A Unique Caregiver Relationship

When we think about the caregiver relationship, many of us visualize a son or daughter caring for an elderly parent. And that is often the case. I am the caregiver for my mother and was the caregiver for my aunt until she passed away. But, my husband is often my caregiver.

You see, I have multiple chronic illnesses. My husband has been there for me through numerous hospitalizations, surgeries and flare-ups. Although he works full time at a very stressful job, he is the one who cooks dinner, does laundry, cleans the house, takes care of our daughter and caters to me when I can’t get out of bed.

November is National Family Caregivers Month. According to AARP, there are 42 million caregivers in the US. The challenges they face can be overwhelming, especially without the support of others. Their Thanks Project provides a way to say thank you to caregiver, which shows them you care. My grateful words are on that site for the man I married who could walk away from this never ending, stressful, time-consuming, tiring job he does for me. And he does it lovingly and willingly.

We knew our love could conquer all
Troubles began even before we married
Unexpected deaths in our families
You never left my side
In sickness and in health we vowed
Never imagining how true that would be
At the age of 40, the unknown began
Medical tests, fears, fatigue, weakness
A risky surgery
You never left my side
New symptoms, pain and words we couldn’t even pronounce
More doctors, tests and fears
I dreamed of falling asleep and not waking up
Your words lifted me out of that deep hole
Years later we know the drill
We enjoy life to its fullest
And you never left my side

I am part of AARP’s kitchen cabinet on caregiving.  This is a series of posts on the topic of caregiving. This post and my social media involvement is compensated, but all opinions are my own.

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