Reciprocal Care

Why Is It So Hard To Think Of Receiving Care From My Loved One?

I watched my favourite show with a sinking heart. Rebecca, a widow and the mother of grown triplets, lost her phone and became unreasonably flustered. She mentioned that Miguel, her second husband, had just replaced this phone as she’d lost its predecessor. In the next scene, she goes shopping and can’t find her way home. […]

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Learning How To Receive Care From Those You Care For

In the week after my husband died, several milestones occurred, each bringing its own white-hot pain. Meeting with the pastor and the funeral director to plan a service. Entering the casket room and picking out a plain, pine box. Writing out the words to say at the service. Saying those words. Greeting people afterwards. Talking

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A Poignant Focus on the Heart of One Receiving Care

At 46, Jenn has a unique perspective on caregiver stress. She is the one receiving care. Only a few years ago, she rose before dawn and slipped into the frigid Manitoba winter to run, training for one of the many marathons in which she competed. She’d started to take classes to put her in a

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How to Accept Care From Elders in 3 Easy Steps

Jenny was in a bad way. Her body stiffened as a spasm overtook her. Her legs flailed straight out, unable to bend at the knee. Her hands clutched the arms of her wheelchair with white-knuckled strength. Eyes bugging out, whatever was happening to her body obviously terrified her. With slow, measured steps, Alice approached her. Usually

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Breakfast With Betty

It was time to say good-bye. The activation students had been with us two days a week for several months and on their last day, we took them out to lunch. These two young men had grown, matured and learned so much over the weeks. As we chatted together, my supervisor asked them, “What was the

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