Hi, @lindakbe I never mind answering questions! During my journey all too often I felt as if I was on a path alone, so I am more than willing to share here.

We all need to set boundaries. Unfortunately, I don't have much help in that area since I was with my wife 24/7/365 so boundaries were pretty nonexistent for the two of us.

My MIL went uncommunicative (a totally different kind of challenge) fairly early in her disease, but my wife remained vocal for her entire journey. Luckily her communications rarely turned ugly, but more often than not they were incessant. Certainly, at times the words my wife said to me hurt or were unfair, but I trained myself to ignore those times, tell myself I needed to be appreciative that she still wanted to talk with me, and worked on developing thicker skin. The harsh, hurtful words of family members who were consistently critical of my caring for my wife were far more difficult for me to get over, then again I know I've been guilty of being too harsh at times, too. 🙂

Until the final few weeks of my wife's war, her doctors were never able to get a handle on managing her anxiety, so that was a constant companion with us. It often made me feel like I was the ball in a pinball machine! I tried many things to try and calm that anxiety, but never really conquered it. I chalked much of that up to the fact she knew her disease was fatal and those thoughts must have been intensely scary and overwhelming at times.

Feel free to ask me anything -- especially if I've missed the mark here.
Strength, Courage, & Peace