Reflections of a Daughter of the Silent Generation and Mother of Generation Y
I was grateful to all who took a look at Mom as they addressed her health concerns; I believe it was the most important part of providing her care. I wanted them to know, I saw them too.
—excerpt from Living Is for Living: A Caregiver’s Story
On hospital time, with Spring’s midwest prairie view, I google “haiku.”
Japanese poem, three lines of five, seven, five, nature inspires.
The lake with its geese, “attached by a stream to Maine”, reminds Mom of home.
We may wonder why, we reach for the sun each day…It’s the way we love.
Goslings in the yard, Mom would enjoy if she could – I see for us both.
Neighbor boy in boots, plops butt-first in the puddle, his Dad and I smile.
The dogs tug the leash – trees bud, flowers bloom, birds sing – we rejoice at life.
—from Living Is for Living: A Caregiver’s Story
…prednisone makes some patient’s worse, diverticulitis can be very painful, surgery is not always necessary, ice cream sandwiches and haikus help, dementia gets in the way of pain relief, delirium isn’t necessarily permanent, fecal impaction is no joke, Milk of Magnesia works…
—excerpt from Living Is for Living: A Caregiver’s Story
