“I said, ‘Break a leg!’ She got furious and started yelling at me, ‘Why do you want me to break a leg?? She takes things exactly the way they are, what you say is what she hears, and she processes the language just as it’s spoken. Katy has her own unique way of thinking, which I adore.”
‘Can I give the a tree a hug?’ She tells me her brain is stuck. ‘Why is the sun shining?’: Caretaker of an autistic child insists ‘I am a better person because of her. I see the world in a changed way.’
‘I knew when it was time you would rise to the occasion and take care of her and of us. And you did.’ Hearing that made it all worth it.’: Nurse reflects on how she has to be a nurse, even when it’s for family
“The night my mother-in-law passed away, everyone was a mess. Emotional, tired and grieving that she had been suffering so long. Even after being a nurse for 15 years, I wasn’t prepared for how it would feel to be the family member in the nursing role. On the way home, I wasn’t ok.”
‘I think I have heartburn.’ He winced, shook it off. ‘As long as it’s not my pancreas!’ We laughed, having no idea.’: Woman loses partner to pancreatic cancer, ‘I walked with him, through life and death’
“As the days passed, he couldn’t eat or sleep. Then came the shocking weight loss. This body I once knew was now all bones and sharp edges. I could see his ribs through his t-shirt. ‘We see a large mass,’ the doctor informed us. I cried silent tears. I could no longer touch any part of him, except his hands. Everything hurt too much. We were no longer laughing. We were hoping for one more day.”
‘Who are you and what are you doing in my house???’ She’d get sad. ‘I feel like I’m in prison.’: Caretaker befriends elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, ‘Just love them, they never forget how to love’
“I would re-introduce myself every 5 minutes. ‘I am your new friend. We are going to spend the day together!’ She would smile. ‘Thank you for being here.’ She’d tell me about her first love and all the trips she’s taken. Then all of a sudden, she’d backtrack. ‘All the men I loved were in the war, and none of them came back.’ She’d forgotten so much, but whenever I’d say goodbye, she always thanked me.”
‘Robin, come sit with me. Right now. Just stop for a minute.’ I didn’t. 8 months later, he was gone.’: Wife loses husband to cancer shortly after giving birth, hopes his legacy will ‘save another drowning soul’
‘”You shouldn’t have come. This isn’t a good place for our newborn.’ Yes, but I couldn’t leave my husband in the ICU alone. ‘Maddie is so little, and you are breastfeeding. I’ll be okay. Take her home.’ He insisted I get some sleep. The next morning, I got the phone call. ‘We will talk when you get here.’ I hung up the phone and said to myself, ‘He has cancer.’ I cried the entire way to the hospital.”
‘I never look like this.’: Mom confesses she ‘forgot’ who she was until her own mother sat her down and ‘made her’ get out her makeup
“The truth is, I’ve forgotten how to be her, and as much as I hate that fact, it’s real. Mothers don’t need empty advice. We need others to care for us. It’s the first step.”
‘I found myself divorced and single at 40, no kids. I didn’t want to wait any longer! As my adoption match fell apart, I fell in love. Life changed overnight.’ Woman takes in special needs stepson after mother’s sudden death
“It felt like a bomb went off in our family. My head was swirling with fear, confusion, doubt. We went from being a carefree couple that traveled to full-time caregivers of a medically complex child. Call it intuition, gut instinct. I had no idea what to do or how to do it, but I knew with absolute certainty I was ready.”
‘I’m coming over whether you like it or not.’ We had drinks and told stories about our Kile. Jack slept on my sofa that night. Then the whispers began.’
“Kile and I confessed our love with an intimate wedding ceremony at our house. I sat by his bedside in a white dress and promised to love, honor and cherish him until death do us part. I just didn’t expect it to be 5 days later. I don’t know when Jack’s feelings for me changed. Some say they we there all along. How dare these people judge me?”
‘HE’S FINALLY ON THE PLANE! In desperation, we went to another airline desk to beg for help. She even sat on the floor with him. He was so frightened. He was in a wheelchair due to them medicating him.’
“This is my son, Leo. He has severe autism and the mental capacity of a 3-year-old. This airline refused to let him fly home because he was distressed when they wouldn’t let him have his doll. Police were called, which caused his meltdown.”
‘My sister whispered during one of those many hours, ‘Dad is teaching us how to die.’ The man who named the project suddenly became the subject.’
“We watched him go from a life-loving, bike-riding, wine-drinking, book-writing, word-weaving, soul-enriching mensch, to ashes in a box on my mother’s mantle in some of the shortest, yet longest weeks of my life.”
