Bob & Sarah
“Take small steps and celebrate the successes.” – Sarah’s minister friend
Sarah, a Myeloma caregiver has been dealing with the often overwhelming onslaught of Multiple Myeloma entering her life. She has been blogging about her journey and has a delightful honesty about her struggles and her successes. You can see so clearly how special her man is in her life. Like Susie’s Hamada and Dianne’s Vern, she is struggling to get Bob through his journey with MM and somehow manages to find things to smile about, laugh about, joke about, and pull her hair out over. For those of you newly on this journey she is worth a visit now and again. For those of who have been there and done that, we appreciate so much where she and Bob are right now and can’t help but be pulling hard for them both.
Yesterday she made a sweet post, and today’s isn’t so bad either.
Go on over, say hello, and enjoy her musings, they are really great! Post here.
I am so happy to have more caregivers in the blogosphere. In the beginning there seemed to be our beacon light in Susie Hemingway, who showed us all with such grace and courage what it is to care for one you love fighting this dreadful disease. I love the blogs of MM Warriors, but we each have our journeys and caregivers have their own unique bond and will be the ones left to carry on, alone, should their loved one not make it, which is all too common with Myeloma. It’s good for us to have each other and lean on each other through it all and beyond. The patients learn from us, what it might be like for their partner caring from them, and certainly we learn from them. It’s all good. So thank you Angie and Sarah for putting yourself out there. Thank you Susie, for showing us how it’s done, you set a high bar to attain. Thank you Dianne West for writing about your very hard journey trying to find meaning in your life after Vern has passed. And to you Susie for continuing to share with us your journey without your beloved Hamada. You are my heroes.
Actually, there was only about a week between us getting the check and getting the letter. They didn’t waste any time. We even owed more because they said there was an extra month or something. I do have some questions about that whole deal for our tax person though. Have a good week-
Rene! Thanks so much for sharing with me that my post about SSD helped you to not get in the boiling oil! I’m so thrilled to hear that. How long after you got your check did you hear from the insurance company? If you don’t mind my asking… Seems there are better plans out there now that work better together, but for those of us who signed up long ago and years of contributing don’t have such good communication between the two. And I’m glad that you are enjoying the caregivers. We are a special lot of folks with are own unique journey, though parallel to those we care for.
I love reading what all of you gals have to say; it’s great to know we’re not in this alone. All of us “caring for our guys” or learning to live without him, as some of you are experiencing. Thank you for your honest, heartfelt sharing. It helps me in this caregiving world! Lori, thanks again for the heads up about the SS disability check. We got the letter from the long term insurance carrier telling us how much we owed back. I’m so thankful that I was prepared for that letter. We were able to go to Miami. Other than an ER visit because of complications with Jeff’s pneumonia, we had a great time! Thanks again for your encouragement.
Angie, you do – belong. We are all in different points of our journey. Susie, very experienced writer and blogger, artist. Dianne writing and sharing like Susie the loss of her beloved. You and Sarah are in it, though Sarah a little less far along than you. I’m in the middle somewhere. Its a GREAT mix of caregivers on this journey and different audiences, but certainly sharing in that caregiving perspective. I’m glad to have friends out here and hope it continues to encourage others to join in the fray.
Oh my….I definitely do not belong in this blog….I’m just starting and am not as eloquent as everyone….but I do it for ME! I have enjoyed writing on Mike’s carepage (and continue to do so with a large following)…but my “blog” is more personal and I haven’t really ‘advertised’ it. I am doing it to try and keep my sanity! Some days it is the only way to express my hurt, pain, anger, lonliness since I try to make the carepage always “positive”. 🙂 Thanks to each of you for your friendship on FB and for giving me input on my blog. I count myself blessed to know each of you! Thanks Lori!
Well Ladies, you are quite special to me and have touched my heart on so many occasions through your journeys. I know you have touched many, deeply. Our hopes are aligned as we blog our experiences and inner most feelings and thoughts – that folks find us and in that, a shared reality, solace, comfort and maybe even some information that helps them along their road. But it is also, very profoundly, a healing for us as well. Susie, love the “‘cry’ to the world” comment.
How kind of you Lori to mention me here on your wonderful “Riding the Wave” blog which I know is a great help to many and also in raising the profile of the difficult disease of Mutilple Myeloma. When I first started blogging Hamada’s story, when my eldest Son suggested that my ‘poems of love’ should be published to the Web, there did not seem many doing the same thing. In fact I never really thought that anyone would read them but I knew it felt SO much better to ‘cry’ to the world!
What friends we made! what connections for life, what wonderful advice came our way and in return perhaps we helped a little, showing our love for each other and what can be achieved like Dianne and Vern through love, even with poor prognosis. Our men were indeed brave warriors and perhaps have help a little with research into this wretched disease. I like to believe so.
I continue to admire and praise you for the work you do and for your loving care of your Man.
May God keep him safe and in continued good health.
I have a hole in my heart that will never be filled but I know I did my very best for a wonderful and much missed man who so deserved the care I lavished upon him.
Love and hugs as always Lori x
My goodness, Lori. How very sweet of you to mention me. I kept my CaringBridge journal during Vern’s 4-1/2 year battle with MM because it was my lifeline. It was where I turned when things were bleak to ask for support and also where I shared those small victories along the way. It helped me be strong when I needed to be. And that’s what my widow’s blog is doing for me now … helping me be strong while I try to figure out how I can have a future without Vern. The blog world is amazing. So many stories, so many lives shared, so many friendships made as we travel this road together. Bless you, Lori.
I’ve added you, Angie and Dianne to my blogroll. What you are doing in sharing your journey, good and bad, is so incredibly valuable. Oh man, beads are amazing. I’m actually knitting a beautiful cowel that can also be pulled up over your head for my daughter. It is very delicate and sweet. But one lady told me she wanted me to add beads to the fringe of the open weave scarf I did that you liked and I’m going to give it a try. Working beads into the weaving is a real possibility.
Lori: OMG….I’m new to all this….I follow in the footsteps of you, Angie, Dianne, Susie……and I learn from all of you. And, I lean on you…for information, strength and courage.
What I post, is from my heart. I am so honored to have this space, on your blog.
I just want you to keep weaving!!! (One with beads!!)
Blessings…and love,
Sarah