Holding Down the Fort

First of all, let me share with you a great website that CVS Pharmacy has created called For All The Ways You Care. This site is an awesome way of honoring those in your life who have been amazing caregivers, as well as to read stories about other inspiring caregivers. If you know of a person who has given of themselves to care for others, please consider honoring them by sharing your story at this site. And I KNOW that some of my readers either ARE great caregivers or KNOW great caregivers, I've read some of the stories. I'd love for you to leave a comment with your own story here so that everyone can read it, but also be sure to stop by For All The Ways You Care and share your story there.

The caregiver in my life has given every bit of his soul, strength and heart to care for my mom. My stepdad, John Hintz, is an inspiring man whom I have not done enough to recoginize for all that he does. He and my mom have been married for over twenty years and unfrotunately my mom has been battling breast cancer for entirely too many of those years. And during a few years that my mom was diong well and in remission, my grandmother, who lived with them all the years since they married until her passing, endured a gut wrenching battle with brain cancer. Through all this my stepdad was fighting hard to keep the family owned business running while doing so much to help at home. These days my mom is still fighting but seems to be getting weaker (physically at least) each day. This has left literally every house hold task on the shoulders of my stepdad. While he's always been an amazing cook, our families pick for making meals even on my moms best days, he is now also doing all the shopping and cleaning etc. All while he continues to keep up the insane hours of a busniess owner. Often coming in to the office at midnight or one in the morning to do paper work uninterupted so that he may be home with my mom at a reasonable hour int he afternoon, or take her to the many Doctor appointments she has. While my mom is most often a very strong willed lady who wants nothing more than to be able to do it all on her own, each day she is being forced to accept that there is just a bit more she can't do for herself, and he's there to do it for her. And he does every bit of it with love. The love he has for her is truly inspiring and is so unbelievably obvious to all who see them together. I truly believe he is the utmost example of a true caregiver and only wish he would accept even just a little help from other to help lighten the load. He is a remarkable man and I know my mom is truly blessed to have him!!