This narrative is inspiring & real world honest. Aging is a strange journey, in the sense of bringing new, unknown & perhaps unpleasant truths to bear on our situation. These experiences leave their mark on our sensibilities, being a caregiver is an extraordinary opportunity to learn & grow for oneself, too. Many thanks Ralfy.
Thank you Ralfy. I travel down this road with my mom, taking her places, cooking for her, writing in a notebook so she could read what her life was like. The names of my siblings, where my parents lived, where we were born, the names of our pets, relatives. It was the story of her life. I wrote her tales as she told them to me. My mom was on a day trip with friends 4 years ago, when a teenager, texting hit the car head on, and my mom was killed. Just like that she was gone. To this day, I have never felt a speck of guilt. I did everything for her towards the end, we spent time together, we hugged, we baked bread together, we talked. Your mom reminds me of my mom. As you reminisce about your moms antics, they sound so familiar. Bless you sir. I just love this story.
So glad you shared this, Ralfy. A powerful story. Lots of it resonates for me as the primary caregiver for an adult child with a developmental disability. I have learned so many practical things about how to manage situations and add quality to his life along the way.
I recognise the the situation, it’s very much commendable what you did, no simple feat. It also demonstrates the level of empathy you possess which is one of the most valuable assets. I am sure it has rewarded you with memories that are worth so much, because in the end it’s all you can carry.
Thank you very much for sharing this very personal story and positive point of view. It is great to see positive approaches to this topic as it might be something that will - sooner rather than later - come up in your own family. I see early signs with my in-laws who live relatively close by, so watching something so positive takes away a bit of the anxiety connected with what might come to pass.
Ralfy, very good to hear the story of you and your mum! Thank you for sharing with us your experience. Glad that you used the "suggesting the alternative" approach to get your mum to do things that would benefit her. Such is beauty of living - to love one another. Hope you kept whisky bottles away from her, haha!
Some kind of support for the caregiver is an absolute necessity. Local groups can be helpful or, if you're very very lucky, you may have friends that are willing to listen, advise, and keep you from pushing yourself till you fall over, at which point you're of no use to anybody. I was somewhat fortunate in that way (thank goodness), but the multiple layers of exhaustion are hard to describe to those who've never experienced it. It can also take a fair while to rediscover your own world once that person passes, everything becomes wrapped up in the caregiving. It took me about a year to redefine my life again. Once more, thank you for sharing your story. Marian 🇨🇦 I would have liked to have met your Mom, she sounds like a gem!
I appreciate you opening up and telling this heart wrenching story, even more meaningful since this was happening during the growth of your other channel. I dealt with a similar situation with my grandmother who in large-part raised me. Never easy.
Good one, Ralfy! I appreciate your techniques in dealing with some of those common situations. Have been putting a lot of effort into Alzheimer's prevention over the past 10 years, including smoking a tobacco pipe. Will report back in another 40yrs and tell you how it's going....😅
