Taking a Cruise

Several years ago I had the opportunity to care for Liz, a young woman who was in her early 40’s and had been diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) for several years.  Her disease had advanced to the point that she required a wheelchair for mobility and she saw her independence slowly slipping away.  Liz was not about to give in easily.  She and her new neighbor, who was also wheelchair-dependent with a similar diagnosis, had bonded -- not over the fact that they both living with a progressive neurological diseases and limited in their mobility -- but rather the fact that they had both been bikers in their younger, wilder years.  These “Harley Chicks” decked out their wheelchairs with Harley flags and donned their biker accessories while they cruised the neighborhood on shopping expeditions.    

As caregivers, we often become busy with the day-to-day needs of our loved ones and forget the special qualities that made them unique as individuals to us and others.  We need to remember what they enjoyed doing most in healthier times; was it flower gardening, listening to a baseball game with a cold beer or shopping at a favorite store even when they did not need a thing?  Making time for these additional needs can be difficult when schedules are hectic but it is these very tasks that can bring great pleasure to those we love and a deep contentment to ourselves as caregivers.