(SSTattler: first YouTube comes from Christopher Reeve Foundation. I modified the text below says "stroke" as well. Good YouTube.)
Caregiving
Caregiving is not a role people usually choose. It seems to choose us, emerging from events and circumstances beyond our control. Stroke, spinal cord injury, debilitation or sudden illness may come without warning.
This is a job that cannot be skirted and cannot always be delegated. It can be difficult, physically and emotionally. It can be time-consuming. While caring for loved ones can be enormously satisfying, there are days, it seems, that offer little reward.
Caregivers, the men and women who care for family members and loved ones, deserve to be recognized and supported for the vital part they play in the lives of people with stroke or paralysis.
Caregivers may work in isolation from others in similar circumstances but they share much in common. It is important that caregivers connect with each other, to gain strength and to know that they are not alone.
It is essential that caregivers know about tools -- the homecare products and services -- that might make their jobs easier. It's also important that caregivers are aware of community and public resources that offer assistance.
Caregivers also need to know that support and respite systems exist to address the well-being and health of caregivers themselves.
See as well:
Caregiver Rick for Stroke Survivor Isabel
(SSTattler: Rick Griffith formally has a job with TV Reporter and now he is a caregiver. See YouTube an example Jack Palance (had a stroke) Meets With Reporter Rick Griffith)
Why do I do it? In addition to I want to do it, I don't want to regret not doing it at the end. In sickness and in health", good line. As a sole caregiver for someone who is not easy to please I am cognizant of the pitfalls of co-dependency. By no means do I do everything for my wife as she struggles to recover from a major stroke at age 44 on September 1, 2007. She's a fighter, that's for sure.
She made her escape from Cuba in 1991 in a small inflatable life raft; she was one of five adults in that tiny craft. Fives days and nights in rough seas with sharks constantly present, the U.S. Coast Guard picked them up half way between Florida and Cuba. She sought and was granted political asylum and became a Naturalized U.S. Citizen. Miss Leyva started her life in "the land of the free" in Las Vegas. This highly intelligent, well educated 29-year-old woman first made a living cleaning toilets at Caesar's Palace Hotel. When her collge transcripts were finally obtained and verified she became a teacher. Fluent in Russian, she was a perfect fit to teach Russian in the Clark County, Nevada School District.
A major stroke at age 44 tried to leave her in a wheel chair; she refused: today she can walk. It tried to silence her: now she can speak roughly. Starving one half of her left hemisphere of oxygen, it tried to divorce her from her beloved novels in English, Spanish, and Russian: Her major language center is gone yet, she's cracking the reading code ever so slowly. She has been an out-patient at Scripps Memorial Hospital Stroke Recovery Center in Encinitas, California, since 2007. The stroke hit like a sunami on September 1, 2007; she was only 44. It happened at home following the first week of school at Oceanside High School where she taught Spanish since 1999.
She struggles to speak. Nothing at first, vast improvement to date and always building. Husband Rick Griffith is the sole caregiver. Since Isabel's stroke left her unable to speak, write, or read, communication is very difficult. We are a family with a mom and a dad, four lovable little doggies (three are adopted), two adopted kitties, two birds, and a pond full of goldfish.
Isabel and husband Richard celebrated their second wedding anniversary while Isabel was in the hospital following her stroke. Rick is a former TV news reporter whose new career is that of sole caregiver. He's a Contributing Writer for The Stroke Network.org. When he can find someone to sit with Isabel he works as a free-lance cameraman and on camera spokesman, as well as writing, editing, and voice-over work from home when possible.
Isabel and Richard live in Oceanside, California, San Diego County, California, U.S.A.
Now living on California State Teachers Disability Retirement life is challenging to say the least. Richard created a Video Blog, http://CaringForMissLeyva.com hoping to attract a corporate sponsor. At this writing, New York based ModestNeeds.org and PetMeds.com are sponsoring Miss Leyva.
Stroke Survivor Leaves Home Alone for Caregiver
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