What Dolly Can Help Us Remember...

It's well-known that Dolly spent the final years of her husband's life (Carl) being his primary caregiver. He was ill for an extended period before finally passing in March of last year at 82.

Dolly openly shared that while she was taking care of Carl, she completely neglected her own health... skipped MD visits, and put off addressing her own medical issues. She herself acknowledged after his passing, how the demands of caregiving led her to ignore her own health, and noted that she only began following up on her accumulated health concerns only after he was gone.

Makes me think that her own actions may have significantly contributed to her death this month... at only 80. All of us that are on, or have been on, this caregiving path are well aware of the tremendous stress, and the non-stop physical, emotional and psychological burden this gig imposes... worrying, not sleeping, little socialization, time constraints (where did the time go???), dealing with scheduling and tracking appointments, going to all the MD visits, being tired, the sad feelings, thinking of what our future will be, lack of help, cooking, shopping, bathing, toileting, paying bills, cleaning the house, getting needed supplies, middle-of-the-night surprises and being alone to handle them, being constantly concerned about potential falls. and on... and on... and on.

Let's let Dolly teach us something. We need to take care of us... FIRST.

Dolly loved and was loved by almost EVERYONE. Because she was so humble throughout her life, she would love... and want us... to be better at what we do... by learning from her own missteps.

So... let's honor Dolly!

Please... let's all take care of ourselves.

All the best,

/LarryG, RN