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Caregiving in This Season of Thanksgiving

silverBy Pamela D Wilson, The Care Navigator, CSA, MS, BS/BA, CG

A woman I know is losing her mind - she has Alzheimer's. However, despite the frustration, anxiety and fear she faces on a daily basis, she remains thankful. Thankful that her family survived the terrors of the concentration camps and were able to come to the United States. Thankful that she and her husband had a successful tailoring business and raised three children.
She spends her days now trying to remember, because as she says, "If I can remember, I feel good about myself." During the summer she spends her time gardening and has transformed her son's backyard into a mini botanic garden. The winters are not as enjoyable because she does not go out as much and few people come to visit. She sits looking out the window hoping to see someone walking down the street. She is slowing down. What used to take her thirty minutes to bathe and dress now takes her a couple of hours. Tears often come to her eyes because she remembers how able she once was.
Another couple has an overwhelming sense of "aloneness" as they call it. There is no family nearby and many of their friends have passed away. "We have no one who cares about us," they say. A wife caring for her sick husband told me that she knows her neighbors but they never stop by because, "well, you know" - as her eyes move to her husband sitting in the chair to my left. He is on oxygen 24 hours a day and has dementia.
During this season of Thanksgiving offer a small amount of your time to a neighbor or friend in need. Visit with the person for a couple of hours while the family or spouse go out. Visit with a person who lives alone and doesn't see anyone unless he or she turns on the television. Those of us still able have much to be thankful for - share your thankfulness.

A woman I know is losing her mind - she has Alzheimer's. However, despite the frustration, anxiety and fear she faces on a daily basis, she remains thankful. Thankful that her family survived the terrors of the concentration camps and were able to come to the United States. Thankful that she and her husband had a successful tailoring business and raised three children.

She spends her days now trying to remember, because as she says, "If I can remember, I feel good about myself." During the summer she spends her time gardening and has transformed her son's backyard into a mini botanic garden. The winters are not as enjoyable because she does not go out as much and few people come to visit. She sits looking out the window hoping to see someone walking down the street. She is slowing down. What used to take her thirty minutes to bathe and dress now takes her a couple of hours. Tears often come to her eyes because she remembers how able she once was.


Another couple has an overwhelming sense of "aloneness" as they call it. There is no family nearby and many of their friends have passed away. "We have no one who cares about us," they say. A wife caring for her sick husband told me that she knows her neighbors but they never stop by because, "well, you know" - as her eyes move to her husband sitting in the chair to my left. He is on oxygen 24 hours a day and has dementia.

During this season of Thanksgiving offer a small amount of your time to a neighbor or friend in need. Visit with the person for a couple of hours while the family or spouse go out. Visit with a person who lives alone and doesn't see anyone unless he or she turns on the television. Those of us still able have much to be thankful for - share your thankfulness.

Copyright 2011 Pamela D. Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

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