tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-305172275234166700.post740126401934253639..comments2013-12-05T08:19:57.033-08:00Comments on My Sister's Keeper: One Year LaterAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05768718119206497104noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-305172275234166700.post-14923950704089654032013-03-18T09:51:21.021-07:002013-03-18T09:51:21.021-07:00My dear cousin -
Thank you for your insightful, f...My dear cousin -<br /><br />Thank you for your insightful, funny, and truthful post. You've put into words my life with our two girls - and reminded me how blessed our lives are.Ginny Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04510301127931146039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-305172275234166700.post-73413561152264581202013-03-06T09:39:44.640-08:002013-03-06T09:39:44.640-08:00Dear Suesan,
I came over to this from your most ...Dear Suesan, <br /><br />I came over to this from your most recent post in Frou Frugal, and I was blown away. Your life is so full, and your heart is so big! <br /><br />I'm familiar with the challenges of caregiving from looking after my Mum when she had Alzheimer's. We lived with her, and I know all about that "on" button. I also know about poop flying. Or at least, I know about it being stuffed between the layers of the bathroom sink which had rusted out, and having to redo the entire bathroom! My Mum had become bowel incontinent and was trying to deal with it herself without telling any of us what was happening. And of course, after we had finally traced the wretched smell to its source, I then had to start changing her, which was traumatic for both of us. <br /><br />Being a caregiver takes so much that you actually feel it being taken away. It's taken me a few years to recover from living with my Mum, and even from caring for her at a less personal distance, when we got her into a wonderful nursing home. She died last October and it was a blessed relief. It's different in her case from your sister-in-law, because I remembered her as she was, and was grieving years before she actually died. <br /><br />I hope by the time Katie comes back you have developed some more ties in your community so you can have some much-needed respite. It's important for everybody, but for you it is crucially needed to replenish what is being taken away as you are on-call 24/7. <br /><br />What a gift this blog is! I haven't known very many other caregivers, and didn't get any kind of professional help (as in people to talk to) to help when I was looking after my Mum. I think I was afraid that if I started crying, I would never stop. So reading this has really hit me deeply. Thank you! <br /><br />And trust me when I say I understand there is no glory in doing this job. There are rewards like the big smile you got for the picture, above, but hearing people say how wonderful you are doesn't really cut it. (Now if that came with an offer to babysit...!!) However, you are doing God's work. It's a wonderful thing. <br /><br />I'm going to come back and read more when I can. We've also just moved, and I'm working three jobs to try and keep bodies and bones together in our lives, so things are busy. <br /><br />Thank you again for writing this, <br />Jan ElizabethJan Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08399683086307277394noreply@blogger.com