As we wrap up Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week, I reflect on the greatest blessing of all in my IBD journey: my caregivers, my dear mother and husband. From the constant rides into the city for doctors’ visits to packing wounds and changing PICC line dressings while helping me walk and shower after surgery, Mom, you picked me up when I was at my lowest points in life. From driving me to Cleveland Clinic and flying me to Mayo Clinic for surgery while spending countless sleepless nights in the hospital, Anand, you stood by my side when society told you you could have done better.
Many of our IBD journeys would be incomplete without creating awareness for our caregivers and the act of caregiving. You see, folks, caregiving takes courage; it takes guts! When most people disappear from our lives, our caregivers stick around and show us our true worth as human beings, as partners, as sons or daughters, and not just as sick patients. Caregiving takes a real, unconditional love for the person who needs care and help during major illness. And, in the case of my caregivers, it has taken true dedication and perseverance to care for me through 20+ surgeries and hundreds of hospitalizations and procedures. In many ways, for my two caregivers, giving me life again has become their modus operandi, and for me, their love and support has become my ode for survival.
The thing is when we are young and chronically ill, it is next to impossible to ask for help. It makes us feel useless and ashamed that we can’t be as able-bodied as the rest of our peers. But to have two caregivers who swoop in every time, like the guardian angels that they are, is truly my greatest blessing. Thank you, Mom, and thank you, Anand, for being my two rocks. Every time I have wanted to give up, you have encouraged me to press on, insisting that my existence matters oh-so-much. So, if there is a single reason as to why I have kept fighting and facing this monster of a disease, it’s you both. You are my lifeline, the embodiment of love, and truly, my entire universe.
So, own your Crohn’s, own your need for tender love and care, for there is nothing wrong with being taken care of sometimes. We too will have the opportunity to pay that kindness forward one day in our very own ways.
**This blog and my advocacy work are an extension of the love and support I’ve received from my caregivers over the years. It is an act of paying their compassion and humanity forward to you all, my followers and supporters. I dedicate this blog to my mother, my husband and my late father who fought Crohn’s Disease and colorectal cancer so valiantly and passed nearly 27 years ago. My IBD journey would be incomplete without the three of you.**
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One Comment
Leslie Brille
I LOVE this posting – it is so moving and genuine, Tina. You are blessed to have these lovely caregivers, and yet, they are blessed by you. Cheers, Leslie