Caregivers Support Group
A voluntary caregiver is a spouse, relative, friend or neighbor of a disabled person or child who assists with activities of daily living and assists those unable to fully take care of themselves. The challenges of a caregiver are unique and sometimes it's hard to find people to talk to who know what you're going through. Join the conversation and find others who...
I found out this weekend that I'm truly blessed with people I'm lucky to be able to call friends.
I work with training herding dogs to do what they were created to do, herd. In my particular case, sheep herding with border collies.
Each weekend I take my 4 dogs down to a ranch in Oregon to a Sheppard who trains these dogs. I've been doing it for about the last 2 years and I've found I love it. Funny how we will come across something like this that we've never considered before and find we have a passion for it.
A passion to the point that I moved my travel trailer down to a spot on his ranch so my wife and I could go down and spend weekends out in the middle of the flock, literally. It's an awesome experience, so relaxing and serene. I find doing that re-centers me no matter how bad a week has been.
Anyway, when we determined that my wife would need to undergo HEP-C treatment, the cost and potential restrictions she was going to face looked like the end of this for me, I can't afford classes with the cost of her Meds and not knowing when I would be able to pick it back up, I sent the rancher an email to the effect that I had to give up my time slots and to book someone else into it.
When I went down last weekend to close up the trailer for an undetermined amount of time, I was me by the rancher, his wife and my fellow students.
They told me that I had no choice, that they were requiring I continue to come down, the rancher is waving fees for class while we undergo the treatments and my fellow students are splitting up the cost of gas to get me down there weekly.
The told me; "Your just as important as Robbie (my wife) and that we're not going to allow you to burn out, so we're going to help you take care of Robbie by taking care of you".
O-Boy, what a powerful gift, Im not one who easily accepts stuff like this having been raised in a situation that I had only myself to rely on. But I'm getting better and I didn't fight this wonderful gift given to me by these phenomenally special people.
Like I said, Ive been blessed by some really great people in my life.
This community is the same kind of thing. We have an opportunity to know we are not alone in the trials we face. We can lean on others in this message board to gain knowledge, support, or just friends to listen to us.
I look at the activity in the caregivers board and wonder, Are we all to busy giving care to care for ourselves?
Anyway, Im available to anyone on this board any time you need a friend to listen, dont know if I can contribute, but I can at least listen and let you know you were heard. Add me as a friend if your looking for some one to listen.
Thanks for listening to me today!
I work with training herding dogs to do what they were created to do, herd. In my particular case, sheep herding with border collies.
Each weekend I take my 4 dogs down to a ranch in Oregon to a Sheppard who trains these dogs. I've been doing it for about the last 2 years and I've found I love it. Funny how we will come across something like this that we've never considered before and find we have a passion for it.
A passion to the point that I moved my travel trailer down to a spot on his ranch so my wife and I could go down and spend weekends out in the middle of the flock, literally. It's an awesome experience, so relaxing and serene. I find doing that re-centers me no matter how bad a week has been.
Anyway, when we determined that my wife would need to undergo HEP-C treatment, the cost and potential restrictions she was going to face looked like the end of this for me, I can't afford classes with the cost of her Meds and not knowing when I would be able to pick it back up, I sent the rancher an email to the effect that I had to give up my time slots and to book someone else into it.
When I went down last weekend to close up the trailer for an undetermined amount of time, I was me by the rancher, his wife and my fellow students.
They told me that I had no choice, that they were requiring I continue to come down, the rancher is waving fees for class while we undergo the treatments and my fellow students are splitting up the cost of gas to get me down there weekly.
The told me; "Your just as important as Robbie (my wife) and that we're not going to allow you to burn out, so we're going to help you take care of Robbie by taking care of you".
O-Boy, what a powerful gift, Im not one who easily accepts stuff like this having been raised in a situation that I had only myself to rely on. But I'm getting better and I didn't fight this wonderful gift given to me by these phenomenally special people.
Like I said, Ive been blessed by some really great people in my life.
This community is the same kind of thing. We have an opportunity to know we are not alone in the trials we face. We can lean on others in this message board to gain knowledge, support, or just friends to listen to us.
I look at the activity in the caregivers board and wonder, Are we all to busy giving care to care for ourselves?
Anyway, Im available to anyone on this board any time you need a friend to listen, dont know if I can contribute, but I can at least listen and let you know you were heard. Add me as a friend if your looking for some one to listen.
Thanks for listening to me today!
A) there is THAT someone who needs you for care, support, and love. He/she is in the fight for his/her life, right now and is scared out of his/her wits a lot.
B) A lot of times...no, make that MOST of the time, you're about the only who can "run the show"...and life would fall apart without you!
C)A LOT of people don't understand what YOU'RE going through, expect YOU to stay strong 24/7, and say all those stupid, idiotic things which get the heck on your nerves but you can't say anything...because they just don't get it!
D) This could be YOU someday...in trouble. And you might need someone or those few someones who really understand all the pain/suffering you went through as a "caregiver"...and understand that you're a HUMAN being...not just "a patitent" nor "a victim" nor "a survivor"!
Their son/daughter/spouse/partner/relative or friend.
Not "you poor, poor thing" or "be a strong one"
Just a person.