Lynda

Carol tells me that she wouldn’t call it ‘drama queen’ bu its normal to sometimes be scared and frightened. Other times she might do more than is needed or forgets how to take care of herself. A “martyr” would say to herself “poor me”, something she doesn’t do. She also comes out and asks me to do something she knows I can do.

Sometimes I wished she would not be so overly watchful. She tends to think of the worst whenever I drop something or make some other sudden noise. Her first thought is that I fell down the steps or fell in the shower. I have never fallen inside the house, just outside a couple of times. But usually, we handle most situations pretty well. Since my symptoms have been progressing fairly slowly, we’ve been able to adjust to the changes. I’ve learned to accept help and she’s learned when to give it and when not to.

I don’t think its a disrespect to me if someone would compliment her for being a caregiver. It is not easy to be a caregiver and on top of that having to give up many things we liked to do together – hiking, camping, gardening or just simply walk around the shopping center at a normal pace. That must be hard for her sometimes but she doesn’t complain – and she doesn’t feel like a martyr. It’s just accepting things the way they are. Of course, we are only human and sometimes we both get frustrated. But that feeling passes.

About swallowing: sometimes food does get stuck and I have to wait a few minutes to go down. It’s a very awkward feeling. Just had a barium swallow test last Friday. Have to wait for the results but there didn’t seem to be anything unusual except acid reflux because of a hiatus hernia that has been diagnosed many years ago.