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REPLY TO THREAD
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Caregiver Support Thread
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Original Message
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Hi everyone!
Are you a caregiver for someone? Do you sometimes feel like you just need to vent openly or talk without repercussion? This thread is the place for you. It's an extension of an older thread that the original OP wishes to retire and I promised to join and restart.
A couple of quick ground rules though.
1.) This is NOT a thread for patients, unless the posts are related to caregiving. I feel for everyone, but this should be a place that caregivers feel safe to talk in! We care deeply for our loved ones but sometimes there are just things you can't say to them.
2.) This is not a thread about my problems specifically. This is for anyone who just needs to get it out, ask for help, advice or anything else. I'll be sharing my story as well, but the thread is about everyone who needs it!
With that out of the way, I'll start it off sharing my situation.
I met an incredible woman 11 years ago who turned my life around. We clicked immediately and have been together ever since.
5 years ago, she started having trouble walking, and one morning she woke up with double vision in each eye. Extensive tests and a few months later, she was diagnosed with progressive multiple sclerosis.
Nowadays, she can walk a little with canes, and uses a wheelchair for anything more than about 15 feet. She's still somewhat independent, as in I can leave for 5-6 hours from time to time and she's usually alright, but those days are probably numbered.
For us, it was a life-changer. We lost everything (no insurance) and had to start over from scratch. And we've never really regained our footing ever since, we've just learned to live differently.
I've learned how to be a caregiver, sort of. I am still trying to figure out things from time to time, and I make mistakes. It's a blurry line between lover and caregiver, and it has to be tread lightly. I handle just about everything these days, on top of my actual job, which thankfully has let me work from home most of the time.
Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant. Being a typical guy I don't really talk about things much to anyone, and in the last year, keeping it all bottled up is causing me some health problems. So, this is me, forcing myself to talk about it!
Now it's someone else's turn :)
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