Hello everyone:

There is a group of people for whom I have great respect: caregivers. These dear folks sacrifice their own lives to give to others. May God richly bless them!

I know a gal who loves to go out to eat with her girlfriends, but she realized lately that going to one of their favorite restaurants made her late getting home to take over the reigns of her elderly mother’s care (she has a three-day-a-week few-hours-at-a-time break but the paid caregiver has limited hours). So we probably won’t get to go back there again …for the foreseeable future, if you get my drift.

She loved raising chickens but she understood that it was getting harder and harder for her elderly mother to go to their farm area first thing in the morning, so my friend gave her beloved chickens away. She enjoyed going out to eat twice a day when friends and family came in from out of town, but acknowledged that it was too hard on her mother, so now she is limited to once a day during the visits, or less.

When you care for someone who is elderly, as their world gets constricted, so does yours. For a person to willingly accept those limitations, while still perfectly able-bodied herself, it’s incredible. You know that your world will not get bigger until the day comes that the family member is no longer in need of that care.

I have to believe that there is a special place in heaven for such special, caring people. Here’s to you, my friend, and to everyone in the same situation!

Best,

Dr. Sheri