Football and Caregiving: Teamwork is Essential

Football season is here!

I am often forced to watch football, being surrounded by a “team” of boys. It is a love-hate relationship, but I love the atmosphere of football and the feeling of belonging I have during the season. Gathering together to watch and cheer on the team through the celebrations and the frustrations of each game reminded me of an article I read about the similarities between football and caregiving.

In football, the quarterback dodges tackles and does everything to avoid getting sacked. It’s hard to lead the team when running for your life and it can be difficult to keep your wits. When you are a caregiver, you are the leader of the team. The success or failure of this journey rests on your shoulders and it can be a heavy responsibility. Your team consists of the person needing care, doctors, nurses, accountants, lawyers, family members, outside forces, a home to keep intact, prescription medicine, dietary needs, organization, insurance claims, and any surprises that might present themselves along the way.

Caregiving can be complicated and doesn’t always operate as smoothly as one would like.

Imagine what happens when someone tries to do caregiving alone, with no team in place, no family support, no communication with physicians and no outside help. Imagine what that is like. Often I hear how lonely caregiving can be because some people don’t have a team or have never set up a team!

Here’s the thing-it’s not always easy to get a good team in place, let alone a great team. It takes time, energy, persistence, clarity, a willingness to lead and ability to bend and change as needed. It requires you to not take no for an answer. It requires you to say “I love you” when you are the most frustrated. It demands that you hold up in the face of adversity. It calls upon you when you think you have nothing left, but you find out you do. It requires that you be the ultimate leader.

Setting up your support team when you are a caregiver can positively affect your health, emotional strength, and physical stamina.

Caregiving seasons can be short or lengthy, in hourly or daily shifts, a few days per week or even every day of the week without an offseason. You show up; you do your best, and you play every day. You play your heart out and give it your all to someone who needs your help. You want to feel like a winner in the Super Bowl of caregiving.

Being a caregiver is easier when you have supporting players and that is how it is a lot like football. When it comes to that final quarter, when everything counts, you want to make sure you have a winning team. You might even call it your Special Team, a team called Hospice. We have your back, we help set up a game plan so your team wins. Our hospice has players who are very skilled at keeping the quarterback safe and supported so that when the final score is made, you ultimately played the best game ever.

Early admission into a hospice program allows more time for the hospice team to fully understand the patient’s and family’s needs and to develop a suitable and sensitive plan of care. For a FREE Consultation with our team of trained professionals, CLICK HERE.