🥤

I was a caregiver for 27 years.
Caregiving looked different as time passed.
Sometimes Jason needed more care if he was recovering from an illness. Sometimes he didn’t need as much.

We had extra help.
An aide came each morning to help Jason with medical procedures, got him dressed, lifted him from bed and assisted in any other care that Jason needed.
Then came each evening to reverse the process and get him ready for bed.
Our aide became more and more invaluable as the years went on. Traveling with us and helping Jason accomplish his life more and more.

We really were blessed to have the resources to hire help.
Because I did the rest.
The role of caregiver was constant.
Checking to see what he needed.
Rolling him over to prevent pressure sores.
Shifting him in his chair.
Picking something up off the floor.
Handing him this.
Handing him that.
Then standing and waiting to put it all back when he was done.
Cooking. Cleaning.
Canceling plans because he didn’t feel well.
Visiting him at the hospital after another surgery or fever spike or infection.
Learning how to give shots or change his IV or dress a wound.
Caregiving looked like a lot of things.

I also worked full time for many of those years.
My most recent job is as a graphic designer. I design artwork for the craft industry.
I used to get going on my work and didn’t want to shift my focus to help Jason.
Or I would forget that he had asked me for something.🤷🏻‍♀️

And he would have to ask again.

I keep a clean email account.
I organize my emails. Trash things often.
I have an email from 2010 that has stayed in my inbox for the last ten years.
It makes me smile when I scroll down the list of incoming emails.
Jason’s desperate plea for me, his caregiver, to get him a soda. Sent after asking for it multiple times, I’m sure.
I clicked on this email the other day and laughed out loud at the message.

I’m pretty sure I got him his Sprite… eventually.😂

Jason didn’t always like needing people to help him.
I didn’t always like needing to be a caregiver.

But this email makes me laugh at the caregiving life.
Jas, I think we actually did a pretty good job at the stuff we didn’t even like.😉

✊🏻💙