When Your Caregiver Can’t Afford to Visit a Doctor

By Susan Flansburg

When Cheryl got Covid, her face itched, her muscles ached and her body burned at 102 degrees. She tested positive after work one day while caring for Covid-positive residents at a long-term care facility in Iowa.

Cheryl drove home and closed the door to her bedroom to keep her toddlers out. Going to the doctor was out of the question. She didn’t have the money.

“Cheryl” is a pseudonym for a caregiver I had the great privilege to interview this summer.

She couldn’t reveal her identity and hope to keep her job, of course. But she was willing to tell the world about the dangerous conditions under which she and her colleagues must work.

We call our caregivers “Health Care Heroes,” but do we really mean it? What’s the evidence?

Cheryl’s story may upset you, but it’s the reality of our low-paid, under-respected and under-represented caregiving population. They need our help as much as we need theirs.

I’m thankful that the appeal letter I wrote is helping raise the funds needed to support the real-life heroes we depend on every day. Let me know what you think!