o one can follow anyone else's path. Every caregiving situation is unique. Yet as each of us forge our own route up the caregiving mountain we can learn from each other.

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The path I took with my mother Betty was an extreme one. Few can let go of their commitments to the extent and for the length of time I did. Although it has had serious & unanticipated repercussions on my life, I made a choice to take this extreme route because of many factors that are unique to my life situation.

 

Happily, I have not regretted it, in fact, what my Mother and I accomplished forms one of the rare experiences of real victory in my life, despite the fact that I have climbed in the Himalayas & competed in extreme sports for many years.

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Those of us that take extreme routes in caring for our loved ones, often experience both great joy and pain. Many of us cannot survive without telling our story, not just for ourselves or to validate our experiences, (although this is important too), but to make the path easier for others in order to bring meaning to what was hard and yet beautiful.