Gratitude for Caregivers

We all know by now that gratitude feels good, and can be especially profound during major challenges and losses. Do you remember the pandemic? Every night, people hung out of their windows to cheer and bang pots and pans for our heroic healthcare providers. Caregivers, doctors, and nurses and hospital staff took unimaginable risks and had crazy stamina and strength.

Recently, a client came to me with a sweet request. Her husband of 44 years had died after a long illness, and she wanted to write a letter of gratitude to his caregivers. More than just a polite thank you note, she wanted to write the whole story of his death and thank them for all they had done to keep him alive. It was a very moving session. We sat together and crafted it, and the next day I dropped off several copies of the letter that included a color photo of her husband looking vibrant and handsome. I wasn’t there when she hand-delivered the letter to the front desk of the cardiologist’s office at Kaiser, but I really would have loved to witness that moment.