Nine years have passed since I lost the role of caregiver and began grieving the death of my partner from Multiple Sclerosis. I am forever changed by that experience. As I come in contact with others who have had similar journeys I realize that we all have gifts to share with each other.

This was not possible for people like my mother. When my father started getting confused and losing his memory she had to keep that information to herself. The society she lived in was one where you did not "air your dirty linen on the line." Any form of suffering was a "cross you had to bear" and the choices you made were considered the "bed you had made and now you had to lay in it."

Disease and deformity were considered private issues and hidden away from public appraisal. It meant that no caregiver support was available. I watched my mother suffer in silence. I lived in Canada, she lived across the pond. On one of my visits, in front of a group of her friends I announced "Did you know my father has Alzheimer's disease?"

The door was opened and discussion could take place. Things have changed. I hope this blog will be accepted as a gift by someone out there who needs it.