A Message for Caregivers

This message is for all the caregivers...the loved ones who live one day at a time...sometimes one hour, one minute at a time.

You can do this. You have the strength. You have the patience. You have the grace. You can do this. There is nothing more important in the life of your loved one than to give him or her the comfort and peace that only you can share. You can do this. I know there are sleepless nights...multiple trips to the doctors...confusing medical terms to try and understand...insurance hassles...not to mention watching the pain of someone you love so deeply, and feeling so helpless.

We as the caregiver, want to take it all away. We want to see the person we knew before the cancer. Our hearts break daily. Our spirits feel broken. Our dreams fade. But we can do this....

Thank God for each day you get with your loved one. Each day is a gift, not a burden. Some live and get well. Others pass to a new experience. This cancer will not define your life and it can never define the life of those we see going through the illness.

Breathe deep...ask for help--which I know is so very hard to do. Find a moment to find your bearings...take one thing at a time...when you look at the big picture it can get overwhelming. Focus on one task and then the next and so on.

I remember every night that I was able to go to sleep hearing Jeff breathe and every morning I woke to see his chest rise and his eyes open, I knew God had given me one more blessing, one more opportunity to give Jeff all I could humanly and spiritually give. It was one more day as a family, one more day my girls had their Daddy, and one more day I shared with my husband.

Find the blessings. Talk to God. Yell at God--I did. He doesn't stop loving us. He just gave me more love and more strength. Even though I was convinced at times that God had left me, I know now, with absolute certainty, that God never left my side. God never left Jeff's side. God never left our girl's side. Love never fails...You can do this.