Although he passed away three years before the first
edition of Today's Caregiver magazine rolled off the
presses and when spam was still just considered a
canned meat substance, I like to think that our
Dad's heart, soul, humor and compassion can be found
within all we do around here.
Dad was a gregarious guy who loved nothing more than
learning all he could about the people he would
meet,
and was as comfortable talking with the guys on the
line in his lumber plants as he was talking with the
“suits” at corporate headquarters. Dad retired in
1990 at the age of 59 but soon afterward developed
bone marrow cancer and since he was also a
self-sufficient Marine, convincing him that spending
time in a support group of others also dealing with
cancer would be of value to him seemed an unlikely
prospect.
Therefore, I was justifiably surprised when, in a
news report saturated with Gulf War stories, Tom
Brokaw, ended his program with a personal interest
story about cancer support groups. They cut
away to a support group in my home town of Miami,
Florida and there was my dad, in a lively discussion
with his fellow support group members. A few
months later, shortly before he passed away, dad
told me that he regretted not finding his support
group earlier than he did, because that little group
had become such an important part of his life.
One other
thing about Dad. Shortly after moving back home after college
and while grappling with some of the choices I faced
trying to figure out in which direction to take my
life, I remember one night when Dad stayed up
waiting for me to come home so he can tell me a few
words which would guide me to this very day. He said simply "I love you and respect you."
For some reason, that short phrase made it all seem
so very clear to me. Funny how some people only need
a few words to make the greatest impact.
It's no wonder that some
of the responses from last week's question about
Male Caregiver were some of the best we've ever
received:
I
was a male home caregiver for my father-in-law...Continued
My wife of 40 years was
severely injured in a car accident on 12/19/1989 ...Continued
My friend's father cared
lovingly for his wife through the entire course of
Alzheimer's...Continued
My last parent, my mother, died
on April 24, 2008 following a long battle with
Alzheimer's...Continued
I wholeheartedly and joyously
applaud all those male caregivers out there...Continued
Happy Father’s Day...again!
Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com
