A Caregiver's Inspirational Journey Through Cancer
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Multiple Myeloma on Feb 3rd, 2012
“…you’re the only one who truly understands what he or she needs.” – Gail Sheehy, Passages in Caregiving Gail Sheehy’s Labyrinth IV is Playing God. “By now you’ve become a seasoned caregiver. You’re good at it and the only person your loved one trusts. You also believe you’re the only one who truly understands what he […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Multiple Myeloma on Feb 2nd, 2012
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain!” – Unknown In Gail Sheehy’s Eight Labyrinths of Caregiving, Labyrinth III is the Boomerang. A boomerang is an aerodynamically shaped object designed to fly efficiently through the air when thrown by hand. The term usually refers to an […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Misc on Feb 1st, 2012
There is not a ‘required way’ to walk a labyrinth. The beauty of the labyrinth is that people can approach the experience on their own terms. However, as a guideline, we often break the ‘walk’ into three stages. Entering: (also referred to as shedding purgation.) During this stage you walk the path toward the center, […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Misc on Jan 31st, 2012
“The caregiver’s journey is different. It does not proceed from stage to stage in a neat fashion. It is definitely not linear. It feels like we are going around in circles, thinking we have resolved a crisis only to have it return or be superseded by a different, unexpected crisis…A maze creates chaos. A labyrinth […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Caregiver Tips, Misc on Jan 30th, 2012
“I had an inspiration while walking a labyrinth. You go in circles, sudden twists and turnings. It’s a lot like the surprises and complications we face on our journey as caregivers. A labyrinth has one true path. It can eventually lead us to the center, but you can’t see the path ahead. It’s not predictable.” […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Misc on Jan 29th, 2012
“When the night has come And the land is dark And the moon is the only light we’ll see No I won’t be afraid, no I won’t be afraid Just as long as you stand, stand by me” – Lyrics Early in Dave’s diagnosis, I ran across this video, filling my endless hours of time […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Misc on Jan 26th, 2012
“Frankly remission is an awkward place. In fact beyond the normal wear & tear of aging, I now look & feel as well as I did before I became ill. But I have not been able to go forward as though nothing had happened, & that is because something has happened & it happened to […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Misc on Jan 23rd, 2012
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” ― Helen Keller In light of recent dialog on how to live with cancer, I thought I would share with you how much the simplest of […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Multiple Myeloma on Jan 21st, 2012
“Before I even knew what we would do, what the treatment would be, or it’s outcome, I had to get Dave’s head in the game!” – Lori Puente There is a wonderful article over at The Myeloma Beacon, by Kevin Jones where he talks about the battle between him and his MM. It has garnered […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Misc on Jan 19th, 2012
What Cancer Cannot Do Cancer is so limited…. It cannot cripple love. It cannot shatter hope. It cannot corrode faith. It cannot eat away peace. It cannot destroy confidence. It cannot kill friendship. It cannot shut out memories. It cannot silence courage. It cannot reduce eternal life. It cannot quench the Spirit. Author Unknown I […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Multiple Myeloma on Jan 13th, 2012
“It’s not about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain!” – Unknown We have a very active FB MM Support Group (check my resources page if you haven’t joined yet). So far with over 400 members we are very thoughtful, kind and supportive toward one another, regardless of […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Multiple Myeloma on Jan 11th, 2012
“All doctors have proven to me is that they are good enough students to get through med school.” – Lori Puente Another favorite of mine that my friend and former mentor used to say to me was, “Remember, they are ‘practicing’ medicine.” I don’t mean to be a doctor basher. I have many friends who […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Misc, Multiple Myeloma on Dec 31st, 2011
“Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will.” – Jawaharal Nehru It’s hard to believe yet another year has gone by. It has been a good year for us, personally. Not so true for others and then some have done exceedingly […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Multiple Myeloma on Dec 26th, 2011
“Open collaboration is critical for driving innovation…” – Open Source Quote This video hit the MM community as I was traveling for a long awaited cruise celebrating 30 years of marriage with my husband Dave, who has MM. It has taken me awhile to finally get it up here for those of you that might […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Multiple Myeloma on Dec 25th, 2011
“Information is not knowledge.” – Albert Einstein I have noticed there are those who are very knowledgable about Multiple Myeloma and there are those who have information, and then there are those who have a very superficial understanding. I have also noticed that sometimes it’s the patient, sometimes the caregiver, but rarely is it both […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Misc on Dec 24th, 2011
“Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant.” – Horace 65-68 B.C. I have subscribed to a blog called Study Hacks for some years now. I’m a HUGE fan. This author doesn’t blog every day or even every week. But when he does, it is a turn your thinking on it’s […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Misc, Multiple Myeloma on Dec 22nd, 2011
“Physical strength is measured by what we can carry; spiritual by what we can bear.” – Unknown When I started this blog, it was partly my own very personal need to heal from my experience of moving from sheer terror to triumphant regaining of our life. Albeit a different life than the one we had, but in […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Misc, Multiple Myeloma on Dec 22nd, 2011
“New and wonderful, ‘Myeloma Blessings’ came into my life last night!” – Lori Puente Wow! I have come to embrace and truly LOVE the chance encounters I have in my daily life. It’s almost as if, “who or what will come into my life today?” Will they be for me? Or will I be for […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts on Dec 21st, 2011
“Just as a puppy can be more of a challenge than a gift, so too can the holidays.” – John Clayton The holidays can be both joyful and stressful. When Dave and I were in Arkansas for the beginnings of his Tandem SCTs protocol… from Thanksgiving through New Year’s, it could have been a pity […]
Posted in Caregiver Thoughts, Misc, Our Life on Dec 2nd, 2011
“I get satisfaction of three kinds. One is creating something, one is being paid for it and one is the feeling that I haven’t just been sitting on my ass all afternoon.” – William F. Buckley, Jr. The problem with weaving is it can be very sedentary. I’m working on trying to get out for a […]
