Caregivers

In an era when a doctor-turned-politician presumes to speak for caregivers in the U.S. Senate, when in fact he is the son of a wealthy corporate family who have participated in the ruination of medical care in America, the concept of caregiving gets muddled. Caregiving is an art. Nurses, doctors, dental hygienists, dentists, nursing assistants, veterinarians are all licensed or trained to give specialized care. They cannot simply be trained to be excellent caregivers. Caregiving must come from inside the person delivering it. Otherwise, it is not caregiving. It is at best "care delivery", a common Republican concept. Yesterday I was fortunate enough to meet an excellent caregiver at a time when I was in need of a rather mechanical medical procedure. Her artful delivery of care enabled me to transcend my very anxious and depressing experience of a chronic medical problem. I think that true caregivers are the real angels of this world.