In a few months we will mark 3 years since Alpha Lima Sierra entered our world. 3. YEARS. Where we started…where I started as a caregiver is quite different to where I am now and it will look crazy different in the future. The future…I pray daily that there is a future for me as a caregiver. I just have to say this, Isn’t it funny how I need to throw in that statement to clarify things. I don’t want anyone to misunderstand things. Maybe I should have a standard statement I use for every blog like:

Please don’t misinterpret what I say  because I know things could always be worse. I know there will be a time that I pray I could be a caregiver…I know my husband has a terminal disease. I know it doesn’t matter what I do or what I say, there will be guilt in the end.  I also know everyone’s journey is different. ALS impacts each PALs differently. ALS impacts each CALs differently. My relationship with my husband is different then someone else. We have different past experiences that have formed us, made us who we are. We express our fear and joy in different ways.  I will do me and you do you.  

Back to what I was saying, I am evolving as a caregiver. Before ALS I probably would not have felt the need to make a statement like that. The evolution of me includes some things I can say I am happy about like falling into advocate role and using it as a way to release all this negative energy and use it for good. There are some things that I am not happy about like the slight (the Big He would most likely question my use of the word “slight”) shift in my ability to deal with…stupid people. OMG I sound like the Big He!!! My patience is on a hair trigger these days. But it is what it is, this journey changes you. 

I am happy I can be an advocate for the Big He. I have grown so much in my advocacy efforts. I never knew how motivated I could be to get something done, until my husband’s life and well being was on the line. Where once I would let my head overrule that voice that would say, “wait, something doesn’t  feel right”, I now listen to that inner voice and use that to help guide me.  I never dreamed that I would have the desire to advocate for others with the same passion as I do for my husband but I do. I only want the best for other Veterans with ALS and their Caregivers. I want them to focus on the time they have and not fighting for equipment or services. The thing is, I enjoy doing this. I think this is another aspect of my evolution, to see that I can help the Big He and others at a time that I feel so helpless. In other words, I am embracing my control issues. I do know I have things to learn when it comes to advocacy work. My advocacy efforts are still evolving  and I am good with that. I know that surrounding myself with amazing, strong advocates that I look up to will make me better as I know I have a lot to learn.  

I am happy I can be a caregiver to the Big He. Is it tough? Yes. Do I always do things with a happy heart? No. When I am tired I get grumpy. When I get scared I cry. Being tired and being scared comes with the ALS territory but I am evolving. Things that use to scare me with the Big He’s care now doesn’t. I now know that when I am tired at the end of the day when the Big He gets settled in for bed he and I can both rest. I also know that there will be bigger and scarier things that will happen and I will learn what I need to and we will get through that too.

I am also evolving as the She in general. I can’t quite articulate exactly how, but I am. I feel it in how I react to different situations or to people. I see myself as a different version of the person I was before ALS not just advocacy and care giving but as a person. After the babies died I knew I changed. I became an angrier version of myself. The version I am evolving into now is someone that sees its what a person does not what they say that mean something. I put more stock into actions these days. While I like to think that before ALS I was my own person and didn’t care what people thought of me but now as I feel myself changing, I see that it really doesn’t matter what other’s think of me. What matters is what I think of myself. There are areas that still need evolving but I am good with that. I have no idea what version of me will be standing after this disease takes my beloved but I live by motto of Faith over Fear and know that my journey will lead me to the person I am supposed to be.

“Spiritual evolution is part of every soul’s destiny on Earth, and each soul grows and evolves at a different rate. You are right where you need to be.” James Van Praagh

All my love,

The She

The Big He’s update: Progression. It’s just the name of the game. I don’t know if progression seems to have speed up as much as we hit the tipping point of independence and dependence. That was a huge shift. The Big He has gotten weaker in several areas. His physical strength is limited. He is seeing paralysis in his hands and feet. His voice is weak and slurred to the point of frustration for everyone. I fear soon his voice will be gone but I am thankful we have a communication device and the Big He recorded many, many things in his natural voice. He also banked his voice so that is something to be thankful for. He can still eat and enjoy food so he is indulging on all his favorites. With Christmas around the corner we have had lots of baked goods which he is LOVING.