Sharing Stories, Spreading Hope
2 tsp. olive oil 1 clove garlic, diced ½ onion, diced 1 Tablespoon rosemary leaves (fresh or dried) 4-5 medium-sized red potatoes, scrubbed and diced into ¾” cubes 3 cups hot water ½ cup raw cashews 13 oz. Great Northern Beans (drained) 2 cups water 2 tsp. salt ½ tsp…. Read more“Rosemary Potato Soup-Creamy and Vegan”
In this third part of our series on Drowning in Plain Sight, we salute those ‘lifeguards’ and ‘guardian angels’ who recognize a caregiver’s silent struggle in the waters of caregiving despair. “Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on… Read more“Angels and Lifeguards–What a Caregiver Needs”
Drowning victims and caregivers share more than one might think. In this five-part series we explore the phenomena of “Drowning in Plain Sight.” As you read, whether you’re a caregiver or someone who loves a caregiver, think about the people in your ‘pool’–is anyone drowning? “Except in rare circumstances, drowning… Read more“Signs You Might be Drowning in Plain Sight”
It’s not an elite club. It’s not a desirable club. It comes with a very high membership fee. No one ever requests to join. But once you’ve been inducted into the club of Cancer Caregivers, you might as well participate fully. No matter how busy you are at your full-time… Read more“Three Tips for a Cancer Caregiver”
“Get out of my way!” I screamed at the driver who cut me off. “Where could you possibly have to go that’s more important than me taking my son to the ER?” “I don’t have time for this!” I screamed in my classroom at the mountain of papers the substitute… Read more“Screaming (Five Tips for NOT Screaming When You Really Feel Like it!)”
Emergency! Time stood still while the lights of San Francisco flashed by the back windows of the ambulance. “How long until we reach UCSF hospital?” I asked the EMT. “It depends on traffic,” she answered, and then she continued to try to take Pedro’s medical history. “He has non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma… Read more“What You Need to Know Before Spending the Night in the Hospital”
While many of the recipes that I post are vegan, I am not a vegan. I believe that making choices that are better for our health is more important than following a strict ‘vegan’ or ‘vegetarian’ diet. What matters most is striving to eat a healthy, balanced diet that gives… Read more“Healthy (er) Choices Manifesto”
Use Google to narrow your search from 3.8 million results to a manageable number. Fourteen years ago, when we shared Pedro’s cancer diagnosis with our church family, the advice flowed in like the tide. “Carrot juice enemas!” the sweet church lady patted my arm and clung to it at the… Read more“How to Find What You Really Want on Google”
“He’ll need a Port-a-cath installed, we’ll schedule that for this week,” the doctor droned while my mind whirled with the shock of my husband’s non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis. “We’ll follow the CHOP-Rituxan protocol.” “Chop rituxan? Sounds violent.” I thought to myself. “And I’ve heard of Port-A-Potties, but a port-a-calf? Protocol? Isn’t… Read more“Four Tips for Being the Bookie (Caregiver Bookie, That Is!)”
“I could have done that!” my friend grumped as I carried a stack of laundry into Pedro’s hospital room. I cringed inwardly and smiled outwardly. “I didn’t have a lot to wash.” I set the neatly folded and wrapped stack of clean clothes in my suitcase and shoved it into… Read more“Six Tips for Balancing Boundaries (#4 Was the Hardest for Me)”
