Over the years I have seen many friends and people from this Church community take on the role of caregiver for someone in their life. I truly wondered, how do they find the strength and resolve too, as Rev Kitty said in her message on Sunday, “put worry aside”? About a year ago my Sister decided to move out of her house and into our Father’s house to be his full-time advocate. He’s 88 years old now, living by himself and has been in and out of Hospitals and rehab facilities because of injuries related to falling and declining health due to a heart condition. 10 days ago after a hospital visit and another rehab center stay, it was determined that he did not have long to live.
“We will keep him here in the hospital on hospice care and pain medication to make him comfortable as he passes”, it was explained to my Sister. At that moment she took the next step in her evolution as a caregiver and made the decision to bring him to where he would truly want to die, his home. I have spent many hours this last week at my Sister’s side, learning from her how I can help. Watching her match his frustration with Love, and care for his body with kindness and respect. My Sister at 5 feet tall, has shown me how making a choice to be Loving, Compassionate, Kind and Selfless can make us a powerful caregiver, able to do for another what they can no longer do for themselves and preserve what may be most important in this moment..Their dignity. God bless my Sister and all those who have made a commitment to put their own life on hold to take care of someone else, for they have truly shown us that being a caregiver is inside us all.
