Over our last 16 years of marriage, Dan and I have learned a lot about what it means to be each other’s primary caregiver. In fact, we learn something new about caregiving every day because much like multiple sclerosis, no two caregiving cases are alike.
We’ve had some recent “situations” that touch on the core of our MS caregiving realities. One involved me getting stuck in a rest area restroom; another involved a COVID booster shot that left Dan unable to move in our own home; and the final one involved us opening up to our friend Jon Strum – host of the RealTalk MS podcast – in a conversation for his special series, The MS Caregiver Conundrum.
Take a look into what lessons we’ve learned about being each other’s caregiver:
No Rest From MS in a Rest Area Restroom
By Jennifer, featured on multiplesclerosis.net
“… After a few more minutes, Dan was red-faced and drenched, so I called it off, declaring that, “We will just have to use the next rest area.” Ooh, but only if it were that simple. Now Dan was soaked and weak. Lifting me off the commode chair was not as easy as we planned. Plus, we still had three hours of driving in front of us. What were we going to do? …”
Blessings make bad MS days better
By Dan, featured on MSFocusmagazine.org
“… I’m reeling from my third COVID vaccine. Of the Pfizer kind. Yes, they warned me of these potential side effects of this booster shot: Chills. Weakness. Numbness. Fatigue. As a person who has dealt with all of symptoms living with MS the past two decades, I was like, “How bad can it really get?”
Yes. It really is getting that bad. …”
Episode 2: Caring for a Partner with MS with Dan and Jennifer Digmann
A conversation with Jon Strum, featured in The MS Caregiver Conundrum, a special podcast series produced by RealTalk MS
“When your spouse or partner is the person who’s living with MS, you have your role as their caregiver but you also have your role as their significant other — their partner in the relationship. And for a lot of caregivers, trying to balance those two roles can be challenging. I’m joined on today’s episode by a couple who has not only met that particular challenge, but they’ve overcome it in amazing fashion. …”