The video Sharon made is just lovely and so very touching... It took a lot of courage to make ... TY Sharon

I first came here looking for caregiver support.....
I had moved in with my parents both of whom were very sick.... My Dad had, had a series of strokes, a heart attack (MI) and cancer and my mom had RA and Alzheimer's .... For me the Alzheimer's was the worst... It really devastated me
My mom was my best friend

I was unable to leave the home other then twice a week when a support worker came in for me to go shopping, banking etc for 2 hours and I didn't have any idea how to work a computer

When my Dad died I felt like I had to learn or I'd go completely off of the deep end and so I purchased my first one... had about 4 tutor sessions and found DailyStrength.org

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I think it saved me.... I was having a lot of very dark thoughts regularly... I was Bipolar as well

When I found caregivers support I had several friends right away and they welcomed and hugged me.... It was them that I turned to when my mom died and I will be forever grateful

I see DS touching people who feel lost everyday

My name is Lyle Romans I am 23 and I live in oregon U.S.A I am at the end of my life i have terminal Dermatomyositis, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Auto Immune Disease so with my awesome genes there is absolutley no way for any transplant, because my body is killing me but the new cervical spinal cord implant from St Judes and it has been wonderful specially because literally I am falling apart It has been 5 years since it started I have lost almost all of my vision and I am a motivational speaker

You Sound Amazing My friend. What you are going threw is wrong in life. It sounds like you are doing great things for others. I just signed up for this site and you are the 1st post i read, and you just touched me.

You have touched my heart as well Lyle.... Thank you ... Welcome Sniggie!....xo

I just saw your post, Lyle. I'm so sorry about what you are going through, at such a young age. I'm keeping a good thought for you.

In 2006 my 19 year old son died in a tragic industrial accident. He was my youngest child. Living in a rural area, it was difficult to find any support. Family, friends and co-workers did not understand, although they were as supportive as they could be, they could not understand. I found DS and joined the bereavement community. There I found others that understood. Soon several of us that had lost our child(ren) clung to each other and I felt the true understanding that I was seeking. One woman, Barbara Smith, worked closely with the founder of DS along with others in other community groups to form sub member groups. She founded a group called ForMomsOnly in 2007. She passed from breast cancer in 2011, but the vision of having a group for Mothers that had lost a child still continues here.
This group has been a lifesaver for me and many others.
Note to DS:
Many of our members are having a difficult time with the new DS--the inability to see who is logged on, see who has recently posted a comment to someones journal, sent a comment in the form of a hug, joined the group, the posting of a photo in a photo-book are also ways we memorialized our children and felt connected to others. Sometimes a comment on another's journal, or hug-book is just what we needed to hear that day. So the feeds that we received from communities, groups, friends are important.

This is why DS is so important.... TY for sharing your heart touching stories.... Big hugs......xo