Stories from Caregivers: Brian from KENTUCKY
KY
Brian
FROM KENTUCKY
My name is Brian, I am the youngest son of an amazing man. My dad, J.R., is not only a retired veteran of the navy but also a retired coal miner, police officer and volunteer fire captain. So, my dad has always been a true American hero to me and my family. Doing the things, he has done and working his whole life to support and care for his family has taken its toll on my dad's health recently and now it's time for me to return some of the many things dad has done for us our whole lives. He's a loving husband a devoted father and has always been an amazing provider and foundation of love for our family and he deserves nothing but the best and we intend to make sure he has just that. We are certainly not a wealthy family, but we have what we need and most importantly we have each other and our God. First and foremost, that is who is responsible for our happiness and the many aging things we have in our lives. We are not rich with money and things but we are abundantly wealthy with faith and family and that is an amazing accomplishment itself. Dad has heart disease, diabetes, severe pain daily due to a broken back and other injuries and most recently has been diagnosed with brain atrophy. With the atrophy dad now needs assistance with walking, driving and daily living. It has been a difficult change for him, but a change that the family has been more than willing to step up and help him with. My mom doesn't drive and my older brother works full time so it's up to me to make sure dad, who has always been active and very independent, gets where he not only needs to be but wants to be as well. It's a change that dad didn't want, we didn't expect, but I have the pleasure of being a part of as it's been a chance to spend more time with my parents in an age of texts and pictures versus actual human interaction. A few months ago, dad had a bump appear on his toe, and being diabetic that's a very scary thing to happen. He ended up in the hospital for a while and was sent home to be given 2 IV meds 2 times a day, total of 4, for 6 weeks to be administered by us! It was scary as none of us have been medically trained. But of course, when home health came to show us, I was glad to be first to step up and say I can do this. We made it through the 6 weeks and thankfully we were blessed and dad's toe was saved! During this time, I was laid off from my job but I've tried to see this as a blessing. My dad needs me right now. While money is tight now and I've had to make some adjustments for things to work out, I feel I'm where I need to be. Dad has struggled and given to us his entire life and it's only right that when he needs us we are willing to do the same and do it with love. He is an extraordinary man we have are blessed to call dad and husband and we want to make sure we have that for years to come. Sometimes we give up little things to receive greater things and I can't think of a greater blessing than this time with my family and I am thankful for it every second of every day.
