I received an email from a woman whose husband died after a long illness with ALS. The disease was relentless in its progression, and she said, “The last three years were brutal.”
Her husband lost the ability to speak, eat, or move...
I got a call from the American Red Cross a few years ago. The woman said they were in desperate need of platelet donations. My blood type is O Positive, which can go to almost anyone in need.
When I arrived, I was surprised they were working on...
At an Alzheimer’s caregiving conference, I was inspired when a man named Barney described how he was choosing to live with dementia.
Barney had become frustrated because he couldn’t find the “Text” key on his...
Following my husband’s first spinal fusion, Wally, a night nurse at the hospital, proved to me that person-centered care benefits the patient as well as their caregiver. Tubes were going into and coming out of multiple parts of my...
Years ago, I heard a man at a conference sponsored by AARP speak about how his wife’s MS had changed their lives. The disease was robbing her of her ability to walk and perform a multitude of basic self-care tasks.
One evening, as he...
Several years ago, I met Claudia, a remarkable caregiver, at a conference in Wisconsin. In the morning, I had spoken about how caregiver fatigue contributes to anger and a multitude of other physical and mental challenges.
At lunch, Claudia...
I hadn’t seen my dear friend Maggie in months. She’s been caring for her husband, who is living with Parkinson’s Disease for more than five years. I was concerned about her, and I finally convinced her to join me for lunch at a...
A dear friend, who was an Episcopal priest, proudly displayed a plaque in his office that read, “I refuse to gratify the devil by becoming discouraged.”
I laughed when I first saw it, but after thinking about it, I...
As we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, I am struck by the lasting impact he had on the world. Although he’s been gone for decades, his message is still as meaningful and powerful as it was when he led the civil rights...
This is the season of miracles. On Christmas morning, children awaken to find gifts from Santa. People in a position to give donated food, clothing, and toys, which created Christmas miracles for people in need.
However, when money...
We know that there are no cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson's, and Huntington’s. Witnessing the steady decline of someone we love who is afflicted with one of these diseases breaks your heart in a thousand different...
A very wise woman told me that when she’s feeling overwhelmed with meeting all of the needs of her care receiver, she has found that doing one small thing for herself helps reduce her caregiver stress. One small act of self-care provides her...
