Speed Bump #1

I was always an independent person.  My mother died when I was 16 years old and my only sibling, my brother, when I was 38 years old.  I have been known as the care giver most of my life.  My father will be 99 years old next month and he has more mobility than I do.  The hardest thing to accept is that I need help, that I am no longer 100% independent.

Thankfully my husband of almost 29 years, Dennis, has taken on the job.  When my brother was dying of cancer and under hospice care, the reality was that I was the primary care giver.  I was the one who gave him morphine in his catheter and stayed up waiting for oxygen to be delivered.  So after spending most of my adult life caring for others, including three children, this was the first big hurtle.  I haven't been always successful and I certainly haven't always found the humor in the situations.

But a constant adjustment it will be.  Thankfully my family now remembers more times than not to make sure when they move the walker or wheelchair out of the way that they then move it back within reach.  Very frustrating when it's just that inch out of reach, teasing you and saying, "Nay, nay,nay".  Almost as frustrating as making sure you have enough time to get in to the bathroom not to mention having the balance/strength to get "situated".  But those stories I'll save for another day.