A Good Man: Memoir of a Primary Caregiver

We all hope to go through life unscathed. No major disasters, no financial concerns, and definitely no terrible diseases to befall us or our loved ones. For many of us this is just a pipe dream. This is a memoir of a middle aged husband suddenly finding himself the primary caregiver role for his ailing wife. Over the span of ten years they experienced the initial shock of her being diagnosed with an incurable neurological disease and the progression of that disease (Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis). He shares the details of the challenges, mentally, physically and financially that they faced over those ten years which included caring for his wife at home while he still maintained a full time job and then the subsequent painful decision to place her in long term care. The book includes many stories of experiences, including some challenging as well as some humourous. He shares challenges with the health care system and bureaucracy which provide a contrast to the simple occurrences that made them laugh when laughter was far too rare. He also includes a description of her final days and shares his emotions and thoughts as he deals with the loss of his dear wife and the fulfilling her final wishes. The unchosen profession of being a primary caregiver is being given more coverage in today’s world perhaps as a result of a strong lobby or merely because it is a circumstance where the public are more willing to recognise the extreme affect primary care giving has on so many lives. This memoir is not a how-to manual on coping with the daunting task of being a primary caregiver but is intended to be more of an awareness narrative to educate those who may not be cognisant of the immense challenges primary caregivers face. It is also to let other primary caregivers know they are not alone in their struggles and to perhaps even give them strength to carry on with the critical task to which they have been encumbered.