JOAN’S BLOG – THURS/FRI, FEBRUARY 25/26, 2010 – THE OLYMPIAN CAREGIVER

If sleep is not important to you, or you have a DVR, you have probably been watching at least some of the Olympic coverage these past two weeks. As I heard the stories of athletes triumphing over injuries , defeat in spite of their best efforts, extensive, grueling, painful training for almost as many years as they have been alive, emotional, financial, and mental strain, I thought about us – the spousal caregivers of Alzheimer patients.

As mentioned in my Mon/Tue blog, I am currently going through a difficult emotional period in response to my husband’s latest downslide on the Alzheimer’s scale. There are days that I feel so discouraged and sad that we are living in this Alzheimer’s Hell, that I wonder if I will make it through. As he is slowing down physically and mentally, I am speeding up, picking up the slack, handling more and more of the home, work, medical, and financial tasks. Alone.

Then I thought about the Olympic athletes. The same qualities that mold a person of raw talent into a world class Olympian athlete are those that turn ordinary human beings into Olympian caregivers. Courage, tenacity, determination, persistence, and the ability to keep on going no matter how many times they are injured physically and emotionally.

That is us – you and me and every spouse caring for an Alzheimer husband or wife. No matter how often Alzheimer’s Disease discourages us; defeats us; knocks us down; wounds us emotionally, we pick ourselves up and keep going.

More emotionally difficult than falling on the ice, a ski slope, or a snow board course after years of training, in front of a billion people, is watching the love of your life lose their personality, mental and physical abilities, memories of your life together, and essence of being. And knowing there is nothing you can do about it, except get up, hold your emotions in check, and keep on caregiving. If that is not worthy of a Gold Medal in Caregiving Olympics, I do not know what is.

So to all of us Alzheimer Spouse Caregivers – I award each and every one of us a GOLD MEDAL. We have earned it!

MESSAGE BOARD: The Olympian Caregivers

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The Alzheimer Spouse LLC
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