Valentines Day Thank You

By Pat Killingsworth, multiple myeloma patient and blogger

With Valentine’s Day being the theme of February, the MMRF staff and I thought the timing was right to spotlight caregivers and the invaluable role they play in the lives of myeloma survivors.

I’ve written a number of blog posts and columns about this. I thought about going back and re-reading some of them, but I realized I wanted to do something other than list the indispensible things our caregivers do for us, and then try to thank them; a nearly impossible exercise, since words cannot express all caregivers do for so many of us, day in and day out.

Instead, here are some tips on ways to help make our caregiver’s lives easier; ways to thank them through what we do, not just what we say.

I realize that caregivers come in all shapes and sizes: spouses, family members and/or friends. Sometimes one person takes the lead and does the heavy lifting. For others, it may take a village to help us get to our medical appointments on time, remember to take our medication, help keep us from becoming emotionally down or depressed, stay sharp and focused when we meet with health care professionals when we can’t, eat and exercise best we can and a host of other things that help us live our new normal lives.