SubscribeCoping with chronic illness
This has been a particularly worrisome time. My Mom has been coping with a crush of medical problems that resulted in an emergency room visit a month ago and surgery one day last week.
My mother’s problems aren’t life threatening, thankfully, but they are chronic illnesses that have been growing increasingly worse over the past year or so. She has given up driving and doesn’t have the stamina to do any cooking or cleaning.
My Mom, nearly 80 years old, walked a few miles a day until a few years ago. She loved doing her own yard work and putting some of the summer’s bounty of fresh vegetables in her freezer. She’s had a hard time coping with the new limitations on her lifestyle. My sisters and I have come together to help.
I’m making sure that my 14-year-old daughter is connecting with her grandmother, too. That’s one of the reasons I decided to move back to my native North Carolina. I want my daughter to hear her grandmother’s stories about growing up on a farm and moving to the city. I want her to learn my Mom’s sweet potato pie recipe. I want them to share some giggles.
My Mom’s recent surgery was successful. The day she came home from the hospital, my sisters and I had to insist that she sit down and rest a while. Her longtime pain had eased a bit and she was eager to putter around the house. Maybe I’ll be able to take my daughter for a visit soon to learn how to make biscuits.
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I am a member of the Sandwich Generation, a Baby Boomer raising a teenage daughter and dealing with the needs of an aging mother. I am a veteran journalist, having worked for more than three decades as a reporter and editor. Mostly recently, I was an editor with the Metro section of The Washington Post.
