My biggest regret is that I didn't take off as much time from work as I could have under FMLA. I continued to work and took intermittent leave for doctor's appointments, hospital stays, etc. When my husband felt okay and could stay alone, I went to work. I so wish that I had just taken the time off to be with him; however, I was sure that he was going to recover and was devastated when he took a turn for the worst and passed away. Realistically, I know that I had no crystal ball to tell me that he was going to die; and I did the best I could at the time. In my heart, I simply regret having lost any extra time that we could have been together. He was my life. Sadly, even years later, I am still struggling with finding purpose without him. Roxanne

I have a few, but not too many. I think anyone who has dealt with an ill spouse over a long period of time had a few moments when they were not as kind as they could have been. We are tired, we are stressed, we are scared and, in my case, I was sick also. By some odd coincidence, my husband and I both had cancer at the same time. He would have me go out to buy him food and it was always something that I couldn't stand the smell of (because I was on chemo). I can remember buying him fast food and putting it in the trunk of my car so that I wouldn't have to smell it and then, when I got home, he would take one bite of it and decide he didn't want it. And I understood why...........chemo can do that to you. You think you want to eat something but when you taste it, you do not. And for the most part, I was very patient but there were times I was less than kind and so, yes, I have some regrets. But I don't torment myself about it. I wasn't perfect but neither was my husband!