Reason? Care giving and life are very difficult! Simply put, during the course of taking care of things LIFE gets in the way. But not in a gloomy way. I have had the chance to pursue care giving from several angles and I have discovered many things about me along the way.
I first started this emotional journey based on my personal experiences dealing with a loved one that was slowly passing away in front of my eyes. I fought with how to give her dignity and a sanctuary at this stressful time. I was not able to do much for her but I developed a desire to help other families with this difficult struggle.
And over the past three years I was able to investigate just how people actually handle the subject. Needless to say it was very eye opening. Depending on the relationship with the sick or impaired person, the care giver had to face things about themselves that they probably were not ready to handle and to a certain extent the care giver became a patient.
Some viewed the situation as a time to make amends for every wrong they may have committed in the past and others viewed it as an opportunity for revenge. There was extreme heroism and extreme anger and resentment. The full range of human emotion was unleashed and it began to dawn on me that care giving is not a "one-size-fits-all" subject easily relegated to changing a wall color. The needs of both the patient and the care giver needs to be addressed seriously and simultaneously in order to work properly.
So now the focus will lean more towards the need of the care giver. After all, let's face it, most are thrown unwittingly into the situation without the slightest bit of training and forethought.
The most important lesson to take away from this is that the care giver must, MUST, take care of themselves, FIRST before attempting to take care of someone else.
Let me know what you think.
Des
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