly enjoy being caregivers, who in fact live to be caregivers. I think it sucks that salaries in these necessary professions are so crappy. These are the most necessary professions on earth, and the most low paid. A paramedic makes reasonable money, but an entry level EMT starts at $8.50 per hour where I live. An entry level CNA or psychiatric technician may start as low as $7 per hour.
How about instead of padding the politicians' pockets and spending money on thousand dollar toilet seats the government funds care facilities to make accommodations better for the residents/patients and working conditions better for the caregivers? How about if we encourage the people who really want to be in these professions?
I know, who am I kidding? But that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it.
Here's to two great people--my grandmother and my brother. Two people who really did/do care.