Our nation’s history is replete with inspiring and poignant examples of self-sacrifice on behalf of the commonweal. Soldiers have marched off to both popular and unpopular wars. Civil rights activists have stood in the face of massive injustice. Countless volunteers rallied following Hurricane Katrina and 9/11. And, today, we are surrounded by legions of health care professionals and other essential workers who are giving of themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic. Richard Gamache shares his profound appreciation for the heroes among us.
Richard Gamache is the CEO of Aldersbridge Communities, a RI nonprofit organization that provides skilled nursing, long-term care, rehabilitation, assisted living, and independent living services to elders.
My father retired from the Army after a 40-year career. For the remainder of his life, he often wore a ballcap emblazoned with the words, “U.S. ARMY-World War II Vet.”
We would meet for lunch at his favorite diner and, without fail, someone would stop by our table to thank him for his service. “I forgot I even had my cap on,” my father would say, and then he would share a war story for anyone willing to listen.
For years I didn’t believe him about forgetting. I thought he purposefully wore it. I came to understand he wasn’t doing it to receive recognition from strangers. His service was as much a natural part of who he was as his brown eyes and gray hair.
He’s been gone now for 6 years, and whenever I see an elder wearing a military hat, I thank them for their service. I do this because I know how it made my Dad feel. It affirmed his accomplishments and added meaning to his life. When strangers thanked him it meant that his service mattered. That he mattered.
This past year, the U.S. has been fighting a war against an enemy that killed more Americans than World War II: the coronavirus. This enemy can hide in plain sight and kill with deadly precision, preying on elders living in long-term care. Frontline healthcare workers – nursing staff, housekeepers, first responders and other “soldiers” – are not armed with rifles, yet they are serving their country at great risk to themselves. They have been inadequately equipped, having to ration precious PPE. I hope the vaccine puts an end to this pandemic war once and for all.
Will healthcare workers someday look back with pride on their sacrifices? Will this be the defining moment of their lives as it was for my father? Will complete strangers thank them twenty years from now for healing the world? Or will they not feel appreciated, like Vietnam vets who drift through life without anyone acknowledging the crosses that they carried?
I believe the similarities between COVID-19 and war are striking. I believe it’s time that the rest of the world acknowledges the constant trauma, sickness, death, staffing challenges and supply chain failures that our healthcare heroes have to face.
I believe it’s time for hat manufacturers to get busy on a new design, this time for the health care heroes.
