On Caring for Dad

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I'm going to be spending the weekend with my Dad and Step-mother. Dad turned 81 last month. That's an amazing milestone. Unfortunately, he has Parkinson's disease, and each time I see him I can tell the disease has progressed a little bit more and his physical condition has deteriorated.

While it's sad to see him in such a state - he was always a handyman who could do EVERYTHING - it's also a blessing because it has caused me to spend more time with him, which I recognize is more precious than ever before.

I found inspiration in a book called Walking One Another Home by Rita Bresnahan. The subtitle of the book is "Moments of Grace and Possibility in the Midst of Alzheimer's." While the author's story is about her mother with Alzheimer's, I recognize many of the same concerns with my Dad who has Parkinson's. This book is really applicable to the care of any elderly person. It is a very human (read: "real") exposé of what a caregiver goes through emotionally, psychologically and spiritually, and how the caregiver must care for themself as well as the elderly or ill person.

The author's dedication of this book tells it all:
I dedicate this book
to my mother and father--
who taught me to walk gently
and to live simply on this earth;
to know what true riches are;
to appreciate what I have.
Their faith and love,
their lives and their stories,
gave me mine.