Caregivers who help the sick, hurting are our unsung heroes

In an early June, I wrote an article for the closing of the “Year of the Priest.” After relating some of my personal priestly experiences in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux for the past 46 years, I talked about the present vocation crisis in the priesthood and suggested that we look at the possibility of opening the priesthood to married men and women.

In his 1994 apostolic letter on ordination, Pope John Paul II said the church’s ban on women priests is definitive and not open to debate among Catholics. This is considered a matter of faith and not a discipline of the church. The ordination of married men, on the other hand, is a matter of discipline.

I am sorry if I have confused anyone in this regard. I apologize for bringing up the ordination of women, which is a matter of faith and not in the same category as the ordination of married men.

In July 2010, Dr. Atul Gawande began researching hospice and end-of-life care options because he says he did not know how to bring up the subject of death with his terminally ill patients. Medical professionals face difficulties about deciding when to stop medical interventions and focus on improving the quality of life in a person’s final days.

Dr. Gawande says that physicians are hesitant to tell patients that there is nothing else they can do. He said, “Our system of medical care has successfully created a multi-trillion-dollar system for dispensing lottery tickets – the lottery ticket that you could get this longer life.” But he says it has not prepared people for the likelihood that physicians are not good at preparing patients whose lives will not be prolonged by medical treatment. “So we’ve failed to meet the other needs people have, other than just prolonging life.”

Gawande says medical professionals need to build a system that focuses on how to help dying patients achieve what is most important to them at the end of their lives. We want to support their care givers and the family. We want to help patients be as mentally alert as possible and avoid any suffering. We want the terminally ill to spend their last time doing things they care about and not just taking treatments that make them suffer. As they face an incurable disease, what can the medical profession do to identify with what’s important to a patient and then help them to achieve it?

After working for a hospice group for the past three years, I have come to appreciate the great sacrifices that care givers make. They are our unsung heroes that do not get the appreciation that they deserve. Someone sent me the Beatitudes for Care Givers. This is for all of you who give of yourself to help those who are sick and hurting.

“Blessed are those who care and who are not afraid to show it. They will let people know they are loved.

“Blessed are those who are gentle and patient. They will help people to grow as the sun helps the buds to open and blossom.

“Blessed are those who have the ability to listen. They will lighten many burdens.

“Blessed are those who know how and when to let go. They will have the joy of seeing people find themselves.

“Blessed are those who, when nothing can be done or said, do not walk away, but remain to provide a comforting and supportive presence. They will help the sufferer to bear the unbearable.

“Blessed are those who recognize their own need to receive, and do so graciously. They will have the capacity to give even more.

“Blessed are those who give without hope of return. They will give people an experience of God.”