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Catfishes24 Posts: 1319
Senior Member
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I am not usually the caregiver in my family. My mom has been my warrior and my shield for a lot of my 46 years. I have many health challenges and am now disabled, dependent on my mom for support, care, everything. Last night Mom came home from her full-time job feeling unwell. Shortly thereafter, she became sick - turns out it is a virus. Mom is usually the Energizer Bunny, but this has laid her low. I convinced her to go to the ER this morning via ambulance, knowing that if something happened in the 22 mile trip I might not be able to cope by myself. The doctors have admitted her for at least 24 hours for fluids and monitoring. Today, I spent several hours in the opposite position I usually occupy in a hospital: the waiting chair. I watched my mom suffer, waited for medical treatment, waited for the treatment to kick in, waited for a sign of relief, waited to see if I was needed for any little thing, waited... I never knew how hard this role could be, when you feel helpless and ineffective. My mom is so very, very rarely ill, this is almost a novel experience for me. So thank you to everyone who cares for a chronically ill person. Thank you for the ice chips, the quiet conversation, the note-taking and question-asking with the medical personnel, the finding of the slippers and the more blanket/less blanket as needed. Thank you for the patience, the long hours of endurance in those awful hard chairs. Thank you for the calm expression and manner, the reassurance that one is not alone. Thank you for all of the many large and small things you do to make one feel even just a tiny bit better. Thank you. Catfishes24
I am not a professional anything, but I do have opinions - for what they are worth!
Never, never, never give up - Winston Churchill
As long as you are breathing, there is more right with you than wrong with you, no matter what is wrong with you. - Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D
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