Compassion Fatig u e by LuAn Mitchell
In an excerpt from my best selling book, Paper Doll; I share this message about how I felt being a caregiver to my now, dearly departed husband.
It was a long, slow recovery. There was the worry of organ rejection for several months, but Fred was alive and he had a healthy new set of lungs. A new light shone from his hazel eyes. We had beaten the odds—again! “More Than a Game.” During Fred’s long recovery from the transplant surgery, I faced several challenges. I was single parenting a toddler, and making endless trips to the hospital with my two year old in my backpack to visit with Fred and help with his rehabilitation. Once the crisis passed and it was clear that Fred was returning to good health, I began to get a bit restless. Those were agonizing and long, lonely days. Sometimes I longed to escape. I cried a river—I am sure the San Francisco Bay rose to new levels with the flood from my aching heart! So, I planted some seeds. I put all that water to good use and I created my own escape by returning to our dark bedroom. I kept our baby son close beside me on a blanket that I laid out on the floor. After the baby was asleep, I lit a small lamp and I began to write and create just like back in my teenage days. I put all my worries and racing thoughts into my Love Sieve and I asked for a fresh perspective; I prayed for vision and hope. Then I looked at my baby who was so peaceful and I quieted my mind and got settled. I sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed as I leaned my back on the frame and ideas began to flow. Only this time it was not story poems, this time I invented a board game called “Save the Planet.” My Love Sieve healing had guided me away from worry and refocused my thoughts into constructive ideas. 4 Informed People Magazine
