Decisions & Sacrifices That We Make

We as Family Caregivers make decisions and sacrifices every day in the care of our love ones. I made the decision that my 89 year old mother with dementia would live in her own home and be taken care by myself and occasionally by certified nursing assistants (CNA). As primary caregiver, I sacrificed the time I could have spent with my teenage daughters. I sacrificed my career and who I was as a person to focus on the care of my mother.

I was watching a movie My Sister's Keeper with Cameron Diaz that spotlighted the decisions and sacrifices that family caregivers make in the care of their love ones. Cameron Diaz played the mother and primary caregiver for her daughter who had cancer. She had to choose between the needs of one child against the needs of her other children and her relationship with her husband. Cameron Diaz's character chose her daughter with cancer over the needs of her son and younger daughter. I'm curious what decisions and sacrifices did you make as primary caregiver for your love one?

What is your escape?

We Caregivers need an escape in our lives and for me the World Series San Francisco Giants provided me with a GIANT Escape from my life as a caregiver. I became a San Francisco Giant fan as a child when our dad took my brother and me to our first major league baseball game , eating peanuts, popcorn, and hotdogs and singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame was pure heaven.

Today, it's a three-hour escape from taking care of my mom who has dementia. I could listen to the ball game on my AM/FM portable radio while taking mom to the bathroom, cheer Cody Ross as he hit two home runs in the playoff game against Philadelphia, and finally hugging a complete stranger next to me when the Giants beat the Texas Rangers for the World Series championship.

What is your escape? Is it getting a massage or taking a long walk on the beach?