It’s clear to me (and hopefully to you too) that these heartfelt messages are applicable to all who work in the field of healthcare, especially in this ongoing time of pandemic. In fact, it was two years ago today that the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic.
Dear Palliative Care Team: We are strangers, and yet I’m putting pen to paper. . . . Thank you for your tremendous care of COVID patients and their families for these past two years. Confusion, frustration, anger, tears, exhaustion, despair and more – whatever your experience has been, those of us who do not work in healthcare will never understand. We are grateful. I am grateful. I honor your work, and I acknowledge your grief. Be gentle with yourself. I am holding you in the Light.
I hold you in my heart for all the times you’ve been pushed beyond unimaginable limits. You have endured so much and helped so many. Thank you for all the care you have given to others during this weary pandemic. I pray for your strength on this long journey. May the goodness you have shared with others come back around to you.
Dear friends: I am writing to thank each and every person who has been ministering to all those who have been so ill and in need of your loving and skillful care. Please know your work is deeply valued. Thank you.
Dear Heath Care Heroes: I’m sure that you have received much criticism and complaints from some over the past two years. Let me take this opportunity to thank you for your exceptional service to people in need during the two years of pandemic. God bless you in the work you do.
Hello! You don’t know me, but I wanted to reach out and share with you how grateful I am for the important work you are doing during this pandemic. My family and I are doing our best to be safe, and we are full of gratitude and respect for your expertise and efforts. I am praying for you and your loved ones, praying that you will have everything you need to come through this safely. Please know that you are making a difference in this crazy world.
I have been amazed at the stories of courage and strength that have been shared and/or reported in churches, on the radio, and on TV. I’m sorry that you have been exploited because of your skills, your training, and your devotion to your patients. But I thank God that you are there, and for what you have done, because if not for you so many more people would have suffered. My father was a combat marine who survived three major amphibious assault landings in the South Pacific during World War II. He was awarded two Purple Hearts and is my hero. Your story is almost like my father’s. The courage, strength, and devotion to patients, co-workers, and staff. The long hours! Having something that you can’t see that seems to want to kill you. You are my heroes too. We will never understand the chaos of the last two years this side of heaven, but I’m convinced that there will be plenty of treasure there for you.
Dear Healthcare Workers: From the bottom of my heart I want to thank you for all you do, especially during these tumultuous times. My father died of cancer while being treated in a Palliative Care facility one year ago. Even though we barely knew the nurses and caregivers, they were the first ones to offer a shoulder for us to cry on. The loving care and empathy with which you treat each patient, regardless of whether or not it is reciprocated, reminds me of the love that my father gave to my family. Please continue to be the light that shines through the darkest hours. I hope you know that it means everything to someone, even if they never see you again.
To All the Healthcare Professionals: Many thanks and blessings to you all for your tireless and selfless dedication to your patients at this crucial time in our lives. Your help and sacrifice are so very much appreciated and no thanks is enough. God bless you all!
We know from personal experience the gifts and challenges of serving people with life-limiting disease – and their families – and cannot imagine how the challenges have been magnified with COVID. Know that we send our love and gratitude to you as you bring your expertise and understanding and compassionate presence in easing the journey of others. May you find the respite, compassion, and support you need as you do this hard work.
Dear Palliative Care Team: Please know that your work is appreciated by those of us who lack the skills and aptitude which you share at this impossible time. I hope that deep down you know this and can feel it somehow. I hope you are able to get some rest in-between shifts and can get the care that you need to be able to care for your patients. There are many people praying for you and holding you in the light! Thank you a million times over for all you have already done.
To You, Valued Caregivers: Thank you for your dedication, courage, and service in these difficult times. Your gifts are so specific, so needed, and your work so challenging. We appreciate your ongoing work in service of others – each a unique person who matters. May you find grace, peace of mind, and helpful hands when needed. And may this pandemic find its conclusion soon. We’re masking, vaccine and boostered, and keeping distance – to ease your burdens and spread the benefits toward that goal. May you find reasons to smile today, and know we are thinking of you with thanks.
To All Members of the Palliative Care Team: This morning as I sit with my cup of tea, I’m thinking about how grateful I am that nurses and hospital staff have been on the front lines through day after day of this pandemic. Thank you for your consistent care, even when you are weary yourselves. Thank you for your devotion to care . . . to caring about, and for, people in need. I have hope that your resiliency will carry the day.
Related Off-site Links:
Two Years Into Pandemic, Human Rights Watch Warns of Lessons Not Learned – Jessica Corbett (Common Dreams, March 11, 2022).
After Two Years, WHO Chief Says Pandemic “Not Over Anywhere Until It’s Over Everywhere” – Andrea Germanos (Common Dreams, March 9, 2022).
Two Full Years and 6 Million Dead: Covid-19 Pandemic Latest Grim Milestone
– Jon Queally (Common Dreams, March 7, 2022).
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• A COVID Start to 2022
• Out and About – Autumn 2021
• Renae Gage: Quote of the Day – November 28, 2021
• COVID Observations From a General Surgeon
• Richard LaFortune: Quote of the Day – August 20, 2021
• Something to Lament
• A Pandemic Year
• Out and About – Spring 2020
• Memes of the Times
• The Lancet Weighs-in on the Trump Administration’s “Incoherent” Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
• Examining the Link Between Destruction of Biodiversity and Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Sonya Renee Taylor: Quote of the Day – April 18, 2020
• Marianne Williamson: In the Midst of This “Heartbreaking” Pandemic, It’s Okay to Be Heartbroken
• Hope and Beauty in the Midst of the Global Coronavirus Pandemic
• The Calm Before the Storm
• A Prayer in Times of a Pandemic
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