Caregivers

I met this guy in the clinic last week and we have very similar circumstances. He has the same type of Leukemia I have and has relapsed as well. He has a 4 year old child and found out he had this disease when his second child was born. He is going into transplant a week after me. I think he will do well. He is in remission. We were talking about caregivers briefly. His wife was there with him. He says he does not eat the food, but has family members who will bring him food. His mother-in-law is a saint, he mentioned. She comes over to help his wife when he is in the hospital. We talked about how hard it is to be a caregiver.

Watching the person you love deteriorate is an awful thing to have to deal with. Caregivers need breaks, time to themselves away from all this pain. It is one of the hardest jobs. My mother-in-law is a saint as well. My mom tries to do the best she can although she is sick. If everything was OK with her, she would be here more. My Aunt Rose, Cousin Sheila, my Father-in-law have all been caregivers in one way or another. My cousin Inez, Ean and Eve have supported me. I have a sister-in-law who always reads my blog and supports my efforts. A neighbor found out I needed plenty of liquids and went to Sam's Club and dropped off about 60 bottled waters. My biggest caregiver is my wife. She has been with me through this day and night, week after week, month after month. Thank God for those people and anyone else I have not mentioned.