A
n aspect of caregiving rarely discussed is that it can bring out strengths you never imagined you had. For those of you beginning the long and difficult journey of caregiving, and in a panic over the challenges that await you, it’s so comforting to know this.
Sometime before the onset of my husband’s illness, I watched a documentary about a woman who was caring for her spouse. Awed by her fortitude, I wondered how she got through each day and was sure I could never, ever deal with a challenge like that. And then, I discovered, a year or two later, that I could.
This doesn’t mean it was easy. It most certainly wasn’t. But finding and drawing on these resources was empowering.
After an initial period of despair and panic, during which I wondered how I’d ever survive, let alone cope with, the difficulties that lay ahead, I found, much to my surprise, untapped strength and resilience. I juggled caregiving and a career, despite the fact that I rarely, if ever, slept more than two or three hours a night.
