My New Heart

My new heart arrived on April seventh at 1:35 pm.  I picked it up at American Airlines cargo office and have yet to put it down.  Last year, after Hurricane Wilma struck my town, I lost my companion of eighteen years. I really wasn’t sure if I was ever going to be able to accept another one in his place, but my compatriots, Steven, Rick and Nancy knew better. They were responsible for the above-mentioned airport rendezvous a week ago Friday and I don’t know how I can ever thank them.

My new heart weighs about 5 pounds, is brown and fuzzy and wiggles a lot. He arrived in the form of a four month old puppy. I quickly came to a few realizations. The first is that Mother Nature is very wise, indeed.  From the minute I meet my new companion, I was addicted to him and wanted to keep him happy and safe.  I’m quite sure that this is nature’s way of making sure that her smallest and most vulnerable creatures are protected, by making them extraordinarily lovable.  The second thing I realized is that my new puppy Morris, did not replace my cat, Dashell and in fact, because I am able to feel this way again, so many of my good memories of  Dash that I had not wanted to think about these past months, are now quite pleasantly coming to mind.  And as a caregiver, I think that is another very good realization. Now if you will excuse me, it’s time for my new heart to take me for a walk.          

Take care
Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com

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My mother-in-law lives with me. She has 7 children living within the State, the furthest are only 3 hrs away. My husband is the oldest son, she has had a stroke and has diabetes complicated with only one kidney. I cannot seem to get any of her children interested enough in her care or her for that matter. She still drives but I am sure her license is not valid. She does not heed any doctors' advice on diet, etc. One of her daughters does take her to doctors appointments, but mom isn't able to remember the medications or directions and so on. Mom is not willing to accept us as helping her, or being dependant on us. Instead she behaves as if she is just living with us and all is fine, unwilling to talk about doctors appointments or medicines, and will not do for herself at home. She uses a walker but does drive, but will not fix her own dinner plate, or throw away her kleenex. Anybody know where I can get some advice? Answer This Week's CareNote: carenotes/2006/index.htm
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