Caregiving
A Pandemic of Kindness
By Alex Trevino, Biliingual End of Life Specialist This month, we recognize the importance of healthy aging and falls prevention. To be healthy, vital, and to age with dignity is a multi- faceted pursuit that includes, at its heart, people. Social support offers perspective and strength for even the rockiest paths in life’s journey. In fact, an Italian proverb says, “Preventing someone from falling is better than helping him get up.” This month, the Family Caregiver Support Program is accompanied by a colleague from the End of Life Initiatives Program. Alex Trevino is a Bilingual End of Life Specialist, and shares his perspectives, wisdom, and compassion in the following article focused on caregiving. Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and a countless number of other disorders tear apart the body and the mind. And as if these disorders are unsatisfied with the damage they create, they can also tear apart relationships and families, hopes and dreams. While many diseases are ruthless and seem unstoppable, there is an unrecognized condition more powerful than each of the diseases combined. This “sickness” has the ability to impact 100% of the population with its contagion and often chronic nature. But this condition can impact people’s health for good—even providing relief and healing.
What is this mysterious “illness” and how might people contract it? The condition is called kindness, and people can become easily “infected.” In the beginning, unsuspecting carriers of the condition may spread germs on door handles by holding open a door for an older adult, parent of small children, or person with disabilities. Over time, the “fever” may become more regular with the carrier developing commitments to volunteering with human care programs or raising research funds to fight cancer or dementia. And in late stages, the condition may develop into a more serious condition known as “becoming a caregiver.” Caregiving is a scary term, I know. If not managed properly, it may impact 8 and up to 24 hours of your day. More than 1 in 5 people in the US cope with this reality daily. In most severe cases, caregivers may experience extreme fatigue, loss of sleep, high-stress levels, or loss of appetite. The most concerning symptoms are denial and refusing care for their own health. We must take the caregiving “bug” seriously and offer the best possible inoculations, care, and support to the caregivers who manage its side effects each day. Caregivers are the curators of our nation’s living history, they are librarians for our loved one's memories. Caregivers heal our injured, assist those with disabilities, and serve as prosthetics for our elders’ independence.
Caregivers may not be recognized as first responder heros, or receive monetary rewards for their acts of selfless service, but they are examples for the rest of us to follow. They teach us the value of life, encourage us in the ways of tenacity, and challenge us to consider others instead of ourselves. They are kindness survivors, and they inspire us to face the “kindness infection” with courage. I encourage you to show kindness to a caregiver today. Offer a caregiver practical help—a home cooked meal, a few hours of respite or retreat, a small gift that shows them how important they are. Or better yet, prescribe for them the time and opportunity to take care of their own health—to breathe deeply, get some exercise, and visit their healthcare provider. You might not be able to cure the caregiver bug, but you can surely alleviate some of the symptoms!
September 2022, Never Too Late | Page 9
Pima Council on Aging
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