I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband who so far has been a caring caregiver. Sometimes I feel like we have to be each other‘s caregivers. I am 79 and I’ve had Parkinson’s diagnosed for about 10 years, but had it for at least 10 years before that. my sweet husband is 85 and is having more health problems as time goes on. We have a grown son who lives with us who helps a lot but we also have to help each other.

There is nothing that can do anything to you like love, both being loved by and loving that same person. I know because I have experienced that love. But, I have also experienced the opposite. My wife, the love of my life, was taken from me 40 years ago by cancer. My world was shattered. It took me almost 30 years to feel safe in trying love again. This was with a woman I had met through my work who had tried to develop a meaningful relationship with me some years ago, but I was not yet ready. Fate brought us together once again a few years ago. This time I was ready for a relationship, and in a year we were living together and discussing marriage. Unfortunately, I had developed/suffered the curse of vascular parkinsonism and had advanced to the point where I needed a constant caretaker, but she was happy to fill that role in my life. As our life together slowly but surely moved from being lovers to being patient and caregiver, it was not hard to see that her role was rapidly changing her; she was becoming a very depressed person. One evening, after dinner and having a drink before bed, we talked about her responsibilities and her feelings, and suddenly she stood up, crying, and screamed she could not take it anymore. She left me that night. It's been a little over a year since that night and we are once again talking, as friends. I am once again alone and do not see the possibility of ever again having a warm, loving relationship with a woman again. In truth, I don't ever want to place any other person in that position. I have since moved into an assisted living home for the elderly and have a staff of nurses, therapists and caretakers who take care of me and make my life as normal as possible. I have friends that can share life stories with me and we can provide support for each other. I have gotten to the place in my life where, even though it is not what I wanted in my last years, is certainly where I need to be.

Colleen, I agree we should pray for each other, but I hear people talking about the love which has been found through this difficult disease. Sometimes loved ones are lost, something to which I can attest, but that which is lost can often be found elsewhere in a different form. And the joy it can bring is enormous. My mom used to remind me love isn’t love until you give it away. And this site is full of love; one need only be open to it. ❤️
Teresa2

I think there are many forms of love including love between partners, parents and children, grandparents, and friends. I am fortunate that I have a loving husband, two wonderful children, and 3 sweet grandchildren. That doesn’t mean that my relationships are free of conflict. It is also possible that two people can love each other but their relationship does not survive the many stresses on them. My husband and I take care of each other. We’ve been married close to fifty years but at the end of the day, there is no one I’d rather hold than him..

Phil 10 I absolutely love your post. There is a saying “It isn’t how much you love but how much you are loved. I believe it works both ways. Nothing feels as good as loving someone else with all your heart ❤️
🌈TheaD