Perks of Being a Caregiver | iSavta
Perks of Being a Caregiver
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"What do you do for a living?", she asked.
"Oh I'm a Caregiver", I replied.
"Oh! It must be very difficult. Not to mention, Boring!", she swiftly quipped.

Well yes, if many of us had any other choice, we could have chosen another field of work probably tapping the keyboard all day long inside an airconditioned-nice-smelling office instead of spending a day feeding, bathing and listening to our elderly patients ranting about his arthritis and back pain.

I was totally sure I would end up in this kind of job by the time I finished my degree in Nursing. It's just that I invisioned myself working in the hospital and spending my day in a the Nurse's station waiting for my 8-hour shift to end. I had this dream of making it big in the US, probably bagging the Senior Nurse position where I could just sit inside my office and evaluating the performances of all the hospital nurses under me.

It didn't happen.

 

Life was too difficult for us in my country that I had to drag myself out of the misery. As soon as I bumped into the opportunity of flying away, I grabbed it. I found myself in a strangest place I've ever been. 

Israel.

As soon as I realized what kind of life I would live in this country, I already prepared myself mentally, emotionally and physically. The struggle began when reality of being a "caregiver" sinked in. It took me quite a while until I got used to the life and responsibilities of a home-based caregiver. The job doesn't end in bathing, feeding and cleaning up poop. Cooking, cleaning the entire house and accepting humiliations is part of the job. But because money is the most important thing in the world (at least to those who just arrive and need to pay a mountain of debt), you have to swallow everything including the most humiliating slap of insults from inconsiderate employers.

I was lucky enough to find one of those good, generous and considerate employers. Life started to ease out and I found myself settled eventually. It's been more than 7 years and I must say, I've learned a lot.

Learning a lot doesn't mean learning just the "ins and the "outs". It doesn't mean learning just the disadvantages, the worsts and the frustrations. Learning a lot also means learning the Perks of being a Caregiver.

Despite of so many reasons to quit my job, I can't help but think about who I am now as a person after enduring 7 years in the field of caregiving. Of course I would still prefer to have a different job instead of this any day but, no matter how hard, frustrating and exhilirating this job can be, there are also experiences, learnings and fulfillment. And that, I wouldn't exhange for the world.

There are days when I hate being here and doing all these routines but there are days when I am thankful and happy being a caregiver. I can say, I learned to love my job. So, what are really the Perks of being a Caregiver? 

1. You learn the art of PATIENCE.

 - Though I believe we were born with such gift, practicing it helps us learn the true meaning of it. Caregiving is an everyday test of your self-control. It's not really a question of how much patience you have. It is totally given that we have loads of it. It is actually a question of how "human" you are when you reach your limit.

2. Building Relationship.

- If you are taking care of one person everyday, you'll eventually build a deeper relationship with them. You feel responsible of their well-being and you become aware of their physical as well as personal needs. This will develop an emotional attachment between the two of you.

3. Develop your Skills.

- Caregiving is a weight-load responsibility. It will require you to stretch your skills to the limits. You'll even have moments when you'll be surprised of how much you are capable of as a carer and as a human being. This will boost your self-esteem as you thrivingly learn your task as a caregiver.

4. Improve Mental Balance.

- To be a successful caregiver, you have to be mentally alert all the time. Your work juggles from being a carer, a pyschologist, and sometimes a mind-reader. Caregiving requires compex thinking which often leads to mental burn-out. But this will enhance your mental skills which will help you to become quick-witted so you can make good and logical decisions in crucial situations.

5. You get to touch people's lives.

- It is somehow fulfilling to be a Caregiver. Most of these elderly patients are often neglected by their friends and sometimes by their own family. We take care of them like our own parents and even if some of them cannot appreciate us, there's something in caregiving that makes us proud of what we do. No matter how small the part that we contributed, it is still good to know that somehow, we were able to share a piece of ourselves with that person until his/her last breath. And that is a feeling that money can't buy. 

I just want to quote someone named Eddie who wrote a very touching comment in one article (http://www.agingcare.com). He took care of his mom and he endured all the hardships and emotionally draining situations. He wrote:

"Caregiving tested my mettle but it made me a stronger, more resilient man. I evolved into a much more responsible person. I learned the true meaning of selflessness, and discovered how deep and powerful the love for a parent can be. Even when you hate some of the things they do and say, your heart often forgives them. Or you delude yourself into believing you've forgiven them.

Caregiving also exposed my innermost flaws enough for me to see them. Every day I wanted to be a better man, a better person, and a better human being.

That, my friend, is about as close as we'll ever get to sainthood."

Caregiving is definitely not a bed of roses. But it's not always as bad as how some people perceive it. Yes, it is sometimes in the most inhuman situations that you would learn how to be human at all. 

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