The Physical Demands of CaregivingMost caregivers, myself included, focus on how our experience affects us emotionally. I'm going to step aside for this article and speak with you about the physical demands of caregiving... By Kaye Waller2 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Fallible Caregiver Series: Don’t Let Cancer Steal Your RomanceEight months into our marriage, cancer stole from us the ability to have sex (i.e., intercourse). As the special intimacy of intercourse disappeared from our marriage, other romantic practices and... By Joel Hughes4 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments1 comments
Dealing with Burnout When You Can't Get AwayAs a caregiver, it's all too easy to neglect ourselves. Our life changes radically when our spouse or other relative receives a cancer diagnosis, especially if we provide the only... By Kaye Waller2 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Fallible Caregiver Series: When Family Hurts More Than Cancer"I’m fuming right now. I’m so mad I just want to cuss up a storm. I’m going to lose my freakin mind." Those were my wife’s words yesterday. She was... By Joel Hughes4 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments1 comments
Caregiving Taught Me How to AdultI've always been of an artistic temperament. Besides being a musician and writer, I've also set my hands to sculpting, painting, sketching, and other creative outlets. Growing up and accepting... By Kaye Waller3 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Fallible Caregiver Series: My Plan to Redeem Intimate LoveIn my marriage now, I see 3 options. I see myself standing before 3 roads that fork off into very different futures. Thankfully, I’ve been trained well, and certain truths... By Joel Hughes4 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Daring to DreamMy footsteps echoed through the empty rooms of our beloved home, once filled with so many hopes and dreams it felt like the walls of our small home would burst... By Kayla Millett3 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments1 comments
A Caregiver's Christmas MemoriesIf there's anything my late wife, Lynette, loved, it was the winter holidays. She had a real flair for decorating, baking, cooking, and hosting, and I loved watching her as... By Kaye Waller2 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Fallible Caregiver Series: Why We Need Lazy Days of GluttonyI tend to burn the candle at both ends and often in the middle. My wife and I started seeing a marriage counselor a couple months back to help us... By Joel Hughes3 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Fallible Caregiver Series: Helping Her Build a LegacyI heard the results of a survey 25 years ago and it’s haunted me ever since. The survey results were said as part of a sermon I heard on a... By Joel Hughes3 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments1 comments
The Fallible Caregiver Series: You’re In the Ring TooI like to think of myself as a manly man. When we moved to Oregon last year, I applied for jobs at a couple of companies. I didn’t get the... By Joel Hughes5 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Good Intentions of Others“The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” or so the saying goes. That's a little rough, but the meaning is clear. On their own, good intentions are fine;... By Kaye Waller3 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Fallible Caregiver Series: Seeking Outside HelpI had a mental image yesterday of how I feel in life. I pictured a piece of twine rope frayed at both ends. I wasn’t even thinking about anything, in... By Joel Hughes8 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Conflicting Emotions are NormalShe breezed into the house, shrugging off her backpack and setting down her cappuccino. We'd known each other for a number of years but hadn't clicked as friends. She was... By Kaye Waller4 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Fallible Caregiver Series: Helping Her Stay ConnectedI think one of the most dominant feelings for those in Cancerland is feeling alone. At least it is for us. There are different types of “aloneness,” but here, I’m... By Joel Hughes6 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
Popsicles and MorphineEverything changes when it's time to call hospice. A lot of the time-consuming, mundane caregiving tasks end; taxi-cabbing, running personal errands, picking up prescriptions, and so forth. When that nurse... By Kaye Waller2 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments3 comments
The Fallible Caregiver Series: When Anger Knocks, Part 2Yesterday, I felt pissed off a few times at my dear wife. She was too slow getting ready to get out of the house. She was on her phone too... By Joel Hughes7 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Fallible Caregiver Series: When Anger Knocks, Part 1I felt it the other day. I feel it more than I wish. It often stirs right below the surface of my moving demeanor. Frustration. Okay, let’s not sugarcoat it... By Joel Hughes6 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Stages of Grief, MaybeThere are hundreds of websites that address the stages of grief. Over the past year, I've read many of them, but none fit me. I've been through a lot of... By Kaye Waller2 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments0 comments
The Fallible Caregiver Series: Helping Her Feel NormalI know what abnormal feels like. I know how awful it feels to think that everyone around you sees you as messed up, broken, weak, and abnormal. Whether or not... By Joel Hughes7 min readBookmark for laterReactions0reactionsComments1 comments